Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Closing The Clam

This was a bit more tedious than expected.
I had considered cutting strips of 4 ounce fiberglass, but broke down and got a roll of 9 ounce tape. Here its tacked to the inside hull with hot-melt glue.

 The deck is still unglassed. Some epoxy did come through the deck, but I think I can deal with it.
It was hard to get the deck & hull to match up. Pushing the hull up to the deck was much easier than trying to pull the hull out to meet the deck. I posted a "help" message on the ConYak Builder's Forum. I mainly got a lot of complicated suggestions, but one worked: I made a 2x6" strip of aluminum (roof flashing) with a 90 degree bend at the end. I slid it into the gap, and pulled out on the hull while taping the halves together.
 My Thule racks have been pressed into service to hold the boat on end. I have the famous Brush On A Stick attached to a long stick. This would have been much easier to reach if the hatches were cut, but I want to glass the entire deck before cutting hatches.
I had almost forgotten how greedily 9 ounce tape drinks epoxy. I also found that the size of the brush wouldn't allow me to spread the epoxy to the bitter ends of the bow & stern, but I think I can reach it later, once the hatches are cut. 
After getting halfway through, I realized that I'd forgotten about gluing the the deck down at the tips. I rushed to un-tape the ends together, and woked some glue into the gap with a brush. A "whew" moment. 

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Deck Underside

Fairly routine. I had to resort to some microbaloon filler in the area just behind the cockpit, because I'd have run out of wood. I'll definitely use thicker strips  the next time.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Glassing The Bottom

Since my hull came out a little thin, I decided on a little more reinforcement than on my last build. I made a piece that was part "football" and part end strip. I have noticed that scratches from grounding happen most often directly under the waterline. The reinforcing strips that go all the way up the stem & stern don't really do anything.





I also took Jay Babina's advice, and put the small piece under the big one. This absolutely works better- no strings or fuzz, it all blends right together.
The glassing seemed to go well, but I had forgotten how much epoxy a double layer will drink up. 
The glass did ripple under the double layer. I don't know if it was just because it was double, or because the small piece is underneath. I haven't had this happen since my first build. At least I know what to do about it-grind, scrape, coat, etc.