Boat Builder Central - Builder Forums

Ok guys, starting my thread....i purchased the plans a few weeks ago, have gotten my epoxy kit....ready to start building.

I have cut the wood (except for the seat tops), primed and ready to do my butt spllices.

First question, the first coat of epoxy has cured, do i need to sand them a little before i "glue" the butt blocks down?

And how long do i need to wait before i try to stitch it together and add the frames? overnight, or longer?

temperature here now is like, low 60's at night, mid 70's during the day.....

James welcome. Overnight is fine with 60 degree temps. In fact it is preferable because you can still be considered to be working wet on wet of having a chemical bond and not a mechanical one between the layers of epoxies. If it has cured more than 24hrs then sand it with 80 grit and wipe down with alcohol and water to remove the dust.

Tom

Thanks for the info...i did just like you said. Everything held up really good. I dry fit the frames and transom this morning..tore back apart and glueing in the 1x2's around all the seat frames. Will let is set overnight and then pick up again tomorrow.

Think im finally figuring this epoxy stuff out.. mixing the right amount for the application takes a couple of tries...but no worries you can always use the extra to prime some raw wood...lol. Will try to post some pics later...guess i need to figure that out sooner or later.

Everyone have a great weekend..hope your weather is as nice as it is here

So now just about ready to stitch the bottom on....its so awesome!

At first the family is like.."you cant build a boat!" but after seeing the progress no they are like man its so easy anyone can do it! lol....Dad gets all the respect

Rubrail question? I havent seen very many made out of round stock...Im thinking of using some 1" or 1 1/2" round, either splitting it and glueing to the outside, or maybe cutting a groove and slipping it over the top. I tend to like this idea better, because it covers up the top of the sides giving it a nice finished look.

Thoughts or suggestions?

trying to post a pic of the progress



So everything is glued in bottom, frames, transom...now for just a little cleanup then filleting and fiberglass begins.

Still wanting to see if anyone thinks the round stock is a bad idea for the rubrail?

thanks everyone

its so easy anyone can do it!

That shows you just how contagious BBV is. You see how casual exposure has planted that seed in their minds?

Since you don't have frame ears that extend all the way up to the sheer, your hull relies on the rubrail alone for all of its stiffness. For that reason, a laminated plywood rubrail on the outside would be the best way to go.
I used ¾" wide half-round on the inside of my D15.

Shape the outside of the rubrail right and the whole side of the boat becomes a handle suitable for the best white knuckle ride.

Ok...next step, i "glassed" the seams around the transom and betwenn the transom and rear seat frame. i wet the area and laid the glass, then smoothed every thing and added a little extra epoxy to the glass in some areas, because it didnt look like it was wetting properly...overall im very happy with it.

My question is, after it cures i can feel the tape pattern, is this where the fairing compoound comes in? or did i not use enough epoxy?

I'll post some pics tonight.

thanks

That's where the fairing compound comes in. It would waste gallons of epoxy if you tried to fill the weave with it.

thanks Larry, your advice is greatly appreciated.

Got most of the inside filleting and fiberglassing done this weekend, but i got in a hurry and made a mistake...it seems that i either didnt mix or got my ratio off on a batch of my epoxy, the bow fillet didnt cure properly, its still tacky to the touch.

Whats the best way to remove this? im sure i just cant epoxy over it.

JamesT wrote: the bow fillet didnt cure properly, its still tacky to the touch.

Maybe wait a little more before removing it?

Give it 48 hours with heat on it and if it is not cured use a putty knife to scrape as much out as possible. Then use some actone to remove the amount that is left. and wash with water.

Tom

OK...out comes the heat gun, or maybe let the protable heater blow on it overnight, that sounds a little better.

My arm may get a little tired if i have to hold the heat gun there for 48 hours...lol.

thanks guys, wish me luck!

Added some foam, a little framing for a battery box, some storage area in the middle seat, should get the bow seat top and the transom seat top glued up today....then rubrail, breasthook, knees, a little hardware, then the fun part (sanding, sanding....a little more sanding) Just ordered more epoxy and some fairing compound, should get here next week. Hope to get this thing painted before it gets too cold.


Been researching on the next one....lol, it s like a drug or something....thinking of going with a sailboat, never been sailing so that should be fun!

OK...out comes the heat gun, or maybe let the protable heater blow on it overnight, that sounds a little better.

My arm may get a little tired if i have to hold the heat gun there for 48 hours...lol.

A heat gun is WAY too hot! The epoxy will be damaged if it gets much over 160. It only needs room temperature heat, not a couple hundred degrees. A light bulb is usually enough.

i only used the heat gun for a couple of mins...moving it along like a blow dryer....i just got it gooey and scrapped it off...just redone it wasnt that big of an area. Needed more epoxy anyway, so a couple of mistakes wouldnt hurt. I sure do like how the epoxy and filler covers up my woodworking skills...lol...dont think i could cut a straight line if my life depended on it.

Ok here's a couple more pics of the progress. The inside is done barring primer and paint. Got all the seams filled and a good coat of epoxy to seal everything up.



I was really pleased how when sanding i knocked down the edge of the fiberglass, then after applying my seal coat of epoxy you can hardly feel a ridge there at all, hopefully should make for some minimal fairing, although will probably just use the quickfair to fill the weave.

The weather is starting to turn here in north texas, so its slowing the progress down, hardly had a 50 degree day here in two weeks. So i guess im looking for some economical suggestions for heating the garage.

its a standard 2 car garage, that you couldnt put one car in if you wanted to...lol. I was thinking of tarping off half of it and then using a portable heater, but not for sure if that would be enough? Maybe get one of those elements that go on top of a 5 gall propane tank?

Well till next time, Merry Christmas!! or to all you politicians out there Happy Holidays!

Sanding the outside fiberglass. Using Quickfair, working really well, seems a lot like auto body filler. Apply, sand, sand, sand...apply some more, sand, sand. But its all good, will be ready for primer before you know it!

first coat of paint. I didnt fair anything on the inside, that paint sure does cover up really nice, because its a light color it even covers the tape pretty well too.




Liking it more and more every day!

Wasn't that a pile of wood a few days ago? Nice... moving quick! How's the temps there now? If you are using the waterbased primer and paint, you don't want that to freeze before fully cured, or in the can. Keep that indoors until temps permit proper use.

its oil based porch paint, but it was 72 when i painted that, supposed to be 75 today, so i should be able to get the second coat on this afternoon, then wait for another warm spell to do the outside.

Finally got some good weather the last week or so, and here it is all buttoned up. Now only thing is to see if it floats and catches fish!









Hope no one gets offended, because i copied a few of their ideas. . Now im trying to convice SWMBO to let me get started on the OB17 dual console! .

That is one clean and sporty looking FL12! Enjoy the launch. You better take pictures of the launch... and remember, people are allowed to be in the boat when the pictures are taken.

That's just the sort of finish I'm toying with in this temptation to knock out a quickie D5, though I'll probably fair the bottom like a maniac again. Just the right simple trim does wonders to dress up a boat. Well done.

I can't tell if you completely sealed everything with epoxy or not. Let us know how that paint system holds up.

i did epoxy seal everything, several coats, that cheap wood soaks up the epoxy. Dont know how well the paint will hold up, but it was cheap enough that i wouldnt mind repainting every year. I will say that only after 24-48 hrs of dry time, the masking tape didnt pull any off, thats got to be a good sign