FS17 in Connecticut

[remedy32]

Bet this is familiar to many. Ever notice how easy it is to get sidetracked when trying to build a boat? This console is a perfect example.

I got a few 4x8 sheets of "semi structural" foam core for very little $$. Not dense enough for a hull but used in many things like truck bodies etc. Seemed like the prefect material for the console and an engine box for a friends diesel sailboat engine. The stuff is very easy to shape and thick enough to make large radius curved edges. My plan was to just glass over it and have a console. After looking for a ready to go console in glass on the web at $400-700 I'm ready to make a mold.

Sidetracked once again!





Bill in CT

[gstanfield]

Radius that inside turn at the back of the seat and it will release from the mold easier. Looks good

[remedy32]

OK, the messy part really gets going now. After the dust mess created last year building an FL14 my new project moved outdoors for the fairing/painting process. We flipped the boat 2 weeks ago and the weather has not been very cooperative since.

I've been real happy using Quick Fair but lets face it the stuff is not cheap especially when you factor in how much gets sanded off and dumped in the trash can. I'm back to mixing my own with resin. Seems to work well! Once you have a good idea of how much resin/filler is needed for a particular batch size mixing is pretty quick. My mix is about 4 oz. (mixed) resin plus 8 (liquid measure) ounces of filler for a fairly stiff paste. Comes off the trowel nicely and sands well. Don't expect the "buttery" smoothness of QF, it's just not that smooth.

Looks like it will take 3 passes of this "bog" to get fair enough to consider starting the graphite bottom treatment. I'll probably longboard after the 3rd layer and do a bit of spot filling after that. Very good news is that the hull is pretty darn fair by design, especially in the forward third. The areas that had a pronounced hollow around the middle of the boat are filling in nicely and now are within 1/16" of fair.

The skeg is laminated to the boat with 17 ox biax tape overlapping the bottom. Seems pretty tough, time will tell.



One more piece of glass to do on the transom and the topsides can start getting faired as well.



And of course INSIDE the garage the console project continues. Last pictures lacked an inside fillet on the seat and I don' think that would EVER have come out of a mold later.


Well if the sun ever comes out here the pace will pick up. Pressure is on for 4th of July....we'll see.

Bill in CT
FS17

[remedy32]

OK maybe another FLIP by the 4th of July!

Good to see the posts about when fairing is done last week. I've been over this bottom 3 or 4 times and it's looking pretty good. Hollows are gone and one more sanding to go before graphite time. Topsides will probably get another pass of the "mud" mix before a high build surfacing primer.

This is the WORST part of the job for sure!



bill

[Lower]

Bill...boat is looking great. Your getting really close now. Must feel good! Looking foward to seeing her all finished!

[remedy32]

OK time to start spraying!

One last look at the hull.



And 30 minutes later.



This is a two part high solids epoxy polyamide from Pro-Line (Sherwin-Williams in San Diego); my former employer. Sprays well, good hide and pretty good fill/sanding properties. Got 2 coats on the areas to be painted and this revealed lots of small defects and a bit of fabric print on the starboard side. Time for a little more filler and then a final 2 coats of primer tinted to a medium gray. Finish will be 2 part urethane (Awlgrip or whatever) in a medium to dark blue.

Bottom will get masked off tomorrow and the graphite mess will get underway. Hey fellow FS17 builders, how did you lay out the waterline? I'm planning on using a laser level but am open to any other suggestions.

Still might make the final flip by July 4th.

bill

p>s> it's nice to know that the other side of the boat is just about ready to finish paint!!

[steve292]

Bottom will get masked off tomorrow and the graphite mess will get underway. Hey fellow FS17 builders, how did you lay out the waterline? I'm planning on using a laser level but am open to any other suggestions

I used a laser as well. I marked down the baseline onto the transom, leveled the hull side to side & fore & aft( the last 8ft or so of the keel is level so use that) & worked around. I did it at night to see the line better
Looks good!!!
Steve

[remedy32]

Thanks Steve!!

The laser in the dark made sighting the waterline a pretty simple task. A series of small marker spots and tape the following morning, then ready to go.

I got one "coat" of this stuff on with lots of small runs and brushmarks. The sun cured it very fast and I was able to wet sand that afternoon following a rain shower. This stuff is VERY HARD! A fresh sheet of 100x wet or dry paper hardly cuts at all. I've done 6 or more Interprotect 2000 bottoms and this stuff is way tougher to sand. I'll probably remask and add 2 more coats; maybe a stripe coat as well to the edges and centerline near the cutwater. Will not be using the same finish standards as the last few sailboats, that's for sure!



And a shot from the other side.



I'll probably give the entire thing one careful wet sanding with the 10" sanding block and call it done (the black stuff that is). A flip is in the near future.

bill

[remedy32]

4th of July: lots of food, refreshments and able bodied boat flippers!

It was so easy with 6 men that nobody even snapped a picture. Two things to keep in mind if you flip a complete (or near) boat; bracing the hull at the widest point and extending the transom to match the widest beam of the boat. A simple 2x4 X bolted in at frame C (on the FS17) and a 2x6 bolted to the transom athwartships took care of making the boat stiff enough to rest on the one side as she flipped.

Still to go are painting of the hull topsides, glassing of the cockpit sole and finishing the inside of the cockpit.



And of course finishing the console and rigging. Plenty of summer left though.



bill in CT

[remedy32]

Light in the tunnel!!!

Finally some perfect paint spraying weather in the Northeast. Last month's trip to Bermuda and visit with Paul Coleman while there to see his Novi 23 project (bright yellow one) gave me the nerve to stray from my normal drab New England colors.

With all masking, paint color mixing, spray gun final rinse out (and on and on) done last night 2 coats of my own turquoise color were a breeze to shoot in less than an hour BEFORE most neighbors were even up to comment on fumes or color. The best part is always tearing off the tape and getting a good look at what you've done. Finish is very glossy and uniform. Not to the "yacht" quality Shine spoke of last week in another post but pretty darn good.





With a bit of luck the deck, coaming and lockers will get done next week in a more subtle Awlgrip "off white".

She will get wet this summer.....I promise!

Bill in CT

p>s> Paul's Novi is really coming along. Nice clean work and what a spot to be working in as well! I'll post a shot or two from my visit.