Boat Builder Central - Builder Forums

After spending lots of time trying to get the right materials and testing them on a ccanoe which picture is below, I finally started my FS14 build.



I will try to post as much information and pics as I can. I think it is going to be the first build in this country and by now I started drawing the panels and cutting the frames (shop is also too small).

Welcome, I think you are the first from Ecuador if I remember correctly Very nice looking canoe!

Thank you Larry. I am happy to find so professional and nice people in this forum. i'll keep you posted.

Welcome aboard, do you have any more pics of the canoe, or did you finish it yet? The wood you have looks nice, much better than what I can find around here

Yes I finished the canoe but I stopped that build with 2 coats of prime. I even took it to the shore for testing the seams and the resin.
That wood looks good but its just 5 mm marine plywood so I am not using it for the FS14.

The canoe looks nice in the water, thanks for the picture.

Haven't had much time for the project cause me and my wife were waiting for our first child Isabella (which is here now). At this time the FS14 is ready for "tack welding".




I cannot find fillers anywhere but have found a white powder I think in English it's called "china clay" or "talc". Has anyone used it for thicken the epoxy resin? Any suggestion on how I can make it thick with alternate materials?

Congrats on the new baby, my wife and I are about to have baby #3 in two weeks! The boat is looking good too.

As to the talc, unless someone with credentials says it's OK I would stay away from that. Try and find woodflour (very fine sawdust) or silica to mix in. You want to get it right the first time, you don't want to have issues with the boat while your little one is on board

Is it not feasible to have some shipped to Ecaudor? The stuff is neither heavy nor expensive so it might not cost all that much to get there versus trying to build with something untested.

George

Congratulations for you George too.... I am already using woodflour for the glue but I wasn't sure it works for covering the boat with the fiberglass. Will check if I can get some silica from the US.

I have used talc as a filler. It was an emergency, had nothing else available.
It works.
Talc is a silicate. It produces a very hard putty, not ideal but OK if you don't have anything else.

There must be wood shops there that have wood flour available. It is something they throw away.
The finest type comes from a planer (cepilladora).
Make certain there is oil in it.

Thanks Fjapa. I didn't realize you were wanting a filler for fairing the boat. Wood will work, but it will be harder to sand, like Jacques said the talc can work, but is not ideal either.

For fairing the microballons will be better, but if there is anyway you can afford to get it I highly recommend the quickfair product sold from the guys here at bateau. It is incredible how easy it is to use. They have shipped all over the world so maybe they know what it takes to ship to your country without much trouble.

George

fjapa wrote: At this time the FS14 is ready for "tack welding".

fjapa wrote: I am already using woodflour for the glue but I wasn't sure it works for covering the boat with the fiberglass.

Congratulations to both of you for the babies

Have I missed something here The FS14 is ready for tack welding, so mix up some glue and tack it together. After the glue dries, remove the stitches and finish gluing.

When you cover the boat with fiberglass, you wet the 'glass out with straight epoxy, you don't mix thickeners with it; not yet That will come later, when you're fairing the hull. You're not quite to that point yet

BTW: The boat looks good

Thanks Jacques we have lots of wood shops here so wood flour is available. My only concern about it is the type of wood it comes from because most of them are tropical woods. Do you think it would be any problem using it?
George I will try to get some QuickFair but I have to test it first. Remember that all my materials are not the same materials you have in the US. My resin comes from Colombia and it is a general purpose epoxy resin so I have to test its compatibility with QuickFair.
Thank you TRC. Tack welding is not a problem I've already done it with resin and wood flour. I was wondering if I can get it a little bit thick so it does not slip on the plywood before fiberglass application (it slips down before getting tacky). You said I should not use wood flour for it?

Fabian

fjapa wrote:Tack welding is not a problem I've already done it with resin and wood flour. I was wondering if I can get it a little bit thick so it does not slip on the plywood before fiberglass application (it slips down before getting tacky). You said I should not use wood flour for it?

Fabian

Use mix of epoxy/wood flour to fill the gaps. A heavy duty zip lock bag (fill then cut the tip) makes this a fast job.

If you're having trouble with the epoxy slipping through the cracks you can use tape on the back side and remove it after the epoxy hardens a bit.

Thanks... the zip lock bag is a great tip. I used a plastic spoon building the canoe but it is really messy that way.
I am sorry, probably I didn't explain myself right. What I mean is: after the tack welding is finished and all the seams are done with FG tape then I have to apply the FG cloth on the bottom and sides. OK, what happens is my resin is very liquid so specially on the sides which are almost vertical to the floor, it slips down while I wait for it to get tacky and apply the cloth on it.
Should I use wood flour to get it a little bit thick and prevent the slipping?

Fabian

fjapa wrote:...what happens is my resin is very liquid so specially on the sides which are almost vertical to the floor, it slips down while I wait for it to get tacky and apply the cloth on it.
Should I use wood flour to get it a little bit thick and prevent the slipping?

Fabian

It might be that you are using just a little too much. Use just enough so the wood is not dry.

I am stealing all this information from this example boat build. Similar to yours. A little bigger.
Http://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=16831

Ohhh I see. That could be the reason. I am not using foam rollers because they are expensive and not good quality (they leave small foam dots when I aplly the resin). I am using disposable brushes I guess should look for some good rollers.
Thank you for the tip.

fjapa wrote: Thank you TRC. Tack welding is not a problem I've already done it with resin and wood flour. I was wondering if I can get it a little bit thick so it does not slip on the plywood before fiberglass application (it slips down before getting tacky). You said I should not use wood flour for it?

Fabian

I hesitated before posting because you built that canoe, (which looks great). This means that you have MORE experience than I do I was afraid that I might be insulting you by posting the way I did , and I'm glad that I did not do so

I don't recall that anyone else has had the problem of sagging epoxy like you're having I do agree with S&F that you're probably trying to put it on too thick. Try getting just a little on your brush and spreading it a loooonnngg way.

trc

Brush some epoxy on a small length of the seam, then use a small squeegee to spread it along the seam. You'll be surprised how far it will go. The goal here to to give the wood some epoxy to soak up so it doesn't soak it out of your lamination. As you apply the glass, apply the epoxy with the brush and work it down the seem with the squeegee the same way. You want just enough epoxy to wet the glass and make it go clear. The glass will stick very well to a horizontal surface.


Another thing you can do is pre-wet the tape. Lay it out in on a long sheet of plastic on a flat surface . Pour the epoxy on and work it in with the squeegee. Roll up the tape, and then roll it out on the seam. Use the squeegee and a brush to press down the tape. I find this a much easier approach than trying to wet out tape in place. You still have to wet out the wood first.

fjapa, you mentioned foam rollers.I believe this is a roller similar to the ones I use which are common short nap that are for adhesives and such. They do a great job of spreading epoxy on the wood. Also, I clean the excess resin off the roller,keep it submerged in acetone in a 5 gal. bucket(roller only) and I an able to reuse time and again. Congrats on the bambino .

sitandfish wrote: It might be that you are using just a little too much. Use just enough so the wood is not dry.

I am stealing all this information from this example boat build. Similar to yours. A little bigger.
Http://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=16831

No problem TRC... I am always a good listener and I think everyday comes with something to learn
Steve that's a good idea... "pre-wet" the tape... I would never think it can be done that way. I would try doing it but the only problem is space in my shop (it's really a small one )
UncleD I cannot find those rollers you mention. Are they foam or what kind of material they are made of? Do they have a cardboard core?
Thanks to all of you guys for the great ideas.

Fabian

fjapa wrote:Are they foam or what kind of material they are made of? Do they have a cardboard core?

Can't tell you much more than I've stated before. JM and Joel sell them I'm sure.

Hello guys.
It's been a while I don't post any pic, but I wanted to let you know I am still on my way to finish my project. Geting the materials like resin and fiberglass in my country has been so hard, but I hope to receive the new year fishing some trouts

Looking good!

Finally I launched BUCKY, my FS14 built in Quito, Ecuador. It's been so hard to find materials for the building but after 5 years we did it.

I have come from this:



To this:







Thank you so much for your support and the superb quality of your boat plans.

Fabián.

Well done

You did a nice job building that boat. I like the car top picture.

Cool congratulations, it's dogged that does it

Well done. Always like to see family photos