CS23 - Dad's dream

[TRC886]

Aaaahhhh....my jigsaw died tonight whilst cutting the hull bottoms . 7 Year service, not bad. Stopped work dead in its tracks. My orbital sander also gave up last week - I'll have to go shopping tomorrow. As much as I love new tools, I do not enjoy spending the money.

That's always frustrating It could be something as simple as a loose or broken wire or a bad switch, or it could be as major as a burnt out armature. What aggravates me even worse is a tool that only runs sometimes, which is always caused by a loose or broken wire.

You're coming along very nicely on your jig and set up

[Kevin.G]

Hi Antonie

We met on JJs site. You are not far from me, I am in Primrose. With the house renovations and coaching High school rugby I haven't been able to start with my build. In fact the 9mm ply I ordered is waiting for me at the timber yard because I do not have space at the moment . Your build is looking good and if you need any power tools in a hurry just shout and I may be able to help you out.
Kevin

[antoniekruger]

Hi Kevin,
Thanks for the offer, mate. The reason why a tool going down gets under my skin is because I believe in buying a proper tool that cost you a bit more, but gives better results and last. Buying the cheep crap will disappoint and at he time you need it the most. I went to Adendorfs n Boksburg and found a jigsaw with 5 year warrantee. Strange, they do not stock all the big brands, but the stuff they sell seem Ok.
The new jigsaw works like a dream and I have finished they bottom and top sides. I've started planking the hull. The chine seem to be a bit of a mission, but all fitted ok. I plan to start glassing by the weekend. I have a chap from AMT living close to me. He looks after the marine products so I would expect that he sees a few of these builds. I'll ask him to put an eye over the hull before I glass. Rugby season is only starting-seems like a while before can start your build.
Is there life at Jj's?
Thanks Trc886.
Antonie

[antoniekruger]

A quick update :
I've placed the 2 bottom pieces on the frame and it seemed to fit. I added the chines and still all seemed OK.


I started the long side panels (upper first 6mm). I extended my shop table to be able to hold around 3/4 of the complete length and screwed the pieces down for the join. I also used peel ply on the joins to have them clean and neat.


I started hanging the upper side panels using the transom as a start point and not tying the stitches too tight. I reached the bow and saw that something was not right. I checked the long panel length first, then the strongback length. I was not a happy camper. I then checked mould 0(the flair mould) and saw that I screwed up the height of frame 0 . I used the sole height as frame height. I pulled it out and remedied the problem(luckily an easy fix), fitted the bow mould and mounted it back on the jig. All was good.
Frame 0 re-measured


I used blocks with my stitches to help keep the panels aligned whilst spot welding. This worked for me. I love the shape of the hull.


After the spot welds I pulled the stitches and started cleaning the welds to be as small as possible and still hold the hull together. I did some fairing with micro balloons around the flair and bow - some panels was a bit more stubborn than others.

Then I started the seem glassing on the chine . I'm used to working with 100g and less woven. This tape is heavy and takes ages to wet through. I use a brush to put on the epoxy, then a squeegee to distribute and then the little roller to get out the air and seat the glass properly. I then worked the area with the squeegee again to try and get off excess epoxy. These seems will have to be sanded and cleaned before I move on to the wide cloth.

[antoniekruger]

A quick update:
OK, so I've glassed the hull on the outside. I started around 10am in the morning and only finished around 8pm. My right arm went into cramps a few times(Squeegee) , but a Bells sorted that out after 8 . She is huge to do on your own. This was the layup of the first layer.






After my jigsaw deserted, I had 2 more desertions(old tools giving up. I'll have them repaired for little carpentry jobs.). I went out and bought 2 Bosch pro orbital sanders. The 150mm and 125mm for smaller spots. My shop vac arrived as well and it makes a huge difference having the vac on the sanders. My word, they work great. They 150 brute comes with a hard box. Very nice.

Anyway - I was very busy laminating that some areas were already gelling and hardening. By the time I reached them with the peelply, it was too late. . I managed to get some peel ply down on the layup. The rest I cleaned off with a quick sand for the second layer of biax.


The second layer of biax cloth went on the bottom without event. Its easier to place since youre nor working on a vertical plane. I found that rolling on the resin and then using a squeegee to work it through gave me the best results.
I had a discussion with my fibre supplier about using a 280g carbon fibre from the keel to the chine (whole bottom) as a final layer instead of fairing that part. Firstly, its expensive and then the strakes is an issue as well. What he did suggest is that I use a 300g woven as a final over the whole boat. It will add around 10 to 12 extra kilogram, but the benefits would be a better abrasion resistance in woven than biax. Apparently it is possible, when the outside layer is penetrated, that a single fibre in the biax can be lifted and cause a peel-off. Made sense. The second reason was that it provides a bit of sacrificial layer during the fairing process. If you sand into the glass, you should not get down to the biax. So, I layed another 300g over the whole boat...except the transom. I had enough time to peelply this layer and was happy with the results.
I did a bit of cleaning off before I started with the fairing: First the left hand side. This is taking quite some time, but the results are looking good.


I started with run 1 on the right hand side:


Ok, so it is still a lot of fairing to get the flair smooth and the rest to my liking. I have a small recess where I joined to long panels on the bend towards the bow. If I fill it with fairing compound the layer would be around 3 to 5mm thick. Is this acceptable?
BTW - The hardener of the fairing compound smells like someone peed in it. Is this right? Ammonia, I suppose.

Cheers, Antonie

[topwater]

That's a whole lotta boat to do in one outing, great job I also notice the ammonia smell when I open
the hardener for system 3 easy fillet, never had any problems.

[Cracker Larry]

Wow, that's a lot of boat for one man Nice work! You must be younger than me

[antoniekruger]

Hi, I've been sanding and sanding and sanding, and still s(t)anding.
I've done 2 rounds on the sides of the hull. I think I'm close to where I can use a high build primer to finish off.

The bottom is another story. I started the first round of fairing compound on the bottom after knocking the tops of my woven top layer. It went on well - this is a huge area. The sides were OK, but I have to get onto the boat to work on the bottom - fell off twice already - don't tell anyone
I've decided to do the fairing before gluing on the strakes or skeg. I think fairing a larger area gives more continuity and better results. Once I have the position of the strakes, I'll sand a slot into the fair onto exposed glass. I've been at this now for 2 weeks and I think I'll be working on the bottom for another 2 weeks. She is big.....Cant wait to flip her over.

Some boat porn:
Side sanded - bottom puttied.


My modified torture board - not sure it works better. The heavier sander side takes its toll....


Bottom sanded and washed


I have a 2 to 3mm recess behind one of the joints on the bottom. Its about 200mm wide. Its bugging me and I want to fill it with fairing compound. Its about 200long by 400mm wide. Is this too a large area to fill with fairing compound. I think I should rather lay a block of biax cloth in the deepest part and tie in the edges with fairing compound.
Cheers,
Antonie

[AtTheBrink]

Can you translate those measurements into inches?

[Cracker Larry]

Its about 200mm wide. Its bugging me and I want to fill it with fairing compound. Its about 200long by 400mm wide. Is this too a large area to fill with fairing compound.

Yes, that's too large a gap for fairing compound. Fill that with a piece of wood and glue, or a structural filler.