C-17 Our first Build !

[David516]

Thank you Jeff ! You also. have a great holiday !

[David516]

Well, I decided to start doing some studying tonight.
I went accross the street and checked the temp and humidity and put a dust cover over the panels.
I cut two scrap pieces in half and decided to practice joining them with the sample kit. I think I did a fairly good job but I'm not sure so I posted a picture. Waiting for the first side to cure (at 60 deg.)

This brings up a few questions...

Using 9 oz woven I was able to completely saturate the fabric but it does not get totally transparent. Is this normal?
I also noticed the edges of the fabric like to pick up as they frey quite easily. does this get sanded or faired?
I read that all panels should be sealed before fiberglassing. Does that include the hull panels, and if so, do i let them dry before glassing?
Should this sealed wood be sanded?
I understand that once the glass is wetted and cured it gets faired before filling in the weave with epoxy. Is there any time table for filling in the weave? and is it better to let each coat cure then sand, or fill the weave while it is still uncured?

I'll wet out the other side of the join tomorrow.

Thanks to anyone who can set me straight !!!

[Fuzz]

Your glassing looks good. The heavier the glass the more you will see it.

Before glassing over bare wood many builders will put epoxy over where the glass will be and let it soak in and tack up some. Depending on what you are doing things could change. Ask at each step if you are unsure. Take it one step at a time and ask questions. You will get timely answers. And do not be afraid of making a mistake. It can be fixed Ask me how I know

[Fuzz]

One more thing. While you are doing some testing make up a small right angle with plywood and glue it together with the wood flower glue. After it sets up try to brake it apart. This will show you how strong it is and will come in handy later on when glueing parts together.

[David516]

Thank you !
I guess the first things I'm going to do (right after all the holidays) are to join the hull pieces then glue the transom pieces and clamping board.
It seems the thing is to not let any sealed pieces completely cure. That, I can do!
And I'll do the wood flower test tomorrow night! Thanks!

[seaslug]

Hey David, There are a number of ways guys go about the glassing. I like to pre-cut all my cloth, both the 6" tape and the 50" wide cloth. After rolling out the 6" for the chines etc., I roll it back up and label so there's no confusion during the glassing as to where each piece needs to go. It's also very helpful to mark the hull with a sharpie marker as your guide when rolling the tape out onto the hull. Not necessary, but makes for a nice neat job. On the wide cloth, you can mark the cloth anywhere you think it will help guide placement, as well as marking the hull. That way when you have resin mixed, you don't end up fumbling around trying to figure out which piece goes where. If you're organized, calm, and methodical, it's a breeze. 1 piece at a time, no panicking, just move along slowly and it all comes together. If you haven't done glass work before, you'll learn on the job very fast. I also never mix more than 24 ounces at a time, 24 ounces being plenty of resin to keep you busy for a little while without it kicking off. Start with less at first to get a feel for the process.... If you are using the Silver Tip you don't have to sand if you're going over it within 24 hours, but I always light sand anyway if I let it cure overnight.....Ideally I like to apply the 6" tape, let it set up a little, and while it's still sticky, roll out the wide cloth, what's referred to as working wet on wet, that way you get a really good bond, and no need to knock down the edges of the 6" tape with a sander before applying the wide cloth.....Whichever way you choose to work, after the wide cloth is cured you can knock down the high spots with a sander, the more even you make the overlaps, the less fairing filler you'll need.....When you spread the fairing filler, try to work as neatly as possible, spreading it on as evenly as you can, which will make the sanding a lot easier. Mike

[David516]

Thanks Mike! Yes, I'm new to fiberglassing. I did epoxy coatings for many outdoor applications over 30 years ago but have never wetted out cloth. All this new stuff is amazing and a bit confusing. Your suggestion to pre cut is genius! Now, if I tape the keel (the prescribed layers) and bottom to lower chine panels, say early in the morning, as well as the transom, I can then do each half of the bottom hull say, in the afternoon? Theoretically I can then have the entire lower hull glassed in a day? Of course I know I have to fill the weave and fair.
this brings up two questions. Should the first wet out cure, can it be sanded without damaging the glass cloth? Also, on the c-17 the upper chine panels overlap the lower chine panels by 6 inches. Is it alright (advisable) to glass the lower chine panel say an inch or so under the upper chine panel before gluing for extra strength? Or am I over thinking things?

[seaslug]

Correct, you can do all the 6" and the wide cloth in one day. If you have the time to do it this way, great, it's the best way to go. I did my FS18 and the FS14 without any help, and had no problems, but you will be dealing with a larger surface area, so if you have an assistant to help with draping or rolling out the wide cloth, mixing epoxy, serving beverages, etc. you'll soon see it's not that complicated, and actually quite fun knowing that you're really building a boat. Enjoy the fun stuff for when you're pushing a sander for a few hours. Like I said earlier, working smart will save a lot of unnecessary sanding. On my second build I went one step further and after applying the 6" and the wide cloth, came back when it was set up enough to trowel on my first coat of very thin fairing filler to fill the weave. 1 day, all wet on wet, and saved me a lot of down time waiting for epoxy to cure, and saved a lot of sanding. I don't have much patience for waiting around watching epoxy cure. Just remember, everyone makes mistakes, and most of us aren't professional fiberglass guys, so if you follow the lamination schedule, grind away and patch any really egregious mistakes, the hull will be plenty strong enough, in fact a lot stronger than most factory built boats.....My favorite tools for glassing is the 4" Whizz brand 1/4" nap kitchen and bath rollers you can get at Lowe's. $4.48 for a 2 pack, and they don't fall apart like the foam rollers, and you can really get the cloth to lay down nice, especially useful when you get to the part glassing over the epoxy fillets on the inside of the hull. Also from Lowe's, my favorite resin spreader for the hull bottom is a Blue Hawk brand 10" plastic 'triple edge paint guide'. It's not flexible like a bondo spreader, so better for the large flat areas, has a nice comfortable handle, and the 10" width is great for moving around the resin to saturate the cloth, than works great to screed off the excess resin..... Have plenty of mixing cups on hand, as well as plastic paint trays, and a box of Nitrile gloves, I used at least 200 gloves on my builds..... I'm not sure I understand your last question. Mike

[David516]

Thanks Mike !
Im always at Lowes. Will get the rollers and guide.
My other question may sound dumb. What I'm saying is that since I glass the lower chine panels and they say not to glass the upper panels which are glued to the lower panels with a 6" overlap should I run the glass so that the fiberglass extends a little under the upper chine panel that is overlapping the lower panel? Kind of like a sandwich with about an inch of glass in between. I dont know if this will add strength or not.
Anyway I learned the hard way not to let the epoxy set up in the pot! Also not to use cheap thin cups! See Photo

[TomW1]

David nice choice in boats. First always precut your fiberglass to size. Then precoat the wood with epoxy. After that start laying out the fiberglass, seams first with the proper amount of epoxy. Then the bottom fiberglass you have measured out. There are several ways to make sure that the epoxy and fiberglass join together. Most important is smoothing the epoxy after you apply it.