Another FS17 Build Thread

[mineratt]

So I encountered a slight issue. At the bow where the deck meets the bottom hull panel and the front frame the glass appeared to be turning a whitish yellow. I initially ignored it and thought is was just a minor thing. This was the glass right at the deck joint. But as I have started fairing the topsides I decided to grind it all out and rebuild the joint. As i was grinding it out i noticed the fillet was cracked, so good catch. To rebuild it I ground out the majority of it, I refilled it with the red goo, put a layer of 12 oz on top of it, increased the fillet with another bit of red goo, then put a layer of 12 oz on top of that, then put a final fillet of red goo and one final layer of 12 oz on top of that. This was on the port side and across the front edge of the deck piece. I am guessing that there was maybe a little bit of flex in the original seam, so I went overboard on the fillet to make sure that it was as strong as possible. I kept adding alternating layers of puddy and cloth until it was built up enough to have a very smooth and gradual transition to either the hull panel or the bow frame. It may be a little overboard but it only takes a few extra minutes.

[mineratt]

The whiteness in the pictures is not an air bubble or poor bonding, its mostly due to the use of the flash on the cell phone camara and the wet epoxy in the final layer.

[mineratt]

I started fairing the top sides. I think I must do this in stages or blocks so the job does not appear to be too daunting. In the pictures it looks like the puddy is applied really thick but it is not, its just very red and I pressed it into the sanded weave of the top layer of cloth.

[Fuzz]

Work looks very nice! You are making good progress.

[mineratt]

I faired out (mostly) the topside deck areas and got them primed over the weekend with two coats. I will start on the interior with the fairing next. But before that i need to work on how the leaning pose will be bolted down, without penetrating the deck.

[mineratt]

I want the deck to be completely hole and fastener free which makes securing the leaning post seat a bit of a problem. I saw on another thread where someone used strips of g4? With threaded holes for the screws. I have some 1/2 inch fiberglass sheets. I cut the sheets into 3 inch strips, drilled through holes and installed 1/4-20 stainless liners with a "washer" like backing that has small spikes to keep the insert both in place and non rotating. I glued the strips in place while bolted to the leaning post base. After the strips semi cured I put a layer of 6oz cloth on all sides with an additional 2 wide strips of cloth securing each one in place.
After this is completely cured I can finish faring the deck and finish priming.

[fallguy1000]

Where is the gas tank?

[mineratt]

That is a good question. I have an aluminum 18 gal tank that will sit in front of the console on the top of the deck. This will of course look ugly, so on top of the tank there will be a an aluminum framed casting deck that will act as both a seat and stand so i can get a little higher. Or I can always just go with the small 6 gal tanks but I anticipate some longer runs up the coast on nice days.

[mineratt]

It has now been sanded as much as it is going to be and at least three coats of System 3 primer have been applied everywhere. All holes have been drilled and cut with all edges coated in epoxy.

[Jeff]

Looks good!! Jeff