Phantom 18 in Maine

[jasonmcintosh]

For the record, I used the pumps that came with my S3 epoxy kit and had excellent results. They seemed to pump a tad bit more hardener, but it probabaly amounted to a few cups over the 9 gallons of epoxy that the kit came with.

I'm going to need it to get a boat that looks half as good as the ones in the gallery.

Give yourself a big present and make sure you've got some good sanders for the fairing process. That's where all the good looks are achieved or lost. At least at a distance of 10' or less. Jacques et al have already given you the nice looking profile you'll see at a distance.

And thanks for the pictures. We all live off of seeing other's work...

jason

[tech_support]

One more thing on the pumps. Cut a hole at the top of the bottle so some air can get into the bottle and prevent a vacuum from forming. If your doing 4+ pumps, you might notice it takes a while for the plunger to get back to the top if you don’t cut a small hole for the air. I always make sure the pump has reached the top and I give it a second after it stops before I press it down again.

[jasonmcintosh]

One more thing on the pumps. Cut a hole at the top of the bottle so some air can get into the bottle and prevent a vacuum from forming.

Doh! That would have helped. But then forcing myself to calmy wait for the plunger to come back up was a good exercise in patience that took some of the anxiety out of the fiberglassing process (something I had never done before).

I hope someone's keeping track of these tips and writing them down... Rick???

jason

[tech_support]

For me; I hate mixing, absolutely hate it.

[sgorey]

I think we have this straight, but I want to make certain - The 2:1 mix ratio is for volume, NOT weight.

Pumps are not as accurate as most graduated cups, but they are more convenient for smaller batches. Try using both together. For example for a 6 oz. batch; pump 4 oz of resin then look to see if your at 4 oz. on the cup, then 2 oz. hardener - then make sure your at 6.

The epoxies we sell are designed to be forgiving to the amateur, so unless there is a large mistake, you should be OK.

Joel

Thanks for the persistence with the difference between weight and volume. It shows the dedication you have in supporting this site and business.

I think I'm set with the scale. Upon someone else's advice, I created a spreadsheet with the correct mix ratio of 100g:43g for 50 +- different amounts with +- tollerance. That way if I add a few more grams than ideal I can check to see if it's within a 5% tollerance (which I believe is well below the accepted amount). I also added amounts for microballons and silica. Mixing all ingredients into one container makes for quick and clean work.

Give yourself a big present and make sure you've got some good sanders for the fairing process. That's where all the good looks are achieved or lost.

I think your right, though I don't think I'll be able to wait until Xmas to open it. I started this project by borrowing some tools from my father to save on the startup expense. I'm using his heavy duty disk and orbital sanders. They work good, but they are old and do not have vacuum. A coworker of mine was telling me about the one he has. It has a vacuum built in. He says it not only cleaner, but it does a much better job because it sucks the paper to the surface.

[sgorey]

I tooks some time off from working on the boat during the winter months.

Recently, I added spray rails and a skeg.



and



I've got plent of work left for this spring and summer.

Steve

[jasonmcintosh]

Looks nice.

I wonder how hard the phantoms pound through the chop. Now that I got used to my GF18 and have it trimmed deciently, the pounding is the major performance limiter. The phantoms have such a flat bottom, I can't imagine that they would be a whole lot better.

Jason

[tech_support]

The phantom will perform in a chop like any other flats boat with similar shape. They do have a v bottom which is A LOT better than a totally flat bottom like the GF18

Like everything else in boats, its a compromise. The more v, the more power it takes and the deeper the daft.

How does a 18' Hewes skiff compare to a 18' Carolina skiff?

[sgorey]

... They do have a v bottom which is A LOT better than a totally flat bottom...

I'm glad to hear that. I too am wondering how it will handle chop.

[jasonmcintosh]

I suppose the V, even with the flat botom, would help quite a bit. If I take the waves at an angle so that one of my chines hits them first, I get a smoother ride. I imagine that Phantoms would be something like that.

Can't wait to build my next boat, but that's years away.

Jason