Jumat, 30 Januari 2015

Cleaning Up

With the major fairing completed, the next step in my plan was to repair any damage and re-encapsulate frames that had been scuffed. There were also several areas that I had touched up earlier this year using a foam brush which had dried with epoxy runs.

So the first order of business was to inspect the entire structure noting where work needed o be accomplished. To make it easier on myself, I divided the hull into sections. The keel divided the boat in half lengthwise. Then each frame was used to create seven sections per side. I inspected each section and made notes of the work needed.

Then I went back, fixed damaged areas with thickened epoxy and sanded all the rough areas (including glue runs). The next few shots show this work in progress.





My main goal here was to get a relatively smooth surface, as many of the frames and floor timbers will be painted after the boat is flipped. However, frames 5 and 6 are exposed in the cabin area and I wanted them to be as nice as I could make them. After the boat is finished, I will be going over these areas with steel wool and then applying a smooth coat of varnish to get a nice glossy finish.

Epoxy by itself is clear enough if the correct kind is used. But the finish, although it looks good in the photos, is still somewhat rough, so the steel wool and varnish will be the final touch to make it all look real pretty.

So after all the sanding was accomplished I had to wipe everywhere I was re-applying epoxy to get all the dust off. Alcohol and rags accomplished this. Since the rags leave some lint, I went over afterwards with clean hands and wiped off the lint. Ive heard people us a waxy dusting cloth for this when painting but I was somewhat concerned about fish eyes in the epoxy so I didnt use that particular approach.

The next several shots show the final results.






There are still a few holes to fill on the keel and other areas that are not going to be visible. I should be able to finish all of that up early next week.

The other plan I have is to round over the inner edge of the sheers and chines between frames 5 and 6. Again, these are visible in the cabin so I want them to be nice and finished looking. They will eventually get a few coats of epoxy encapsulation and later the steel wool and varnish treatment. The rounding over will be accomplished in the next week or so.

All of this is preparation for fitting the skins which starts in November. I will be ordering the plywood next week. Twelve sheets of 3/8" Okoume marine grade plywood will be ordered. The current plan is to scarf join three sheets together end to end for a total length of 24 feet. I will do this four times.

Then I will be using heavy paper or something like that to make very rough (and over-sized patterns) for each skin section. These will be transferred to the plywood and cut out. Then the fitting will begin. I will go into this in more detail as I get to it.

However, I am taking a small break this weekend to go to the Ply Wooden Boat Festival in Port Aransas, Texas. This is their first event and I want to see more of these in the coming years, so I will be visiting. I encourage anyone who is close enough to take a drive there to check it out. There is a link on the sidebar of this blog for more information.

I wish I were at a point where I could take my boat there for display. Perhaps in the future. For now, I will go down there and see all the beautiful work done by others.

So thats it for now. I will post some photos from the show after I return. Take care and consider making the trip down to Aransas.
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