Easiest Way to Lay Up This Glass as One Person?

[rwatson]

Whew - glad it worked and you didnt get left with an hard expensive mess. What was the top fabric weight and type, that wasnt wet enough to hold the peel ply ?

[CatBuilder]

The fabric was 34oz (1150g) triaxial (+45/-45/90).

It had some epoxy on the top, but because of the very large weave (gaps between fibers) of the 34oz (1150g) fabric, there just wasn't enough extra epoxy on there to get the peel ply going well on the vertical with one pair of hands.

[kroberts]

How did you wind up doing it?

I just came on this thread, so forgive me for throwing one in now:

I would like to know if it's feasible to roll the glass up onto a pole that's significantly wider than the hull, then set it up on a couple rolling mounts so the bar is horizontal and maybe a foot above the hull at its highest point. Then have another one following with the peel ply.

I would probably try having a squeegee and a paint roller.

1. Roll the foam out with epoxy for 3-4 feet
2. Put the glass down and push the bar forward.
3. Roll or squeegee that depending on what works best
4. Peel ply and push the peel ply bar down
5. Squeegee

This might have trouble positioning the glass, but it would let you get at all the layers in a short stretch.

[CatBuilder]

Ken: I put it in place, like the first picture (as was said, you have to be very careful handling this stuff).

Next, I rolled it back up onto a stick. I pushed the stick/roll along ahead of me, then brought it back over the wet to do a section of foam, then unrolled and went forward a bit, then back to do the foam, etc...

[hoytedow]

It looks like impressive work. How is the Florida climate working out for you, comfort-wize?

[CatBuilder]

Originally Posted by hoytedow

It looks like impressive work. How is the Florida climate working out for you, comfort-wize?

Thanks, Hoyt.

FL is great now, but I'm quite nervous about the change of season on its way. I was overheating a little in my suit today and it wasn't even quite 80. I need a way to air condition the suit so I can stay cool when it's 85, 90, 110 here.

I can't work without protection from all these chemicals, so it's probably best to find a way to cool the suit. I asked about this on that other thread... hope somebody has some ideas on that.

[Landlubber]

CatBuilder,

Glad that you managed to do it alone mate, looks like a nice job, I was not trying to be difficult, just practical, it is a very hard job to do alone, particularly if you do not have to. Anyhow, now you know how to do it.......

[michael pierzga]

As suggested, it might be a good idea to hire a helper. Must be a young high school guy around who dreams of boats and would love to help out to learn about boats and boatbuilding on weekends.

Im always getting stuck single handedly attacking jobs, waisting hours erecting funky mechanical helpers .

Gets demoralizing when you know how to do the finest, but just cant pull off the detailing youve learned because youre working alone.

Is that line fair ? Nice to have a second opinion from a sharp eyed young guy.

[CatBuilder]

Michael, I'm in my 30's and weigh 160 lbs. I did the lamination in 4 hours. How, exactly, is it faster to interview helpers, schedule work days with them, pay them and train them?

[CatBuilder]

Maybe when it is time for longboarding.

[michael pierzga]

Thousands of man hours until your boat is complete. Many projects only you can do...many jobs are perfect for a weekend young guy helper.

I did it when I was a kid...pulling thounsands of staples out of wood epoxy hulls or pushing a sanding board on saturady and sundays for weeks. All for about 25 dollars a day. Must be cheap, eager young guys around.

[CatBuilder]

Maybe that will work when I get to a different stage of building. Right now, it's still critical stuff. If there are long hour jobs with no skill required that will just sap the time to launch (like longboard sanding) I'll sure hire some kids. Although, these days, it's no longer $25 a day. It's $80 a day.

[Always Learning]

Originally Posted by War Whoop

Rolling the glass back up will not work with that radius, in the tunnels of my big cats, I fold the laminate into a 48" long bundle,Backwet and flip the thing over ,then again.

Good idea. Backwet the glass, as well as the foam surface?

[CatBuilder]

Originally Posted by Landlubber

CatBuilder,

Glad that you managed to do it alone mate, looks like a nice job, I was not trying to be difficult, just practical, it is a very hard job to do alone, particularly if you do not have to. Anyhow, now you know how to do it.......

I know, mate. I just had to give you all a little hard time in return because this is a 1 man boat building project, other than some hard manual labor like sanding. I plan to farm that out a bit. Sorry to have sounded a bit rude. I was kind of joking around with you guys that said I had to hire someone. Felt I know you all well enough to...