Lifelong dream

Thnx Troy

Frames A and B glassed.



Frame A (shield shape) will face into the anchor locker. The reverse side will get a lighter fabric because it'll face into the v-berth.



This is the heavy 33 oz/yd Vectorply that caused us difficulty before. This time I really soaked the ply first and gave it some time to setup a bit. Then we hit it with lots of epoxy and let it soak in. It takes a lot longer to thoroughly wet out this heavy stuff. Patience is definitely required when working with this stuff.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow when the peel ply comes off.

 

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]These are the two panels we did today. Pretty good results. The light spots are where it's just a little dry. Not a big deal. These are structural parts so nobody will ever see them once the boat is assembled.





Frames C, D, E & F stacked up. Doesn't look like much right now but that was a helluva lotta work.

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Sometimes having the best of tools doesn't guarantee a perfect job. The Admiral and I were glassing some more panels last night. The aft main bulkhead between the pilot house and the cockpit. It's an exposed part and I wanted it to come out nice. We followed the routine we've done for the others. Her dispensing the epoxy and me spreading it out. Using the Sticky Stuff dispenser this is pretty easy especially when you use one of the static mixing tubes. Just pump and go.



Well last night the hardener reservoir (on the left) ran out. Lori didn't catch it and likely the last batch she pumped out was only resin (reservoir on the right) with no hardener. The hardener reservoir is opaque so there's no way to know how much is in it unless you look every once in awhile or the resin reservoir gets down low. They'd theoretically only be at the same level if you put exactly the 2:1 ratio into them in the first place.

So this morning when I went out to have a look there were horrendous bumps all over and as soon as I ran my hand over the peelply I knew we were in trouble. Sticky uncured epoxy resin everywhere.

So I did a google search and found a few things to try to salvage this part without having to strip it down (I'd likely cut two new pieces and start over from scratch). Right now I've tried brushing on some hardener and working it in with the bubble buster and left it to bake.



If that works out I'll likely be able to salvage the part. The upper section above the windows and door have to come off. They were epoxied last and have no hardener in them at all.

So I've added a little reminder to anybody who uses Mr. Sticky Stuff to check constantly the levels in the tanks before pumping.

On a brighter note some more shiny stuff arrived today.



I'm going to go fondle the new shiny stuff. Maybe that'll make me feel better!

 

Bad luck.

 

You'll overcome that minor set back and be back on track in no time.

looks great so far

cheers
B

 

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]This mornings session in the Big Blue Boat Shed went a little better than the other day. I flipped the panel and did a little sanding of the epoxy over flow and wiped it down. Laid out and cut the glass and peel ply.



I've read some stuff, good reviews, of these rollers (Bestt Liebco Tru-Pro Frieze). Everything I've read they're supposed to be very good for epoxy and from this mornings session I definitely have to agree.



I'd conservatively estimate I used 1/3 less epoxy on the same size panel using the same weight glass. The rollers allowed me to quickly and easily work the epoxy into the glass. Any puddles were easy to pick up and move elsewhere. The little nubbies on the rollers do their job quickly and efficiently. I'll give them Two Thumbs Up!

The results of this mornings labours, epoxy reservoirs filled and mixed properly is damn near perfect. (we'll see tomorrow when the peel ply comes off) but so far it looks really good!



Standby....[/FONT][/FONT]

 

Standing by, Sir.

 

Thinking ahead is probably one of the most enjoyable parts of building your own boat. There's a million decisions to be made and each one can affect a half dozen others. I'm lucky in that I've been able to follow a few ongoing boat builds like this as well as a few finished models.

This morning I popped the troublesome frame off the long table and tucked it away. The next big task is the cabin sides. They curved so I had to lay out with some blocks so the panel would follow that curve.



It took a good while, 30 mins or so to goop up the glass and get the peel ply on. It had started to kick off when I got all the way around so it was scramble time to get the peelply on and smoothed out.



It's a good thing Boots showed up this morning to oversee operations. He immediately pointed out a mistake in my layout of the cabin side sliding door.



I had the top of the door level with the tops of the other two windows. The top of the window in the door should have been level with the tops of the other windows. Nice catch Boots! You've earned your kibble this week!

 

I'm finding it a bit of a chore, that I don't seem to have time for, to keep up posting individually to these forums. So I'm going to stop here, sorry. You can keep up with my misadventures on my blog site. Thanks for looking in fella's.

Admin, please lock this thread.

 

Well, we've enjoyed it while it lasted. I'll look in on your blog.