Last few steps ...

Many things have gone by since the last post.  In two weeks worth of time I was in the classroom only three times, went to AZ to hike in the Grand Canyon, met and collaborated with Darby Nelson who is the author of For Love of Lakes, went to my son's Destination Imagination Tournament, and we kicked off spring with a great Inspiration Peak 25 mile bike ride in the rain and cold of 37 degrees.

Enough of me, let's talk about the boat.  I sanded the hull with an 80 grit paper on the ROS hand sander until I had a milky white surface.  This exposed some of the bubbles that I could not get out earlier in the application of the hull fiberglass.  A little compressed air took care of the dust collected in the holes. 

I strayed away from the Pygmy company a little bit and followed the ideas from Laughing Loon kayaks on the other side of the continent.  I am putting two coats of epoxy on the hull and then going through the finishing process.  Unfortunately I won't be able to show you the finished boat until mid June.  I am going to get the boat water ready for the South Dakota Kayak challenge and then finish up with the varnish.  The varnish will protect the epoxy from UV damage, but I should not have to worry about it if I paddle the boat for a few weeks periodically.  

In the pictures below you can see that I have installed the hip braces and finished the cockpit coaming.  The coaming gets another quick layer of glass tape on the seams and it is ready for the stress of the skirt that will go around the coaming.

I tried to be very careful with noticing any bubbles, but once I got the boat outside it was easier to see any imperfections.  But, I will probably be the only one who will ever know about the faults.  

I took the boat out of the shop and brought it home to work on the deck lines, seat, and foot braces.  I played with the idea of having hidden foot braces, but I decided to have the ones attached with a set of screws through the hull so I could measure them properly the first time.  I am glad I did, they just fit me, but will fit Jill well.

 We don't yet have the ice out here in MN, but I put the boat in the yard and sat down and the Sealine seat is quite comfortable.

Well, I won't have a post until I can put the boat in the water and test the lines, but until then here is what the finished boat will be ... 

All the way through to the coaming

Once again, fiber-glassing without producing bubbles under the cloth seems to be all but impossible to do.  I was able to lay out the cloth with my last piece of cloth and all seemed right with the world until I started to squeegee the excess.  In the picture you can see the bubbles that appear below the sheer seam.

After a few coats of epoxy I fitted the cockpit coaming.

Make each moment count!

My thoughts go out to all those affected in Boston.  Stay strong, seek help when needed, and move forward.

Since my last post I have finished sanded the deck, filleted the inside shear seam and given the deck a saturation coat of epoxy.  

I did sand through the veneer a few times, but they are hard to see.  The rear of the cockpit was difficult to sand, and having a small file used for wood carving might have helped.  

I am prepping for fiberglass on the deck and I want to finish that before we go on vacation to the desert, AZ.  I will go from snow storms (in April) and ice still on the lakes to the desert with no water.  I hope to come back to the ice retreating, but I might not be on the water until mid-May.

Using Resources

One thing that I have started to worry about is the amount of epoxy I have left.  At $100 a gallon I am beginning to wonder if I have enough to finish the boat.  For anyone who may build one of these boats in the future, I have some tips.

1. Prep at the beginning of the entire project by identifying when you can do multiple steps at once with the epoxy.  Many times I found myself throwing out an ounce at a time since I didn't have anything left to do at that step. 
2. At the very beginning of the project, do all of the butt seams at the same time.  I chose to only do 3 or 4 at a time to fit my work table.  In the future I will lay out all pieces at once with the needed weights and mylar so I conserve the epoxy.  
3. While I was rolling the second coat of epoxy on the inside glass of the hull, I laid out all pieces that I could to coat.  

One will need to wait until there are fiberglass scraps, but after fiber-glassing the hull they start to show up.  Just keep track and make a plan for the pieces you have.  

In the picture below, you can see one of the cockpit coamings on the left, bulkheads center, hip braces top, knee braces on the right and more of the cockpit coaming bottom. 

Next I plan to make an official boat by glueing the top onto the hull.  I expect to do a little epoxy shaping around the ends.  I hope it doesn't end up looking like elf shoes.

Fiberglassing inside of the Hull

This was the hardest step to date.  I found it difficult to lay the fabric, wet out the fabric, and work the stems.  Give yourself plenty of time, 2 rollers, 2 trays and luck.

In this first picture, to the right, I was cutting along the tape line as per instructions, but as I reached the bow and tried to lay the fabric in the stem it ended up short.  What?  I need to go to fabric cutting 101.  I was determined to find a better solution for the stern.  

This time, as I was cutting along the tape I cut it high at about a foot and a half from the end.  Along the opposite side I then folded the excess under so there was a triangle of doubled fabric.  I cut along this fold line until I reached the stem and folded each piece.  I had a little difficulty wetting out this section, but patience was my friend.

Using the squeegee I pulled the cloth down the hull toward the center.  I stopped for a moment on the chine between 3 and 4 and then floated it down the side.  I started just behind the overlap on the stern side and worked towards the stern.  This kept the overlap in place as I worked to the bow.  

In the stems I used the foam brush when the roller would not fit and just worked from the stem towards the end and patience, patience, patience.  The squeegee help to tap out any bubbles.  

Two hours later I returned to cut the excess and take off the tape.  Sticky x1000.  A few places pulled up, but I tapped them down with the razor blade and we will see how they turn out the next day.

Fiberglass for the Cockpit and Butt seam of the Hull

Do you like the title?

The cockpit is reinforced with two layers of fiberglass and three layers of fiberglass tape.  This was tricky.  Going over all of the different angles was challenging and it took patience to work out all of the bubbles.

I started on the plate, which is the highest part.  Before I started I spent some time making sure all of the seams were smooth and shaped to accept the clothe.  

I didn't take the time to make all of the seams fully smooth, but I don't think it made a difference in the end.  

The corners were the most difficult, but dabbing with a bristle brush help pull the air bubbles in the direction I wanted or allowed them to escape.

Overall the underside was not difficult, but I did end up with some bubbles under the seams.  Next time I will try to have each seam of tape rolled up and gradually roll and wet out the seam.  

Each stem required a filet of heavy epoxy.  It was the consistency of putty.  I wish I recorded the mass of wood flower per 6 oz of epoxy so I could quickly measure and mix.  I also purchased a spatula to apply the epoxy and smooth out the stems.  A little mineral spirits cleaned the spatula easily.

The hull also received two extra layers of clothe to reinforce the butt seam.  Afterward I sanded out the hull since I once again had outgassing from the wood.  I don't have control of the temperature in the shop I am working in so I just have to deal with the extra sanding.  

Glueing the deck and reinforcing the seams

Glueing the deck seams went much better this time.  After the initial straight epoxy fill, I found that thickened epoxy similar to thick chocolate syrup filled the seams well.  It did not want to run and also soaked into the seams that needed it.  It will also be easy to sand later.

After they dried I took the top off and flipped it over to run a piece of fiberglass tape along each seam and fillet the seams along the cockpit.  The fillets will ensure a smooth fit when the cockpit is glassed on the underside.  

Let it dry for a couple of hours and then I set it back on the hull to dry in the correct shape.  It will rest for the weekend and then on Monday I plan to fiberglass the underside of the cockpit.