Thursday, Feb. 25: Today was sunny, but windy and cold. No good for cycling, but OK for boatbuilding.
I epoxied the bottom panel in place, and screwed it down permanently. That was the easy part. Then I climbed underneath and cleaned off excess epoxy inside. That was messy and awkward, but also necessary. Sanding off the excess after the boat is turned right side up would be time consuming.
Epoxy makes an extremely strong adhesive, and it fills any gaps between the pieces being glued. The technique is to wet out both surfaces with unthickened epoxy, then coat one surface with a paste made with epoxy and a thickening powder, mixed to about the consistency of peanut butter. The two pieces are screwed or lightly clamped together, and left until the epoxy cures. In cold weather epoxy sets up slowly. That allows me time to get a job done, but it also means that I can not do more than one step a day on an epoxied piece. Other epoxy mixtures can be made for sealing bare wood, filling holes, mounting hardware, and fairing surfaces. Every problem in life can be solved with epoxy. Well, almost every problem.
I also worked on the centerboard today. Using the pattern I made yesterday, I cut out two pieces of 12mm plywood to the shape of the centerboard, epoxied the two pieces together, and left them weighted down for the epoxy to cure.
Tomorrow I plan to trim off the excess of the bottom panel. Then the shell of the hull will be complete. If I put it in the water, it would float, but there is a long way to go before I would call it a boat, or put it in the water.
From this point, the project can take several paths. Before the exterior is done, I need to make and install the outer stem, the sternpost, the skeg, and the “gripe”, a keel plank along the centerline from the bow back to behind the centerboard trunk. And the slot for the centerboard needs to be cut. And the whole exterior needs to be covered with fabric and epoxy. After that I can turn the boat over and work on the inside. I need to review the boat’s plans and work out the best sequence of tasks.
I have sent inquiries to a number of sailmakers, and have already received back a wide range of suggestions and quotes. I won’t make a decision on a sail right away. I will be travelling from late April until July or August. There is no deadline on finishing the boat; Of course I would like to have her as far along as possible before leaving, but I won’t be sailing her by then; that’s for sure.
I epoxied the bottom panel in place, and screwed it down permanently. That was the easy part. Then I climbed underneath and cleaned off excess epoxy inside. That was messy and awkward, but also necessary. Sanding off the excess after the boat is turned right side up would be time consuming.
Epoxy makes an extremely strong adhesive, and it fills any gaps between the pieces being glued. The technique is to wet out both surfaces with unthickened epoxy, then coat one surface with a paste made with epoxy and a thickening powder, mixed to about the consistency of peanut butter. The two pieces are screwed or lightly clamped together, and left until the epoxy cures. In cold weather epoxy sets up slowly. That allows me time to get a job done, but it also means that I can not do more than one step a day on an epoxied piece. Other epoxy mixtures can be made for sealing bare wood, filling holes, mounting hardware, and fairing surfaces. Every problem in life can be solved with epoxy. Well, almost every problem.
I also worked on the centerboard today. Using the pattern I made yesterday, I cut out two pieces of 12mm plywood to the shape of the centerboard, epoxied the two pieces together, and left them weighted down for the epoxy to cure.
Tomorrow I plan to trim off the excess of the bottom panel. Then the shell of the hull will be complete. If I put it in the water, it would float, but there is a long way to go before I would call it a boat, or put it in the water.
From this point, the project can take several paths. Before the exterior is done, I need to make and install the outer stem, the sternpost, the skeg, and the “gripe”, a keel plank along the centerline from the bow back to behind the centerboard trunk. And the slot for the centerboard needs to be cut. And the whole exterior needs to be covered with fabric and epoxy. After that I can turn the boat over and work on the inside. I need to review the boat’s plans and work out the best sequence of tasks.
I have sent inquiries to a number of sailmakers, and have already received back a wide range of suggestions and quotes. I won’t make a decision on a sail right away. I will be travelling from late April until July or August. There is no deadline on finishing the boat; Of course I would like to have her as far along as possible before leaving, but I won’t be sailing her by then; that’s for sure.
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