Bubble, Stringer Alignment & Bulkheads

Took most of the day off yesterday to recover from a beer binge on Friday night at our HS reunion. I don't normally drink a lot of beer. Three big jugs of it and I was a lil' tipsy! Woke up Saturday morning about 2 AM with a horrible pain in my right elbow. Wife says it's 'beersitis' and to just suck it up buttercup! *sigh*

This morning's task was to deal with the bubble in the keel. I slit the top of it open and poured in a couple ounces of epoxy. I then jambed in a piece of plywood covered in a grocery bag and wedged it tight with some 2x4's. A fair amount of epoxy squeezed out so I think I got all the air out of it. We'll see tomorrow.

Bubble Fixin' in the Bilge!

So next up I'm putzin' away at trying to align the stringers. Careful measurements & laser level helped but I was still off a bit, about 1/16". Figured out one stringer has a slight bow to it. So I'm sittin' there lookin' at it and Shazam! I'll drop the two aft frames in to help me get it aligned!

Frame I is actually a bulkhead

That's Frame I. Just sitting there for now to help align the stringers etc. I have some sanding to do before I can start to bed down the stringers & fillet/tab these parts in place. Likely tomorrow I'll start that. The pink line hanging down is a plumb bob which I used with the laser level to find the center line.

Laser level & plumb bob to find center

 If you look closely you can just make out the laser on the cross pieces.

Frame H sitting in place

Frame H was next. I should add that neither H or I had the slots cut for the stringers so I had to do that before setting them in the boat. They'll both need a little trimming here and there to get the to fit properly. The stringers will be raised up off the bottom of the boat slightly so that they can be 'bedded' in thickened epoxy. This will require some further trimming to get the frame/bulkheads in their proper place. I have to remark the base line around the perimeter of the boat to ensure the frame/bulkheads are at their proper height before I fillet/tape them down.

Got lots of ponderin' to do so I don't make any mistakes or get stuff out of sequence that'll cause me problems later.

Standby....

There be stringers here

STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. © 2015

I couldn't wait. Just had to haul the stringers up and into the boat to see what they look like. Here's one going up on the electric winch.

First one, port side getting loaded into the boat

Technically they're now 'in the boat'

Still have a lot of work to do on them before I start bedding, filleting & tabbing them in.

Stringers roughly centered looking aft

Stringers looking forward

Yesterday was a repeat of the day before. I laid some tape along the bottom/keel join as extra precaution. I also had to lay in some glass at the very back of the box keel. Unfortunately I couldn't stay with the boat on bubble watch and sure as shit I got two bubbles. I'll be in there tomorrow with the grinder to get them out and patch them up. *sigh*

This was about as far as I thought I'd get this season. I'm happy with the progress even though it's dreadfully slow by most standards. I've got about 4 gallons of epoxy left and that should be enough to get the stringers bedded & filleted and maybe taped. I don't know.

Standby.....

Playing Catch Up

Yesterday I tinkered with the stringers. Radius'd the edges that'll have glass draped over them and sanded the rest.

Router makes quick work!

Yes the router makes quick work but it also makes a big mess!

Harumph!

So I got that nastiness out of the way and started thinking. That's not always a good thing so the wife tells me. *sigh* Anywho, I got to thinking of putting a layer of glass on the stringers before they go into the boat. Something like this.

Glass laid over stringer

It would certainly save me some back breaking work inside the boat on my hands and knees. One of the ole' Fella's on the forums suggested I move the saw horses and stringers inside the boat and do it there! Cool! I don't think I could have built this boat without the ole' Interweb forums! Thanks Crusty.

Today's mission was to finish up the fiberglass on the box keel. Been putting that off 'cause it's a sh*tty job. I always do that. Terrible work ethic.

Looking aft towards back end of box keel

Looking forward, tape gooped & peel plied!

Aft end finished

Forward end finished

This layer of tape over the bottom/keel joins is extra. The wide fabrics just weren't wide enough to provide an overlap on the side/bottom join and the bottom/keel join. It only took a half hour and about 3 pints of epoxy so what the heck. Little extra piece of mind. I'll do the other side tomorrow morning. It gets pretty messy if I try to do both sides at once. I need a place to sit my fat arse when laying on the goop! ;-)

Standby....

Transom Glass & Stringers

So I reluctantly hauled my butt out to the shed this morning to see the results of yesterday's glassing fiasco.

Peel Ply removed.

Didn't turn out too bad. There's a few spots that look dry but they're not. I'm guessing there's a sizing on the fabric or some kind of contamination that turns white with the epoxy.

Looks dry in some spots

A couple of minor bubbles but nothing serious that a sander can't fix!

Couple of minor bubbles

Still not 100% happy with it but it'll do. A couple coats of paint and no one will ever notice eh?

Spent the rest of the morning on the stringers. Glued up the second (stbd) side aft two sections.

Stbd stringer sections glued up

Both stringers side by side

Those stringer sections are now about 13' long, approx. 8" wide and 4 layers thick. I'm guestimating they weigh about 90 lbs each. Going to be a wrestling match to get them in the boat. Going to charge up the winch battery today!

In my haste last time working on the stringers I forgot to fix one end of the starboard stringer for splicing. Doh!

Mr. Router to the rescue

Took about 10 mins with the router to clear away the plywood on both sides of the stringer section. I bought a straight cut bit just for that job and it's pretty much toast now. I don't know if they can be sharpened or not.

Ready for splicing.

I won't fit the other sections of the stringers together until I get them in the boat. The section where the 39-1/8" splice is located is just about where the engine will go. I've got some work to do to figure out how I'm going to mount the engine and may have to modify the stringers.

Should be hoisting the two large sections of stringers into the boat tomorrow. Another milestone. :-)

Standby.......

It fought me

The beotch fought me every step of the way today.

The task was to epoxy the 12 oz on the transom then layer on the finishing fabric (12 oz plain weave). The 12 oz is bad enough to use with cut ends fraying etc. but it wets out nicely. That went Ok. Then I started with the 12 oz plain weave. What a PITA. This stuff is sh*t! Friggin' FleaBay cheap fiberglass. Never again! Not that all stuff I've bought off of eBay is bad but this particular batch was. I think I bought it for the cabin roof because it's 8' wide which is rare for fiberglass.

I managed to catch some of the struggles on the GoPro but the damn batteries keep dying. I think both my camera's are pooched. Likely from all the epoxy & fiberglass dust! Video tomorrow. Computer isn't cooperating today.

In the end I put on the peel ply and rolled that out. I don't think it'll help. I have a sneaky suspicion the next video will be a sanding video of me grinding all that crap off! *sigh*

Transom glassed & Peel Plied

So after that lil' fiasco I tinkered with the stringers again. Cut up some perfectly good mahogany plywood for the inserts & splices.

Assembling aft section of port side stringer

Oh the wonderful sting of mahogany splinters! :-(  I forgot how that felt. Little buggers!

Gluing the spice

Mixed up a little epoxy & wood flower for glue and stuck the two sections together with the 20" splices. That's over 60 lbs of lead compressing the stack. There's a few screws in there to keep it from sliding around. Once this sets up I'll add an extra layer of glass to each side.

Standby while I go have a Rum & Coke!

Little bites here and there

Took a day off to rest up my hands and get away from the cats & boat for awhile. The Admiral and I took our final car club cruise last night which was fun!

Taking a day off to rest the hands seems to be the ticket to getting stuff done. Gives me time to plan out a little better what it is I have to do next. This morning's venture into the boat shed started with some sanding.

Sanding the box keel

Trying to get through this most unpleasant of jobs as quickly as possible I pulled out the 8" High Speed Spinning Wheel of Pain and Suffering. Whipped down the keel in about 20 mins. It's messy though, tossing fiberglass and dust everywhere. My lil' fan buddy can't help when I'm using this tool!

Back end of keel and transom glass laid out

Once the sanding was done the whole boat was vacuumed & air broomed out prior to the areas being glass getting wiped down with solvent. I then laid out the glass. Had just enough 12 oz fabric (barely) to do the transom.

Bow section getting glass laid out

Next up was the bow section forward of the thruster tube. I didn't have any 12 oz left so I took a tour of the garden shed to see what I did have. There's still a ton of 33 oz triax left so I whacked off 8' of that. I split a 4' x 4' section into two triangles and that gives me the basic shape.

Both sides of bow glass laid up

This 33 oz fiberglass is heavy! That little section there will absorb over a half gallon of epoxy! It's massive overkill, almost 3 times what the designer specified. I don't think it's a waste of material though. If we ever hit anything head on this section is right at the waterline. With the carbon fiber on the outside and this extra fiberglass inside we should be safe. We almost hit a picnic table a few years ago in our old boat. I'm sure if we did hit it we'd have had major problems!

Gooped!

As well as being heavy the 33 oz fiberglass is ultra tough to wet out. You have to start wetting it out on the back side then give it time to soak through a bit then hang the glass up on the section to be fiberglassed. Even then there's about a half hour of continuous rolling & bubble squeegeeing to get it thoroughly soaked and stuck down.

Called it quits after that. I'll goop the other two sections tomorrow.

Our crusty ole' rusty IROC at the Friday Night Cruise In.

Standby...

Couple of half days

Spent the last two days (half day each) doing my favorite thing, sanding fiberglass! ;-) Yesterday I got a start on the transom and back end of the keel.

Prepping the transom for glass

It's ready

That took me till 'bout noon and I went inside to see what the Ole' Girl had in mind for lunch. 'Pizza' she replied! Wohoo! Anywho, an hour later and three pieces of home made Mummy Pizza down and I'm just screwed! No more sanding for me! Siesta time!

Luckily today wasn't a repeat of yesterday. I got into the shed about 9'ish (Ole' Mummy is on nights so she likes to sleep in) so I didn't wake the Admiral up. Got right to sanding the box keel from stern to stem. I want to put an extra layer of tape on the join between the bottom and sides of the box keel. When I laid out the fabrics for the bottom they aren't wide 'nuff to go over the bend.

We're makin' dust today!

I use the little 2" flappy disc sander to feather out the fabric edges. This lil' gem makes short work of it. I've sanded back away from the bottom/keel join to allow the stringers to get bedded down without having to do any more sanding.

That's a long way's away! ;-)

I'm sitting on the bow thruster tube to get that shot. Pretty cool! I've still got a bit of the bow section to sand and the bottom/sides of the box keel. That'll take me tomorrow to finish up I think. Saturday I should be putting in the last glass in the keel & bow.

Standby....

Port sides aft

Kind of a lazy start this morning. Didn't make it to the shed till after 09:00 and then did a wee bit of pondering. Wasn't exactly sure I would have enough of the 12 oz fiberglass to do the side.

Just 'nuff! Whew!

Made it! With about 5' left on the roll to spare! Whew! I knew it was going to be close.

Trimmed almost ready for goop!

Took about an hour and a half to lay it out, secure the top edge and trim it up. There was more ponderin' time in there as well! ;-) Dunno what I was ponderin' but I just was!

Extra tape along chine

The area along the chine gets fabric overlapped from the side and bottom panels. Because of the standard widths of the fabrics the overlap is sometimes only a couple of inches. The designer recommends 5" to 6" overlaps. To make up for the shortcomings in overlaps I laid in an extra piece of 8" 17 oz fabric tape. This should do it!

About half way, 3 qts of epoxy

Mixing quarts instead of pints seems to speed things up a bit. At least it's fewer trips to the sticky stuff machine!

1-1/2 hours and about 1-1/2 gallons of epoxy. Done!

Caption to the above photo pretty much sums it up! ;-)  Another big bite outta the whale!

So what's left? The bow section forward of the bow thruster tube, the very back end of the box keel and the transom. I'll spend a good portion of tomorrow prepping them for fiberglass and goop them on Thursday. I think I'm going to add an extra layer of the above mentioned tape along the keel to bottom join and if I have enough epoxy left over I'm going to put some of the off cuts of fiberglass in the bottom of the box keel.

Bubble watch for an hour or so then it's shower time! I smell really really bad! *lol*

Standby....

Port Side Forward Second Layer

After a bit of sanding the fabric edges from yesterday's glassification I wiped the forward section down and laid out the fabric.

Port Side Forward second layer

Mixing a quart of epoxy at a time I started rolling it out. This section is fussy fussy fussy because of the step in the hull where the bulwarks join the side. The fabric once wetted out just does not want to lay down and forms a bridge.

2 qts on moving towards the bow

After an hour and a bit it's wetted out. I'll be on bubble watch for the next few hours till the epoxy decides it wants to hold the stepped section down and not let go! PITA!

after about an hour and 20 minutes and 1 gallon of epoxy

So the burning question of the day is: Do I have 'nuff 12 oz fabric to finish the port side? Well, stay tuned, we'll find out shortly!  ;-)

Standby....

Port side bottom second layer

Done!

Day started out with a bit of sanding 'cause I played hookie from the boat shed yesterday and hung out with the ole' Lady and a couple friends. Then we all skipped over the bridge for Mexican food. :-)

Port side (left) all sanded & prepped

Went through my normal routine of sanding then blowing out the dust and wiping down the surface with a universal paint solvent. This gets rid of any oil or other contaminants that might be on the surface. Just for the record, for those that know what this is, this epoxy with the slow hardener does not blush (amine blush).

12 oz fiberglass laid out forward

and looking aft

20 mins & 2 qts

I seem to have developed a rhythm for working with this stuff. After just 20 minutes I had 2 qts of epoxy on and was well along the bottom panel.

1-1/2 hrs and 1-3/4 gallons of epoxy

Took a wee break midway for refreshments then got right back to it. The weather was perfect and the temp in the shed was only 18C.

Tomorrow we'll see if there's enough 12 oz glass left to do the sides. *fingers crossed* The roll is lookin' pretty small right about now! *shudder*

Standby.....

Keel port side second layer

Had to do a wee bit more sanding in the box keel this morning. That took an hour or so then started to lay up the 12 oz fabric for the keel.

12 oz fabric for keel

I had a roll end in the shed so I dragged that out. It had about 11' left on it. I think I'm getting low on 12 oz and don't know if I'll have enough to finish the bottom and sides.

Box keel port side looking forward

This 12 oz stuff I have isn't quite like the last batch. It falls apart without me even touching the stuff. The first batch that I used on the bottom on the outside of the hull was nice to work with.

F*ck!

This is what happens when you catch one tiny binding thread on your knee pads! All hell breaks loose and shit starts unraveling like crazy. The best thing to do in this case is snip off a many threads as you can then glue it down. Sand it away when it's cured up.

About 40 minutes in and half a gallon of epoxy

The 12 oz fabric doesn't have much 'dimensional stability' and will warp out of shape if you're not careful. I got it bunched up a couple of times but only had to cut one dart in it to get it back on track.

Box keel looking aft

About an hour and 30 minutes to do the whole port side & bottom of the keel. Just a wee bit over a gallon of epoxy. There's a section at the very back of the keel that I'll do tomorrow. It's way too much of a PITA to do when you're wallowing in wet epoxy.

I'll have to keep my eye on this for a little while to see if any bubbles pop up.

Standby.....