7 1/2 hours to do 4 hours work

but that's Ok! It was nice having company in the shed today. My buddy Jim (Sticky Fingers) Campbell came over to help out with the epoxy job.

Jimmy's the curious type of guy who's gotta see if sticky epoxy is still sticky! :-) That's Ok too! I'm sure we've all stuck our fingers in places we shouldn't! The day's task was to wet out the fabric I hung yesterday. I figured it'd take two of us about 4 or 5 hours.

Another cinematographic feast for your eyes! Go get two toothpics to hold your eyes open for this one!

I started an hour before Jimmy got there and was 3/4's of the way down the first side when he showed up. After a ritual offering of tobacco to The Great Peacemaker we got down to business. We finished both sides by lunch time and took a break. During that time the roller sleeve permanently glued itself to the roller frame so that got tossed. Another hour and we had the transom done completely encircling the boat wrapping it all up by 14:00 hrs! It was a good day. Results tomorrow. Standby....

Mission Sandinsanity Continues

This mornings task was to continue the sanding from where I left off yesterday. The 12 oz fiberglass leaves a pretty prominent and hard edge that has to be sanded smooth for a couple of reasons. First is to prevent voids appearing when the new glass bridges over the edge of the older glass and second is to prevent tearing up the new glass on sharp 'fiber fangs' that stick up everywhere. Besides catching the glass and pulling it apart the 'fiber fangs' will draw blood at every chance they get!

It took me almost 3 hrs to work my way down the port side form where I left off. It was tough slogging again but I stuck to it and got it done. Here I am just a little over half way down the side. You get a sense of how big this pig is!

I tried my hand at making another boat shed video. It's all about Sandinsanity and should illustrate exactly what I meant when I made up that word!  ;-) Don't worry, it's not 3 hrs long! I condensed it into 7 1/2 minutes!

Once the sandinsanity had ended I took a lil' lunch break and then hung the 12 oz 0/90 fiberglass on the sides.

It took one whole roll, 25 yards, to completely encircle the boat sides! :-) I forgot to weigh it but it'll likely take 4 gallons of epoxy to completely wet it out. I'll be out trying to rally some troops to help out with that lil' task tomorrow. Standby.....

My Get UP and GO.....

Got Up and Went!  ;-)

Four hours of sanding and I couldn't do it anymore. This new epoxy is hard as rock in 48 hrs. That's the hardest stuff I've had to sand so far! I guess that's a good thing though.

The plan was to feather the fabric edges from the bottom to the sides so I could hang the glass for the sides. I only got one side and the transom done today before I ran out of gas. I tried almost every sander in my inventory and the one that worked best was the little 1/4 sheet Random Orbital sander. The others I had to lean on to the point my carpal tunnel kicked up and my hands went numb.  :-(

The SandInsanity will continue again tomorrow. Standby.

Results are in and...........

it looks like my work yesterday turned out Ok!

There are a few spots where I could have squeegeed a bit more but they were hard to reach from the step ladder. As it was I managed to epoxy glue my t-shirt to my belly hairs! ;-) 

It looks like all of the weave has filled in nicely with only a very few dry spots near the end when I was running out of gas!

Extreme close up of the weave. Looks good. I'm happy with the results.

The downside is I spent half the night up in agony. I think the energy drinks were masking the fact I was pushing it a little too much. Major leg & shoulder pain enough to wake me up in the middle of the night. :-( 

It was cool last night and the epoxy is still a little soft so I won't sand it today. Likely tomorrow then prep the keel for it's last layer of structural fiberglass. Once the keel is done it'll be onto the sides. I'm hoping for as good or a better result on the sides. That's the part you'll see the most.

One small step closer to flipping this pig over! Standby.....

Another marathon session

with epoxy & fiberglass. 8 Hours, 3 1/2 gallons of epoxy, 24 yds of 12 oz 0/90 biaxial fiberglass, two roller sleeves, 6 pairs of nitril gloves and a few energy drinks!

I laid out the fiberglass yesterday but knew I'd need more time than I had left to get it done so I put it off till today. Had a helper lined up but he didn't show so I had to go ahead on my own.

Just a cool close up! You can see the orientation of the fiberglass.

I started from the bow and worked my way back. Using the step ladder instead of going up on top. Switching from side to side to keep two fronts as I worked my way aft. It's pretty easy to keep the fiberglass oriented properly as you go. I took my time and worked at a steady pace, rolling and squeegeeing as I went. Moving the step ladder from one side to the other was a PITA! ;-)

I'll cut out the bow thruster holes later. The final layer will get laid into the thruster tunnel and there's some work that needs to be done before I can do that. There's still two more layers to go on the keel, one on the bottom and two on the sides. I think I'll jump to the keel next followed by the sides. The final layer is only 10 oz satin weave fiberglass and that's the layer that needs the most care & attention.

The Project Manager was in barking orders. I think he was sayin' somethin' about 'Hurry The Hell Up and Get It Done!" or something to that affect.

Tomorrow more sanding, if it's cured hard, kinda cool and raining out. Likely lay out the last structural layer for the keel.

I epoxied my t-shirt to my belly and had to use Lori's white vinegar to get it off. If she wants french fries she'll have to go out to the shed to get her vinegar! :-) I really need a shower I smell like french fries and it's making me hungry! *lol*

Standby.....