CS 17 FG Tape Question

[JPower210]

Hi all- I am putting in seat sides now and am curious what folks have done for taping. It looks like the plans call for one layer of tape on each side of the seat side to the bottom. This seems like it would make it hard to smooth out the cockpit before painting. What have folks done? Thanks.

[Alan Stewart]

Typically there are a few steps to achieve smoothness as you say depending on how perfectly like a molded boat you want it to look. Most builders and even Graham don't mind seeing the edge of the tape in the cockpit provided there are no sharp edges or pinholes in the final paint surface. Scraping the edges of the tape with a scraper or sanding them down (feathering them) a bit is the first step after glassing. A fill coat of epoxy over the tape is about as far as most go. Maybe a few pinholes to fill then paint. If you want the edges of the tape to dissappear you'll need to pull a little putty (microspheres and epoxy) around the edges with a putty knife to blend it into the plywood surface. Also don't forget that if you use a nonskid in the paint on the sole, that will just about mask any and all small imperfections in the glassing on the sole.

[Chick Ludwig]

I have a dual action orbital sander that I use to feather the tape edges. You can use the attached dust bag or attach it to your shop vac. It gets a lot of hard use and I've used in on several boats for feathering plus most other sanding jobs. I love it! http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=117946-70-D26453K&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=1005793&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofol

[PAR]

Fairing sheathing seams is a pain in the butt, but a mandatory thing, if you want a seamless, production boat look. A smear of filler along the seams will help greatly, which can be done during the weave filling session.

 

I'd recommend the Porter Cable orbital, if looking for an orbital. (> http://www.lowes.com/pd_241413-70-382_1z13y07Z1z0wcl4__?productId=3275809&pl=1<). It works as well as the Dewalt, will last longer and has a smaller foot print, so you can get into tighter places and considerably cheaper too. You must realize, a Dewalt is Black and Decker and no longer the tools they once were known to be. A better choice would be a RO (Random Orbit) and Bosch makes a good one for not a lot of money (still cheaper than the Dewalt) (> http://www.lowes.com/pd_410445-353-ROS10___?productId=3764681&pl=1&Ntt=ros+sander<)

[Dnjost]

I went through 1 Craftsman Random Orbit sander and am on my second one now.  Figure one boat per Craftsman at this rate.  It pays in the long haul to get good tools.  

[PAR]

I'm pretty sure the Craftsman is actually a Dewalt and has consistently ranked as one of the poorest quality ROS among the bunch, though one sander per boat isn't a big price to pay.

[Paul356]

My two cents (should tell how cheap I can be some times):  I bought a Master Mechanic RO Sander, which is the house brand at True Value Hardware.  It was $30.  So far so good, including on vaccuuming when I want it.  I figure for $30 I can buy two or three or more of these for the price of one of the others, if needed.  But so far, this one keeps plugging away. 

[Chick Ludwig]

Guess I'm lucky. I've used my DeWalt extensively on 3 boats and various other projects. Still works like new. I did replace the "hook and loop" pad, but that is to be expected.

[Hirilonde]

I ordered my 3rd pad for my Porter Cable RO sander during my Lapwing build.  It is over 20 years old and still running.  I bought a second one (sander) to tide me over, it cost me a whopping $50 or so.