tomstock

Unfortunately I'm building outside so time is not my friend!! Nor is rain for that matter which has been the problem lately. Cold, Cold Rain. I've only had water in the boat twice, which isnt bad for working in florida and covering the boat with a single blue tarp. There was some discoloration of the wood but no major damage. Tom

Well, so much for finishing the seats in a day. If you havent done your seats yet, plan for TWO days. It's quite a bit of trial and error. I thought I only needed one sheet of 1/4" ply but it looks like I'll need at least two. Maybe even more. I was only able to get the seat fronts and divider installed, but didnt finish all of the stringers, tops, or backs. Looks like I'll probably paint before I screw down the seat tops. Tom

Hi, I've been neglecting my weekender lately and feel like I should continue work. There's an employment layoff comming soon, and although I feel like I shouldnt be spending time on the weekender right now, I also feel like I should at least do something with it otherwise it could end up one of my many unfinished projects. So.... I've decided I should install the seats this weekend. Now, I'm building outside and my boat is under a tarp. I've had a few problems lately with water getting into the boat, which makes me think I should get it painted inside asap. Buying a new tarp would probably solve this too since the water is comming in through small holes which have developed in the tarp over time. Should I paint before I install the seats? I'd like to paint after if it's possible. Like I said, I wanted to get the seats installed this weekend and I'm not sure if I'll have time for both. Painting I could do anytime after work during the week. If I can get the seats installed and get it painted, I can flip it over and work on the bottom which will also help with the water problem. Also, is there a fairly inexpensive high build primer I can buy somewhere like Home Depot ior Lowes? A specific brand would be helpful. Should I go with a latex or a polyuerethane? Thanks Tom

Wow despite the accident, thats a really neat picture I'm always amazed at how high a sailboat will float on it's rail. It looks like it's in 2 inches of water (is it? hah!)! Anyway glad there was no damage or wasn't just missing when you got there. Tom

I glued my hull sides in place, and then proceeded to cut the last of my rafters (the supports for cabin bulkhead) when my skillsaw self destructed. Brushed were gobbled up and the comm on the motor was destroyed. I'm sort of stuck at the moment until I dig up the cash for a new one. In the meantime I'm playing with bondo. I wish I had a belt sander too cause the little orbital sander just isn't cutting it. Tom

Not sure about the microballoons. The purple color comes from the hardener, which itself is sort of thick... like very thick grape jelly, and the resin itself is white with what looks like tiny chopped fragments of fiberglass. Yes it's the same source. I picked mine up on ebay and I'm very happy with it! I used 15oz for each side of the boat (30oz total). Cleaning was easy. I wiped everything with denatured alcohol. Tom

I used my Tiga 321 this weekend to glue the sides of the hull. I'm very happy with it. I mixed it 2 to 1 and even in direct sunlight in hot sunny Florida, I was able to get about two to three hours of pot life before it began to thicken slightly. It was thick enough to stay in place and it did a great job of filling small gaps here and there where the side didnt fit the stringer perfectly. I did the left side of the hull yesterday and checked it this morning. It was rock hard but still barely flexible... but not soft enough to remove even with a sharp knife (I tried). This stuff is incredibly strong. The only downside is that it's purple... but that's also a good thing since it makes it easier to spot drips, etc. Not bad, 3 gallons for $30. -tom

Why not thickened epoxy? Cost? Tom

Dont forget the foam only helps when you try to sink the boat Tom

Yesterday I managed to finally get the sides put on. I'm amazed at how much things stiffen up once these go into place. The sides are just "test fit" into place with 4 screws in each panel, and even with just this the boat suddenly feels solid (more than I imagined). I'm impressed with just how easy this part was... much easier than I had planned for. Unfortunately other setbacks tied up most of the day (I lost my angle keeper) and I ended up having to pack up before being able to glue the sides in place. This weekend I'm planning to glue and set them for good with the thickened epoxy. This should work out great for filling the small gaps here and there. I do have one question though about the panel joiner. I had some trouble getting this to fit perfectly. I'm sure this needs to be a watertight joint, but just how tight? Does the bottom of the joiner need to fit perfectly onto the lower stringer? I was thinking I could make up for any gaps with the thickened epoxy... but I figured I should ask first. I'll be glassing the outside of the hull. BTW: I posted the most recent pics in the gallery. -tom

She's not turtle so you're not doing too bad! hhehehe -tom

I know I almost knew better since I've used this stuff before. I read in the archives some messages about people using it but I guess I didnt see the follow-ups. It figures.

I decided to try using PL Premium polyurethane instead of 3M 5200, and wow what a mess. Now, dont get me wrong, this is one of the strongest adhesives I've ever used.. except that clean fillets are completely impossible. Once you get a nice fillet, the adhesive skins.. and then tries to offgas, so what you end up with is a fillet that looks like the back of a toad. Does 3M do this? If not, I'll spend the 10 bucks just to get rid of the ugly fillet. I guess I'll do a 5200 fillet over the crappy PL one. Thats what I get for trying to save 20 bucks. Tom

I have 3 gallons of thickened epoxy paste on the way for a keel fillet (I got a good deal on it). It's thickened with fiberglass rather than microballons. I was wondering if I could use this for gluing the hull sides to the stringers instead of weldwood? Thanks Tom

By the way, I'm looking at my cost list. The total cost of my stringers so far (and I just finished installing the cabin rafters) is $17 for Kimberly Pine. I wouldnt bother with anything except real wood for the stringers. Dont let an experiment over $17 worth of wood turn into a $2000 mistake when the glue bond fails after 2 months and the whole boat comes apart! Sure I know, worst case scenario but it could happen Save your money for hardwood trim and decent ply... stringers will be invisible anyway. Tom

Thanks guys. BTW they are just installed temporarily in that pic... I'll round (the bottom) and refinish them later... Tom

It's the most recent picture in the gallery... or' date=' here: [img']http://www.messing-about.com/photopost/data/500/261step6e.jpg[/img]