John Burritt

How about replacing the stern thwart w/ one further forward where you want the support? I doubt the boat would know the difference. Understand your paddle preferance.

The boat looks good. Congrats! You've got 2 thwarts already. Is the aft one too far back that you couldn't put a pad against it for paddling? Have you considered building one of Graham's double ended paddles? Might help keep balance.

Yes, from personal experience, hydrotek is alot stiffer than okoumi - and a bunch heavier.

Those 3 support points & well cut bottom panels should define the hull shape for you & support the construction. Intermediate supports w/out matching inside frames can/will cause undulations in the bottom of the boat. Former threads (may be for CS 17s) have shown pictures of various creative ways for getting to the center seam & installing the keel batten w/out distorting the bottom.

If your epoxy cured hard, your mixing ratios are correct. If it stays tacky & soft, the ratios aren't right. The greasy feel is the amine blush on the cured epoxy. Water will remove it. Check the mixing ratios for the West Systems epoxy - probably different from what you've been using. By the way, almost all epoxies blush to some degree when they cure. If its really hot when you are doing your glassing, mix the epoxy in small batches & pour it out of the cup as soon as possible. Heat will build up much quicker in the cup than on the surface.

Sounds like the sandpaper is gumming up w/ "amine blush." This can be a by-product of the epoxy curing. Simple to remove from the cured surface by washing it w/ a liberal amount of water and maybe just a wee bit of detergent. Scrub - turning/changing cloths frequently, rinse & dry. If it still feels greasy, wash it again. Water will bead on the surface before you scrub it; not after, if its well cleaned. Now sandpaper will last a lot longer w/out gumming up.

Here's an alternative idea for "stitching & gluing" the inside seams. Once the seams are properly stitched - tied into proper shape w/ the wire ties, place a small fillet - small enough that you can do final filleting & taping over it w/out it being ugly - between each wire tie. Once the small fillets have cured, you can cut out the ties. The boat will stay together unless you do something really brutal to it. Sand the small fillets a bit and then do your final filleting & taping. Fillet w/ well thickened epoxy; lightly wet the resulting surface w/ unthickened epoxy; lay in the fiberglass tape (prior posts debate wetting it before or after its laid in place); re-wet the tape w/ enough unthickened epoxy to be sure its saturated, but not so much that it causes the glass to float off the fillet. Once you've cleaned up the edges of the cured taped seam, apply sufficient coats of epoxy to fill the weave and saturate the wood.

Looking good Phil. Keep up the good work.

I've used a Milwaukee 1/2 sheet sander. Not quite as good as a long board, but easier. Don't run the risk of making depressions like you can w/ an r/o.

Glad you're OK. Stay safe. Looks like a real mess south & east of you.

Another example of "there's no such thing as too many clamps."

If you haven't looked at the BH19 info on Graham's web site, you might find it informative.

Same problem. I'll try to notify Graham.

The patches look good. Now fair and tape the outside of the chine. If you've glassed both sides of the midship joint, it should be fine. A butt block on the inside is just an alternative to glassing the joint. Move "washing off the amine blush" up on the do list. If you do this prior to any epoxy sanding, it will minimize clogged sandpaper. Choosing a paint to use is a dilemma. Its a balance between the finish you want, cost, aerosol safety concerns (read the warnings on the cans) and how hard you want to work. An epoxy primer probably is a constant in the process - something to bridge between the epoxy coating and the paint you choose. Try to do your fairing & sanding before you start priming. Its amazing what shows up w/ the first coat of primer.

You mean you'd let a little thing like that interfere w/ building your boat? JUST KIDDING!!! Congratulations! This will complicate your building plans because now you'll have to decide what boat she'll need and just how soon.

You're on the right track filling the void(s) w/ plywood and lots of thickened epoxy. You may find some more along the doubler when you round over the outside of the chine before you tape it.

I can't tell from the pictures - have you taped part of the mid-ship seams already? If so, finish it to the bottom of the joint, and also tape the outside of the joint. Alternatively, using a butt block on the inside eliminates the need to tape the outside, thus making fairing easier. A good rule for the width of a butt block is 8 times the thickness of the plywood ON EACH SIDE of the joint. (4 mm * 16 = 64 mm total width).

Looking good. Now would be a good time to glue butt blocks on the inside of the midship joints.

Do the plans call for 26.5" width at the center AND ALSO at the stringer locations? Doesn't sound right. Would make for a straight-sided center section - which it isn't. I'll check w/ Graham tonight. Looking at your pictures, the shape looks pretty good.

What experience has anyone had with Epifanes' 1-part monourethane paint?

Peter - it could be worse. Greenville, Maine is forecasting a low of -10 deg. F. w/ a wind chill of -30 tonight.

When all else fails, send Graham an email w/ your questions.

I don't think its necessary to relieve the pressure. Venting would most likely increase the condensation problem. If the compartments are sealed, there's no way for new moisture to get in. Vented, fresh (read moist) air would be drawn in every time the compartment heated and then cooled. I'd think about some kind of a sealable opening thru which you could check periodically that water wasn't getting in from somewhere else. The advantage of the hatches is that they give you somewhere to store things.

ALL the fillet on the inside needs to be taped. You need the strength of the tape strands running across the joint to spread the loads on the seam. Saw some Opti prams awhile back where the inside seams weren't taped - just filleted. The seams were failing rapidly, having to be repaired & taped. If you add more fillet, sand the original well to get a good bond. Then tape over the new fillet while its still wet to get a good bond there. Painting outside is a good idea. The trick is to minimize the "bug per sq. ft." quotient.

The boat is looking good! A question: Have you taped the inside of the seams after you filleted them? If not, any of a variety of curved/rounded rasps or sanding devices can be used to smooth out the bumps. If the seams are already taped, you may just have to live with the bumps. Don't forget to fair the edges of the tape both inside and out w/ epoxy thickened w/ something like microballoons so they aren't as noticable when finished. At least 2 - 3 coats of epoxy overall sanded smooth should give you the surface you want for painting. Typically, you need an epoxy primer as the barrier coat between the epoxy sealer and the finish paint. Which one depends on the paint you choose. Do some research on line re: the different types of paint - from old fashioned boat paint up to 2-part polyurethanes w/ a bunch in between. Here its a matter of taste along w/ how durable and how "yacht-like" you want the boat to be. (I did one w/ fire hydrant paint <"industrial red"> because that's the color the owner wanted. Saw the boat several years later after it had been seriously neglected <owner died> and the paint still looked fine.) Lot's of choices; do your research; follow the directions. Do whatever you can to minimize your exposure to paint vapors. Some just smell bad, but some of the really dangerous ones, like isocyanates in 2-part poly's, are odorless. Keep up the good work.