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Spindrift 12 build log


Walt S.

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When I paint, I'm going to prime with Interlux Epoxy 2-part Primecoat. I'm going to finish with Interlux 2-Part LPU Perfection.  There are probably easier or better paints to use.  However, Interlux is found at most marine suppliers and there are videos on how to use it.  It seems that painting isn't fun no matter which paint you use. 

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I find painting to be a chore in general.  And all the coats of primer, and mixing LPU for my was a lot to do.  BUT - it was pretty awesome to see the boat with paint on it. That first time, even just the prime coat, the boat looks pretty good!

 

And to be just about done and ready to sail was pretty exciting.  So, in the end, because of what it meant, painting was actually pretty good.

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Making fair chines and other transitions is what separates the men from the boys in this business. It's the first thing I look at on home builts, and offers an idea of the skill sets of the builder. I use an inline sander and a "boogie board" (long board) to make fair chines, but it's more than what you hands see, than what your eyes do. With some practice, your hands will tell you a lot more about what a surface is doing, than you eyes. This is especially true along plywood edges, where colors and textures change every inch, making it difficult for your eyes to see what's really going on, but run your hand over the surface and all is revealed.

 

Most backyard builders can make a fair chine curve, meaning no humps or bumps, just a sweet curve from end to end. Where they usually fail is getting a uniform radius, along this length. I use a facet method, with an inline sander, but rather than rolling though the chine, I intentionally follow it at predetermined angles, along its length. I start with the top and bottom edges, making about a 10 - 12 degree pass, just easing off the edge, then a few more passes knocking the center down to 45 degrees and transitioning these into 22 degree flats on either side of the centerline. This places 4 or 5 flats along the chine, which are easily "rolled over" into a uniform radius. These flat areas will meander in thickness a little and this is one of the keys to why it works. The flats help me identify the areas to watch out, meaning I can easily have a low spot fool me into thinking I need to be more aggressive on either side of it, but if the facets have good looking edges, it's probably an optical illusion.

 

Simply, trust your tools, techniques and most importantly your hands, as you eyes, will lie to you, especially if you're tired or relatively new to this. When it does come time to fully radius the chine, I do use a foam block and roll from flat panel to flat panel, but this is usually only at the end of the process, with a special emphasis on maintaining a continuous radius along its length. 

 

 

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Walt S.-- You've got my vote for the Interlux paint family.  I find that their one-part Brightside paint is a pleasure to work with, and is tough as nails.  I haven't tried their two-part product, but I'll bet it is also good.  My boat is painted with Brightside on the interior.  For the exterior, I went to Epiphanes two-part poly.  I did this because I wanted the outside to be extra tough for trailering.  (Many might question my rationale, but there it is.)  I found this paint also to work well.  What I didn't like was the European can it came in.  I could not get a good seal on that can, once I opened it.  It made it impossible to save the leftovers for touch-up.  I began the painting process with System Three's WLPU; it was a disaster.   It did not level, it left brush marks, etc.  PAR also has bad things to say about this paint.  Your only recourse for thinning is to use water.  For me, that caused runs.  I painted over it with the Epiphanes.  All that said, if I could, I would have sprayed the exterior, rather than roll and tip.  But I do not have the equipment or the skill set for that.  In deference to Mr. Coyote, I love to paint.  I just don't like it when the results are disappointing (WLPU).

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My primary issues with the System Three WR-LPU's are you just can't spray them very well, without a climate controlled shop or if you happen to enjoy painting the rain (yeah, amazingly enough this stuff like high humidity). On small jobs I like to use a turbine sprayer, which is a little easier to clean out and I don't have to break out the pressure pot. A turbine unit will dry the paint before it hits the surface or very nearly so and it doesn't have enough time to self level. With the pressure pot I had some successes, but it still wasn't something I was comfortable with. I tried cooling the airflow line in a bucket of ice water, using a vaporizer to add humidity to a sealed painting area, etc., but though some improvements were seen, just too much bother just to apply a sort of water clean up paint, that isn't as tough as it's, slightly more costly, solvent based LPU cousins.

 

As I mentioned the single part polyurethanes are now very good and rival sprayed LPU's if well rolled and tipped. The true LPU's should be saved for those that know full well what a fair and smoothed surface looks and feels like. If not, you'll regret the much better reflections showing off in all the humps and dips in the prep work. My usual recommendation are the acrylics, alkyds and single part polyurethanes for backyard builders, because you'll get easy to repeat good results.

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The Spindrift 12 is a fine boat.  I almost chose that over my BRS15.  While I'm happy with my choice, the S12 will be more manageable for the boys in a capsize situation.  And it'll be fun sailing for you, too.  

 

Regarding epoxy clean-up, I have some information that I haven't shared with you all to date.  When we discussed this a few months ago, there were different schools of thought, but no input from an expert.  I wrote the Gougeon Brothers on the subject, specifically asking if white vinegar should be considered a solvent.  This is their response:  

While it is much better than a solvent, which will open your pores causing the epoxy to go into your skin, the best is a waterless hand cleaner like the orange citrus stuff.  Bruce Niederer, Senior Tech Advisor, Gougeon Brothers, Inc

Personally, I consider denatured alcohol to be a solvent.  OK, it's not as aggressive as acetone, but I think it is also a pore-opener. I use disposable gloves about 95% of the time, and long-sleeved shirts when I remember to.  When I don't, I wipe away the excess, and wash with vinegar water.  A friend of mine doesn't use gloves, gets epoxy all over his hands, and washes it all with vinegar and water, followed by soap and water-- not me!  Another friend uses alcohol for clean-up and attributes his neuropathy to extended epoxy use.  Gloves.  They're cheap and effective.  Use 'em!

 

Regarding cleaning up chip brushes-- seriously?  They're 50 cents apiece through Amazon (or probably at Harbor Freight).  Not worth the hassle, when I'm building a boat that's gonna cost me a whole lot more than $12.50 for 24 brushes.  Yeah, you could wash 'em out in acetone, but I consider that stuff to be Liquid Death, when I'm handling epoxy.  

 

Keep it safe, and don't sweat the small stuff!

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I did a lot of filleting and taping over the past couple of days and finally finished the cockpit.  For the tapes inside the cockpit, I added microballoons to the epoxy for the second coat (fill coat) on the tapes.  It seemed to help fill the weave but I still got runs.  Alan put cabosil in the epoxy for his fill coat which really seemed to prevent runs after he squeegeed it off.  Maybe I should've used plain cabosil.

https://youtu.be/3i7OUnkmGsc?t=8m33s

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While it is much better than a solvent, which will open your pores causing the epoxy to go into your skin, the best is a waterless hand cleaner like the orange citrus stuff.  Bruce Niederer, Senior Tech Advisor, Gougeon Brothers, Inc

Personally, I consider denatured alcohol to be a solvent.  OK, it's not as aggressive as acetone, but I think it is also a pore-opener. I use disposable gloves about 95% of the time, and long-sleeved shirts when I remember to.  When I don't, I wipe away the excess, and wash with vinegar water. 

 

solvent    2 :  that dissolves or can dissolve <solvent action of water>   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solvent

 

So even water is a solvent.  Just because something doesn't hurt you doesn't mean it isn't a solvent.  This being said, it is always wise to use the solvent that is the  least damaging to oneself and gets the job done.

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After several years of working with epoxy I developed an allergy to it, I I got some on my arms,no matter how I cleaned if off it would itch for many days, I always use gloves but it seems to always get on my arms, I found some Tyvek sleeves on the internet, ( about $20 for ten) They work very well and last a long time. 

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I think that Don is referring to me when he says "Another friend uses alcohol for clean-up and attributes his neuropathy to extended epoxy use." Actually, my neuropathy comes from all the years I professionally building and repairing fiberglass boats. These were not from epoxy, but from polyester. It was customary to clean up with acetone. I remember the days when laminators would  open the valve in the acetone drum and wash their hands under the flow. Then acetone got expensive, so we started washing our hands with the "three bucket" method. One bucket for tools, one for dirty hands, then to the last bucket for final hand wash. The styrene and M.E.K.P. in polyester lamination are all extremely dangerous, not only for the hands, but also to breathe the vapors. We never knew...

 

Now, I admit to not using gloves, but do keep my hands out of the resin for the most part. Old habits are hard to break---like gloves. Graham told me that alcohol was safe to clean up with. Now we learn that it is not. I use Orange hand cleaner for my hands now---mostly. I only do occasional epoxy projects these days. doc says that the damage is already done. Excuses, excuses.

 

But for the rest of you---do as I say, not as I did. Wear gloves. Clean with vinager and hand cleaner. Keep that nasty stuff offa-you-hands and body!

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I've concluded microballoons and epoxy on the fill coat filled just fine.  My problem was that I didn't use a squeegee which allowed runs.  When I glass the hull, I'm going to use a squeegee after I roll on each coat of epoxy.  It still won't look as good as Alan's glass job.  In general, I have a problem doing things as well as Alan ;)

 

I've settled on a single part Interlux Schooner varnish for the gunwales, spar, rudder, tiller, and centerboard.  Some of the comments on the product say that users had tried a two-part varnish first and had great difficulty using it, confirming Paul/PAR's point about single part finishes being better for the backyard builder. I will glass the rudder and centerboard then apply the varnish.  With the above-water wood parts, I won't epoxy and just use more varnish. I'm going to varnish a small section of the epoxied foils first before doing the whole foil so I don't have to scrape an entire foil if results are bad.

 

 

No gloves, Chick? :(

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Walt, old habits are hard to break. Besides, who makes a glove to fit "Stumpy"? I'm gonna try to do better.

 

I use Captain's varnish, but hear that Schooner is good. Ya hafta be careful because some varnishes won't dry properly over epoxy. Single part varnishes are much easier to touch up and re-coat. i tried the two part and hated it.

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I flipped the boat over and am radiusing the chines.  After putting in a shallow chamfer on the chines using long passes down the length of the chine with my low-angle block plane, marked off 3/8" on either side of the chine with a mortise gauge and some pencil marks.  I haven't needed a tilt router or anything else:

 

post-5751-0-68331200-1484949411_thumb.jpg

 

Here's a view from the transom:

post-5751-0-43529000-1484949442_thumb.jpg

 

I plan on rounding the stem over to accommodate a 1/2" UHMW keel strip as Alan showed in his video 17 or 18 of his Coresound build series. 

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