tkguppies Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Wanted the look of kevlar and really like how the FreeB turned out. Tracks great, is incredibly light weight, and is very stable. I worked on the boat off and on in spare time for about 7 months. An hour here, an hour there. I much prefer the skin on frame construction presented in Kudzu's book to the terrible epoxy and fiberglass mess that is stitch and glue. Anyways, to the photos... Glamour shot. Love the translucent skin. First paddle down the street from my house Someone's jealous The awkward joy of figuring out the best way to get in without getting wet Rash guards made from HDPE Bonus: turned my strongback into a simple storage cart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted December 4, 2016 Report Share Posted December 4, 2016 Tell everyone what fabric and finish you used. I am sure they want to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkguppies Posted December 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 Tell everyone what fabric and finish you used. I am sure they want to know. Material list: Frames, floorboards, and coaming are birch plywood Stringers are doug fir, vertical grain Artificial sinew tied together Fabric is your 8oz polyester Initial two coats with Cabot Spar Urethane (giving the yellow color) Final two to three coats with Minwax Helmsman Clear Spar Urethane (truly clear) Frames, stringers and floor boards coated with generous amount of tung oil Coaming painted with acrylic exterior Stitch holes filled lightly with Lexel clear silicone HDPE from cutting board used for keel guard Minicell closed cell foam block used for custom seat Foot braces from your site, SeaLect, IIRC Weight wise, I'll have to weight it officially, but I'd guess is about 30 lbs. It feels lighter then my stitch and glue which was 34 lbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Tiger Posted December 5, 2016 Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 I think Jeff wanted you to spill, because you got THE "skin boat look" with your finish. Beautiful. And, don't I know what great little boats they are. Peace, Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkguppies Posted December 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 One thing I didn't like was the blotchy areas along the stringers. Next time I will probably spar urethane the stringers, with one coat, after tung and before skinning. Hopefully that will prevent the stringers from soaking up the finish during skin coating. Its a nit and I like the overall look. Also I'd be curious to see a finish that used 100% Helmsman Clear on the white fabric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Tiger Posted December 5, 2016 Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 Well... I really DO kind of need to reskin my freeb... Peace, Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted December 5, 2016 Report Share Posted December 5, 2016 One thing I didn't like was the blotchy areas along the stringers. Next time I will probably spar urethane the stringers, with one coat, after tung and before skinning. I didn't really notice any blotchy issues, but then we are all our own worst critics. If it is a real issue consider this:Tung oil cures to a hard finish with enough coats. Probably take at least 3 or 4 with drying times between coats to get an impervious finish. I would either do that, or just use the urethane. There is no advantage to both, and you risk a bad bond of urethane to Tung oil if the Tung oil isn't really well cured first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAR Posted December 6, 2016 Report Share Posted December 6, 2016 How much does it weigh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hirilonde Posted December 7, 2016 Report Share Posted December 7, 2016 My FreeB 12 (there used to be a 14) weighs 24 lbs. complete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Tiger Posted December 7, 2016 Report Share Posted December 7, 2016 My freeb has blown away twice while sitting on the beach. Peace, Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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