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Spindrift 11N build in Scotland


Aphers

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Friends :-).  I cradled my Amanda on a couple of lines from 2 ceiling hooks in my garage and rotated it in the "cradle" but your build room looks too nice for this method.  Build is looking good. Alan has some great taping tips this B&B site.  I've been using "Quick Fair" on taped seams and coming out ok for a impatient amateur. Where in Scotland?  We spent 3.5 yrs at Edzell Base, near Brechin with a U.S. Navy operation '76-'79.  Best tour in 20 years of travels. Great Folks. Have a safe fun build! RickZ

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Aphers, I’ve tackled this problem three different ways.  It is too late for you to try my latest method, which I like best of all.  It requires a different type of tape, and must be done at the time you apply the tape.  If you’re curious, you can see this method at the following location.  It is the latest entry on this thread:


The brainless way is to intensely sand the edges with a random orbital sander and ca. 150 grit.  This is what Chick Ludwig does, and his work is stunning.   I’ve done this on my Devlin Duckling 14, which can also be found on the main forum.  It works very well, but is tedious.

 

I have also used fairing compound, such as Ricknriver mentioned.  I have used Quick Fair (System 3), Total Fair (Jamestown Distributors), and glass microballoons.  All work fine.  Don’t be tempted to use wood flour or fumed silica alone.  The former leaves a rough finish, and the latter is the most difficult to sand of all options.  A mix of the two would be a good compromise, but microballoons are much easier to sand. WEST also has a product made for this purpose, but I din’t know the number they’ve assigned to it.

 

 

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I do have some West filler, brown and easy to sand- I think it might be micro balloons but I'll need to dig it out.

Brainless sanding is OK with me, but the easier it is, the better. I'm not brave (or daft?) enough to go for a bright finish anywhere except a few highlights like the knees so filler might be the way to go.

 

The tape I'm using seems to have one edge with a rougher/thicker finish. I guess it's where the fabric is hemmed or something like that (might not be using the correct term). Anyway it leads to an uglier edge.I am tempted to try cutting it off, laborious though that will be for long sections, it will probably be easier than sanding it off later.

 

 

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The selvedge is there to stop the tape unravelling so cutting it off might end up being a problem. I find a tungsten scraper while the epoxy is still a little green removes it quite well. A quilting cutting wheel also does a good job. You roll the cutter along the edge of the tape just far enough in from the edge to remove the selvedge. You have to time it well, while the epoxy is wet enough to let the edge go but sticky enough to hold the rest of the tape down.

 

Cheers

Peter HK

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Selvedge- I've learned a new word, thank you.

 

I've turned the boat upside down now and should be all set for taping tomorrow. However I've noticed that the line of the keel has a slight dip in it. Perhaps I was a bit too enthusiastic getting the nesting bulkhead into place; this is where the keel is slightly higher than looks right.

I was going to make up some micro balloons to fill the gap, but then I thought perhaps it's best just to get on with taping, and then fill on top of that to fair it to the right shape? There's only about 4mm needing brought up to level, but it does catch the eye.

 

One other question on the exterior taping- should I be trying to minimise overlaps, so as to reduce the amount of fairing and sanding required? Or does it not really matter? In particular I'm thinking of the corners of the transom, and the two patches neat the bow on the chine where there are already short lengths of tape from the unfolding stage.

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Aphers-  one selvedge edge has a thicker thread in it than the other side.  Be sure to identify this edge, and make sure that it os outboard on both laps.  If you trap that high selvedge underneath the second piece of tape, You’ll get a huge, long air bubble under the second piece of tape.  Alan covers this very well in one of the Core Sound 15 videos on YouTube.  You are watching those, right?  They are full of boatbuilding wisdom.

 

Beware of using any old WEST filler.  Look it up first.  For fairing, you should use WEST 410.

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@Peter HK— I make my own tapes now, unravelling about three strands per side.  It is not a problem, if you take care in handling it.  But I don’t start with tape, I use fiberglass cloth. I presoak it with epoxy.  If you apply Peel Ply over this, you get an outstanding finish.  I am using this process on an Annapolis Wherry I’m building on the main forum (“Don Builds a Kit!”).905FDBA6-6E28-4CD8-87A9-21B57B82D2A6.thumb.jpeg.a3f1584581303fee52e7fcba0d70dee5.jpeg

This is the tape, presoaking.

 

1FA6F3F1-BAD2-43B3-88FD-84182C557C38.thumb.jpeg.75ab977f4e715242d24d8d034a8c6205.jpeg

I’m applying a piece here.  Zoom in, and see the fuzzy edge.

 

49F1290D-9F08-4D99-88E4-CD5EDA96A6A6.thumb.jpeg.587818b800a31c5ce30f08a79adc301e.jpeg

This is what it looks like in place.  If you were to give this another coat of epoxy, and sand. It comes out very nice. It requires half the sanding of tape.

 

7921B415-9698-4462-90B5-B3B53858D826.thumb.jpeg.030beac30c0a9a746a2893b6b86e61be.jpeg

But I apply strips of peel ply, and pat it down to ensure the epoxy saturates the Peel Ply.

 

244827C3-5CE5-4CF0-A0FF-10FE966A831A.thumb.jpeg.b49f9d22dd438396d97c47cf7f8adac4.jpeg

When you pull away the Peel Ply, this is what you get.  Note that I have not yet picked up my sander!  Yes, there is a strip of fuzzy-edged fiberglass in there.

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Thanks for the tips on taping. I have watched the Core Sound 15 videos but it was right at the start of the project. I think more of the information would stick now that I'm so far into it, so it must be time to watch them again.

 

Anyway, a major milestone today- sawed the boat in half. I felt a lot more nervous about it than I expected! I can now take one half at a time outside to do sanding and other messy work, which lets me get on with a much needed tidy up of the workshop.

 

 

s11n with saw.jpg

s11n here we go!.jpg

s11n did you mean to do that daddy.jpg

s11n it fits.jpg

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I sawed the boat in half prior to building the aft seats, just to make sure everything would fit. The seat panels did need trimmed down a little so maybe just as well. Of course the test fit was done without the keel in place which would have given a little extra clearance.

 

Today's job was fitting the keel. I didn't see any specific length given, so I just carried it as far forward as I was able to bend the wood. When I come to cut it in half tomorrow I was wondering about putting a slight angle on the cut, to reduce the chance of catching a fishing line etc.

 

Has anybody thought about adding little bilge strakes, by the way? Might save some wear and tear on the chines?

 

Oh one other question- when I fit the seat tops, I am correct to think that these just get glued in place, not glassed as well?

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So, I appear to have run out of glass tape, there will be a slight delay as I wait on another roll arriving. Does this mean I've been glassing places that I should not have??

 

When I installed the keel, I used stainless screws every 6". But to be honest I think it looks pretty nasty and I would like to hide them. Covering over with thickened epoxy and a layer of tape would do, but it's all extra weight. Maybe I should just remove the screws and fill the holes?

The keel is faired to the hull with fillets, I was wondering about glassing over these as a precaution before removing the screws. I understand there's not a lot of point in glassing the underside of the keel itself, better just to add a keel band.

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That's the outside faired and first epoxy coat applied.

I said all along that as a utility tender this boat would not have to be pretty, and I wouldn't spend a lot of time on cosmetic things like fairing.

So why have I spend the last week doing just that :D

I suppose I'm this far in and I can't stomach the idea of seeing all the taped seams through the paint. I guess I have a bit of pride after all!

I've decided to go with a 2-pack polyurethane paint finish, in the scheme of things the extra cost is minimal and it would be daft not to take advantage of having the boat in a dry, warm, environment for the job.

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Question: second coat of epoxy is on, and there are some runs/curtains.

Do I crack on with the third coat within the overcoating window, and then sort everything out afterwards?

Or should I stop coating, wait for full cure, flatten everything off and key,then do final epoxy coat?

 

Obviously I'm inclined towards the first option! Thinking that everything will need flattened back ready for sanding anyway.

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Fairing, sanding, and coating does seem to take an eternity! But I am getting there.

 

I made the decision to add bilge strakes, which are not on the plans. I think that these will provide some extra protection to the hull, as well as stiffness. I am going to be adding lifting eyes and will through-bolt them into the strakes.

It's harder than you think to mark a line that is parallel to the keel- not quite as simple as just measuring a set distance down the hull, because of the rocker. I opted to just have the strakes on the stern section. Each piece of ash, after planing to shape, weighed about 350g, so they will be adding less than 1kg to the finished weight.

 

s11n strakes.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Quick question: I'm about to put the centreboard casing together for final assembly. Is it worth painting the inside first? It's been glassed and a good coat of epoxy over the top.

I quite fancy painting it as I'll never really get another chance, and it will give me a good opportunity to see how the two-pack paint handles.

The downside is that it will delay everything by a couple of days, and the time I have left in my workshop is limited.

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I don't think there is any advantage to painting inside the centerboard case. However there is some advantage to practicing with the two part polyurethane. You refer to it as 2-pack polyurethane. If we are talking about the same product that is an aliphatic polyurethane paint a two component paint where the resin and a curing agent are mixed together and the paint must be used soon thereafter. This is arguably the best marine paint but the fumes released when using the paint are not to be trifled with. I would not recommend using this paint indoors. You are suppose to have supplied fresh air via a hose and mask. No mask or respirator will block the fumes. Many people including myself have used an Aliphatic polyurethane without the proper protective equipment. Outdoors with a gentle breeze and or fan helps.

The application is a little fussier than with conventional paints. It helps to have the proper solvents to adjust the viscosity and drying time. Also the solvent will melt some foam brushes and rollers. All that being said I think it is my first choice for a marine paint.

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@Aphers—. I can’t believe that we’re not answering your questions!  Let me give you my opinions, at least.  You’re cracking right along, making great progress, by the way.

 

Your breasthooks look great.  We all make mistakes on our builds.  How we handle them is what determines our skill level.

 

I’d cover the keel screws with epoxy and not bother with tape.  Fiberglass is used to add strength.  It would not do much in this application.

 

Two-part polyurethane is the way to go.  I used one-part on my Two Paw, and I regret it.  A lot of abrasion occurs between the nested parts.  The extra hardness of the two-part product is helpful.

 

On Facebook, I saw a photo of a dinghy on which the taped seams were not faired well.  E248ADA3-FBF4-4C50-A2B6-932ADB18CF37.jpeg.e3c284d255efe56d74272138ba27ef0a.jpeg The builder painted it, and it was ugly.  He redid it.  Kudos to you for taking the extra time to fair them.


“Curtains” (we call them “runs”) in the epoxy can be sanded out locally with 120 grit.  I wouldn’t re-coat the whole hull.  If you sand down through all your precious epoxy, and see bare wood, I would touch up the surrounding area, and feather it in, when you sand for the paint or varnish.

 

I do not paint my daggerboard 

/centerboard wells, except for the first inch or so.  
 

I’m certain that since I’ve given my opinions on your questions, you’ll get a barrage of other opinions.  That’s a good thing.


Keep up the good work!

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That's good to know about not needing to paint inside the casing. I have a very good layer of epoxy on there, two coats on top of the filled out weave of the cloth. One downside of painting it would be that I couldn't add any sort of fillets inside without the epoxy going on top of the painted area. I was given a tip to form fillets inside the casing by using a dowel to smooth down the epoxy, sounds a little fiddly but perhaps worthwhile.

 

The paint I'm using is this stuff: https://www.smlmarinepaints.co.uk/topcoats/lustre/LustreGlossPolyurethane

I'll have a good read through the datasheets etc. My workshop is easy to ventilate (windows on both sides, and it's currently blowing 45kt here) but I'd be worried about any odours becoming impregnated into the building. Once the boat is finished I need to turn it back in to a house!

 

I've been fairing the inside as well, just because it seems a shame not to. I'm not aiming for perfection but I figure that a smoother surface will be easier to keep clean, and sharp edges and corners are where the paint is going to get chipped and abraded.

 

s11n inside faired.jpg

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