Can't Make It Bend

[msueirro]

I'm finally getting my Spindrift 12 together. Or at least, I'm trying too. I've got the bottom and side panels cut, and the left and right sides glassed at the bow to make the "butterfly." But when I unfold the sides, I have a devil of a time closing the large gap along the keel. On my first attempt, the pieces of the bottom overlapped at teh sharp curve of the bow. Trying to get them to line up properly resulted in one of the glassed joints between side and bottom panels breaking.

The second try went better. I laced the curve at the bow up tight all the way around the curve and up the stem. I was able to get the boat laced all the way to the transom along the keel and along both sides. Really looked promising, but there was a two inch gap along the keel aft of the sharp turn of the bow. I tried to close that gap by tightening the ties, but it was like trying to mold steel. Really stressed hard! I thought that I could relieve some of the stress by removing the ties up the stem. That would allow the bow to open a bit, relieving the stress aft of the bend. It helped, but as I cut the third or fourth tie, the next two just popped. The stem was now gaping open. As I tried to pull the sides together to retie the stem, the same joint that broke before broke again. And as I screwed around seeing if I could still salvage it, the other joint broke as well!!!!!!

So, the two panels have been reglassed and are curing as I write this. Do you all have any advice that will permit me to bend this thing together?

Below are a couple of pictures, one of the bow from the front, another of the inside showing the gap along the keel I was trying to close.

[Larry Q]

I would recommend that you use 16 gauge steel wire (this is what Graham recommends, at least for my Belhaven). I also used zip ties for my first boat and had the same problem in areas of high stress. I switched over to wire and had no more problems.

Wire also lets you tweak the joint to make it fair. You will find that by adjusting the wires you can get the gap closed and get a fair curve.

Good Luck.

[Joe Nelson CS#35]

I agree, you need some wire. Also, the wood will take shape to the bending and you should be able to tighten it up more after a day or two. Have you ever put a piece of plywood up against the wall to have it warp? Then you lay it down and it still stays warped. Your hull is doing the same thing now. But it probably will take some wire...rebar type wire available at most hardware stores will work fine. Just dont fillet it in...tab around it with thickended epoxy. Pull out the wires and finish your fillet. Otherwise you might not get the wires out. You dont want to leave them in because they can wiggle out and compromise the hull. Ties can just be cut off without problems. Just twist the wires with pliers. Tighten each one a little at a time until you pull in the gaps.

[Designer]

I am amazed that you got the boat pulled together as well as you did with plastic tie wraps, they are okay on low stress areas. As others have suggested, switch to 16g tie wire, it is available at any home builders store and it is cheap. The wire is annealed so that it is soft and pliable.

Put all of the wires in a section loosly and then tighten them gradually one by one till you close the gap. If you have a section that still does not want to close, say three feet from the bow, let gravity work for you by putting a 2x4 under the boat at the gap, move the aft support as far aft as you can. You can add more ties in a high stress area.

After you close the gap, it is more important to create a fair keel line than to have a perfectly tight centerline. I usually slack off some wires if there a hollow in the keel line.

A common problem is a dish in the keel line just before the transom. This is caused by the aft tie not being tight enough creating a gap at the aft end. I like to put two wires through the same hole of the aft keel tie. I also make the aft tie as close to the transom as I can. Don't worry about putting more holes for ties in your boat, the holes will soon be covered.

[Kidd]

with my CS17 I reinforced the fiberglass butterfly connections with small pieces of plywood screwed over the fiberglass to relieve stress on that joint until the filleting is done. I know other people have done this. when the filleting is done remove the screws and fill the holes. I also used 16 gauge wire to tie the pieces together. Even with that some places were quite a chore to get together.

[msueirro]

Well, I could only find 17 guage steel wire at my Home Depot, but that worked well. As you can see from the pictures, I was able to pull the bow and keel line together just fine with the wire. I had already put some ties on the bow before I got the replies to this question, so I just left them in place. Belt and suspenders approach, doncha know.

So, I'm back in the game. Larry, Joe, Kidd and Graham, thanks for the advice. I do appreicate it.

Mike Sueirro