Moccasin 12

[slaterturf]

Now I have the boat turned around to tape and glue the other end.  The boat is growing longer than the small shop in which I am working. here is another closeup of the epoxy showing the fiberglass tape.

[John Burritt]

The purpose of the 1st coat of epoxy is to secure the tape to the wood, not completely fill the weave.  Flaws are when the tape isn't wet out and you end up w/ white tape showing, maybe w/ an air void underneath.  Too much epoxy is probably better than too little, but I didn't see any voids in you pictures.

[slaterturf]

Thanks John,  I hope to do the other end over my lunch hour today or else tonight after work.  I will increase the epoxy a little.

[lbrewer]

What you are pointing out as a flaw is really what you should be striving for on the first coat.  You are trying to get the glass to adhere to the wood.  Too much epoxy will allow the glass to "float" and the joint won't be as strong.  When taping a joint like you are doing, I usually precoat the wood, then wet out the tape on a piece of plastic.  I then squeegee  the excess epoxy before applying the tape to the joint.  You should be able to feel the texture of the glass after the cure.

Larry

[slaterturf]

I taped the joints on the other end last night.  Larry, thanks for the clarification on the mission of the glass, i.e. adhering to the wood.  I focused on that concept more on this second effort.  I won't see my results until Sunday as we will be traveling until then.  Now I am projecting my next steps... folding the bow and stern, tying the sides and bows together, taping the butt ends of the sides, installing the breasthooks, tracking the wood for the inwales and gunwales, envisioning filleting the chines, interior bow and stern, laying the doubler inside the bottom, painting the epoxy on the panels, and planning the paint for the boat.  Still fun.

[slaterturf]

I lifted off the weight this evening from the tape and epoxy.  Looks good.  What I called a flaw last time is more prevalent, so I guess that is good.  I can feel and see the texture of the tape.  Now I can stitch it up.  Fun.

[slaterturf]

I am ready to fold and tie the boat.  I have looked at several photos trying to determine how far apart to place the ties.  There seems to be some variability.  I have read the plans several times, but I have not found a reference in there as to how far apart to place the ties.  The plans do say to drill holes in the bottom to match the ones in the side, so I would have to drill the holes in the side first, then fold it up to identify the hole location on the bottom.  I have gleaned from the photos that came with the plans that on the bow the ties are about 3 to four inches apart.  In other photos I have found in the forum, the ties appear to be much closer along the bottom.

So, how far apart should the holes be drilled?  Can I expect to drill the holes all at once, or should I do this as I go along in some manner? 

Thanks.

[Designer]

There is no absolute tie spacing for the ties. A good average is to space them about 6" apart and in critical areas like up the stem you can drill another hole in between the other holes. The rule is that you only need enough ties to hold the shape for epoxying, if you have a gap between panels that needs drawing together put in another tie.

[slaterturf]

I folded and tied the canoe this evening.  It worked well.  I have the bow and stern completed.  The butt ends of the sides are pretty good.  I have some gaps in one end along the stem line.  A cut out on two sides at the chine show in one of the photos.  Here are some pictures.

[slaterturf]

Here are more photos.  The sponge worked well at the point where I have seen a block of wood screwed into the panel to keep the plywood from cracking from the stress of bending.  I believe the water softens the fibers enough to allow them to bend to the new shape of the canoe.  I simply took the kitchen sink sponge and cut two squares, soaked them in water and laid them on the plywood.  They did not slid so I did not hve to secure them.  That was good because I could not figure out a way to keep them in place.  It turns out they sort of stuck to the panel very easily.  

[cdunc]

Congrats.  Looks like a boat!

[slaterturf]

I have a big gap, a hole in my boat.  It is shown here.  What are my alternatives?  Do I cut a filler piece of plywood the shape of the hole and glue it into the hole.  Or should I tape the outside and then fill it in with thickened epoxy?  That seems like the best idea to my inexperienced thinking.  And one more question: is fillet, as in filleting the hole, pronounced as filleting a fish? or as "fill it", that is filling the hole?  I understand this to be the process of mixing thickener with epoxy to a spreadable paste and then using that to fill gaps and holes as needed.

[Bikermouse]

I'm no expert, but I believe it's pronounced with a hard "t", and the accent upon the first syllable.  Relates to the drafting/engineering term, like fillets and chamfers. 

Of course, the basic rule is, does to person to whom you're speaking know what you mean?  If your audience poronounces it one way, right or wrong, it's usually easier to just pronounce it the way they do.

[John Burritt]

The concave fillet (hard t) on the inside of a seam is more than a hole filler.  Its job also is to spread the load where the two panels come together and to form the base for the fiberglass tape on the inside of the seam.  The idea is to get a substantial amount of thickened epoxy on the inside of the joint - and look nice.

Where you have the gap where the two panels meet, I'd put a piece of duct tape on the outside of the gap - bowed to the desired shape of the joint.  Then cut a couple of pieces of plywood to fill the void.  Don't have to be an exact fit, but will give the inside fillet a better base.  Once the fillet has cured, remove the tape on the outside and fair the seam like everywhere else.

[slaterturf]

John,

This is the view of the sides butting to each other.  I was pleased that they came so close, however they do have a small gap.  Based upon your comments, I should fill in the gap with thickened epoxy.  This gap is not nearly as large as the one in the bow stem, but it is still a gap.  If I only tape and epoxy it, would it not be somewhat a weak joint? Or is it close enough that it would not matter. Thanks.

[slaterturf]

Here is a closeup of the butt ends of the sides coming together.  I was pleased that they came that close, especially since I ended up with a big hole in the stem line at the bow.  However, this gap is large enough to let in water also.  It seems to me that I should mix some thickened epoxy and fill the gap here.  It is the same on both sides of the boat. 

[ChrisObee]

John,

This is the view of the sides butting to each other.  I was pleased that they came so close, however they do have a small gap.  Based upon your comments, I should fill in the gap with thickened epoxy.  This gap is not nearly as large as the one in the bow stem, but it is still a gap.  If I only tape and epoxy it, would it not be somewhat a weak joint? Or is it close enough that it would not matter. Thanks.

[attachment=1]

You should fill ALL such gaps with thickened epoxy.  With gaps larger than 1/4" in width you should make a plug of plywood that will fill the gap and bed the patch piece in thickened epoxy.  The plywood is not nessarilly stonger than the thickened ply but is cheaper.  

Oh...  and a fillet is a fill-it not a fill-a.  slight stress on the first. 

[slaterturf]

Thanks Chris. That is a big help.

[John Burritt]

You need to at least spring the gunwales around the shear to pull the boat into shape before you glue the midship side joints.  Doing so should pull those seams together w/out having a gap.

[ChrisObee]

You need to at least spring the gunwales around the shear to pull the boat into shape before you glue the midship side joints.  Doing so should pull those seams together w/out having a gap.

My comment was general, this appears to be specific to the boat in progress.