Bottom Sanded Smooth

Early this morning (about 5:00 AM), I put on two more layers of epoxy to fill the fiberglass weave. This had time to cure while I was at work today with the extremely hot temperatures Wichita has been experiencing.

Tonight, I cut the edges of the fiberglass off and sanded the sides smooth. I also sanded down the entire fiberglassed area with 40 grit sandpaper disc on my electric 5" disc sander. You can tell it has been sanded enough with there is no shine left on the epoxy (cloudy appearance), as well as taking down any rough spots. You can also see where the two pieces of fiberglass came together, which is now sanded down to be as smooth as possible. I believe some of that area will be under the keel when finished. By the time it is complete there will be a few more layers of epoxy on all surfaces.

Next will be to attach this bottom to the keel.

3 hours

Bottom Fiberglassed

Tonight, I put on a layer of fiberglass and epoxy on the entire bottom of the boat. I will need to get up about 2:30 in the morning to add another layer of epoxy, and then another about 6:30 AM. As you can see in the first photo, there are two pieces of 6 oz plain weave fiberglass used. I wanted to use a 60" wide piece, but forgot to order it when I ordered the rest of the fiberglass. I looked here in town at lunch today, but nobody had 60" available. Not many companies in Wichita carry fiberglass cloth I have found out.

3 1/2 hours.

Bottom Scarfs Faired Second Time

Yesterday, I put on another layer of epoxy/wood flour/colloidal silica mixture to the scarfs and let that cure. Today, I sanded them down smooth, ready for fiberglassing the bottom.

I also cut out the back bottom of the boat to shape.

I was going to fiberglass the bottom tonight, but once I get started, it will take about three hours to get it down right and full of epoxy. It will take at least three, and maybe four, layers of epoxy to get it sealed good. I hope to do that tomorrow.

I also looked at the transom, getting ready to shape it before matching it up with the bottom, and found it really warped. I may have to build another one, as this will be really noticable if I installed it this way. I am not sure why this happened, as it was not warped when I removed it from the jig after it cured.

2 hours

Bottom of the Bottom Now Faired

Today, I turned over the bottom to work on the bottom side, fairing it with the epoxy/colloidal silica/wood flour mixture. It is now curing. It will probably take another layer to make it where I want it. I will then make sure it is nice and smooth and fiberglass it.

There were also several checks in the plywood that were filled in with the mixture.

2 hours

Bottom of Boat Cut Out and Scarfed Areas Faired

Today, I cut out the bottom to the rough shape on the side and the front. I didn't cut out the stern area of the boat yet, because I have to figure out the best way to install the doublers that will go on the planing surfaces.

If you look close at the second photo, you can see the two scarfed areas that were glued together. It almost looks like one piece until you look closer.

I also faired the top side of the bottom scarfed areas with a mixture of epoxy and colloidal silica. This is supposed to be the easy stuff to sand once it cures. I will find out tomorrow.

2 hours

Boat Colors Have Been Decided!!

I have decided what colors the boat will be! My first choice has been changed to the colors of the boat above. I am also contemplating adding the coast guard colors to it, similar to the other photo of the model above. I really want to find out how to make those jute covered bumpers too!!

I may have found an engine for Lil Bump, but I don't have the money to buy it yet. One of these days! It is a Mercury 35 HP with the controls that I will need. It also comes with a boat and trailer, but that is the only way to buy it cheap. I will probably fix up the trailer to work for this boat, and sell the other boat. I would actually give it to someone and it is a pretty nice boat.

Scarfs Cured and Bottom Ready to Cut Out

I removed all of the materials holding down the plywood on the scarffed areas and took a look at the scarfs after curing. Not as good as I would have liked, but not too bad for my first time. I learned a lesson to actually pin the two pieces together that are ready to be epoxied, as they WILL move. I noticed that after my first setup, but I also knew I had made the panel a little wider than needed, so everything will turn out ok. On the second one closer to the rear of the boat, I did pin them together before applying the plywood piece and all of the weight. It turned out real good.

These picture show the outline of the bottom of the boat and this is ready to be cut. There is also a closeup of the scarffed areas that will be faired in a day or two. They need to be smooth for the fiberglass that will be put on later.

Three Pieces of the Bottom Now One!

Tonight I cleaned up the scarfs that were cut the last couple of days and epoxied all three 4' x 5' panels together. I carefully lined up all of the pieces to make sure where they need to attach and keep the panels straight in both dimensions (across the edges and over the top of the panels). I don't want to have to fair them too much.

As you can see in the photos, I used 5 1/2" pieces of plywood on the top of each scarf, while using a 2" x 6" piece on the bottom. Screws were used to go through the top piece of plywood, through the scarfed areas, and then into the 2" x 6" piece to hold everything together tight. I then added as much weight on top of the pieces of plywood as I could find. The one with the hand weights added up to 340 lbs total while the other one was probably close, but I have no real idea. All I know was everything was pretty heavy, especially the vise!

Tomorrow or the next day I will take everything apart and see how it went. The epoxy must cure at least 24 hours before disassembly or things might come apart.

This piece after being epoxied together is now 11' 3" long and 5' wide.

Scarffing the Bottom Panels

Last night I finally got to start the scarffing process. Scarffing or Scarphing? I am going with the Scarffing spelling, as that is the most common spelling I have found.

Anyway, scarffing is a big learning process that turned out to be very easy once I got the method down. On the first two panels I tried, I followed the recommendation of several boat builders and went up and down the scarfs. This method too over 1 1/2 hours before I was able to sand. I figured there had to be an easier way, so on the next two panels I tried going side to side, keeping the electric planer somewhat tilted the same direction of the final scarfs. This method took only about 15 minutes!! The sanding required afterwards was extremely easy after this method also!

Look closely at the photos and you will see over a foot of sawdust! And that is only from the second set!

I will try to get them glued together tonight. My epoxy and fiberglass showed up a few days ago, so I can really get moving on finishing this project.

Epoxy Resin and Fiberglass In Route!!

I ordered a little bit of fiberglass and epoxy last week to keep me going. Should be here by Wednesday, July 28th!! I will scarf the bottom together first and start building the seat boxes.
Can't wait to get this project back in work. I have spent the last month removing the old caulk and putting in new on my house, in preparation for painting. Talk about a big job. Now I know why they charge $3000-4000 to re-caulk a house!!

More Parts Cut Out

The last few days, I cut out all of the seat box parts, the cabin frames, and drew the deck part on the plywood.

Bottom and Cabin Sides Cut Out

The other night I cut out the three pieces that will be for the bottom of the boat, as well as the 1/4" cabin sides. I began to mark out the pieces that will be the seats on the plywood, but will cut them out tonight. The seat boxes on the plans show that the inside space will be completely closed off, but I am going to go a little different route and make those areas usable storage space. I will use some Douglas Fir I have from the transom jig to strengthen the seat boxes up, and cut out holes in the forward face of the seat box. Those spaces will be big enough to put some fishing items in, or maybe a small cooler for the drinks!
The bottom will be scarfed together to become one piece. The plans show you can butt them together and use epoxy and fiberglass tape, but I don't think that would be near as strong as the scarfs will be.
I will put the pictures of the cut out pieces on here later. Nothing to show right now but some pieces of plywood.

Transom Epoxied Together

Tonight I epoxied the transom together. As I got about a third of the way through putting the epoxy on, I ran out of my original hardener that I was using. I already had a small can of what I thought was new hardener, but it turns out it was pretty old, and I don't know how old. I didn't have a choice but to continue using what I had. I put two layers of epoxy on all pieces, as it just soaks into the plywood.

I lined up the plywood, putting the screws in to line everything back up. Then I put the transom pieces back in the jig. As you can see from the photo, I used 43 clamps of different types. I also used several screws to make sure the middle part is tight.

I will now let it set up for a day to see if the epoxy is any good. If not, I will have to buy more plywood and epoxy and try again.

Transom Jig Built

Tonight I built the transom jig, which consist of two 2x6's at six feet long, four 2x4's at two feet long, and two 2x4 1/2's at two feet to put in the middle to bow the transom.

I attached the 2x4's on the jig with 3 1/2 inch screws and adjusted the space in-between the two 2x4's to allow for the bend.

The transom pieces were then cut out of 1/4" plywood in four different pieces to allow more plywood to be utilized for other parts. The smaller pieces are sandwiched between the two other normal size pieces. The transom pieces are cut to 22"x56". After everything is cured, the transom will be cut to its final size.

I then matched all pieces together to get them straight and put several screws through all of the layers to make sure they can't move when epoxied together.

The pictures show the transom in place on the jig, which I will leave overnight to help the plywood adjust to the bend. I will then epoxy them together tomorrow.

Making the Keel Smooth

Last night and this morning was spent sanding, sanding, and more sanding. The lines from the fiberglass tape were visible and I wanted to smooth everything down as much as possible. I then added one more layer of epoxy to fill all exposed fiberglass cloth from the sanding and to smooth everything out. The sides were not completely epoxied because there will be tape added with the keel is attached to the bottom. If you look closely at these photos and the ones from before, you should be able to see the difference where the fiberglass tape is.

I was going to do the bottom next, but I think I will go ahead and make the transom. I will need two 2x6's and one 2x4 for the jig to bend and epoxy the transom pieces together, so off to Lowes I goes.

Keel Fiberglassed

After several more weeks off for traveling and things, I have finally got to fiberglassing the keel exterior. First, I put four inch fiberglass tape on all of the corners, and then put one layer of fiberglass over the entire keel. In the close-up picture, you can seen the four inch around the corners.

I then applied at least three more layers of epoxy on everything to smooth it out. Most of it is now glass smooth.

After it has dried one more day, I will sand most of it down to smooth it out and apply some fairing material to make it look better.

I now need to get started on the bottom of the boat!

Sanding and Filling All of the Holes

I have worked on the keel for several days without adding to the blog, so here is what I have accomplished.

The last few days, I have completed a lot of sanding to get the keel ready for the fiberglass on the exterior.

I have also filled all of the screw holes with a wood flour/epoxy mixture and let them cure.

I will try to sand all of them down smooth tonight so I can lay up the fiberglass soon.

I faired the sides of the keel into the stem, making it a smooth transition, and I also routed all of the edges with a 1/2" roundover bit.

Keel in One Piece!

Today I finally got to epoxying the entire keel together.

I first put a coat of un-thickened epoxy over all areas that were going to join, then I mixed up some epoxy with wood flour to thicken it up. This mixture was spread on all areas to be joined.

The left side went on first, then the right, and was screwed very carefully along the way. I didn't want any new holes in the plywood where they shouldn't be. I then epoxied in all of the keel stiffeners, and filled all of the screw holes on the interior with thickened epoxy.

The stem was then set in the same two mixtures, but I couldn't get it perfectly straight. It is very close, but not really good enough for my standards. Unfortunately, there is not a lot I can do about it at this point. I just hope it will not be too noticeable when it is completed.

I also put another layer of epoxy on all interior surfaces of the keel structure, making it at least three coats on everything.

Next, I will turn it over and get it ready for fiberglassing the bottom.