Have I gone too far?

[Woodonglass]

The link I sent you says thier's is 15 1/2" square x11 1/2" tall. Seems to me you could fab that up out of plywood pretty easily and glass it up in no time.:nod:

 

[AFlowers]

No Title

Welp, today I got a lot of prep work done. Most of it wast grinding off all of the old fiberglass putty that ran the length of the boat on both sides that tied the old deck in. It is now nice and flat so I will have a good surface to seat my strings for my grid when I measure for the new stringers. I also ground down the surface where the new transom will seat on the sides and bottom. I still have a lot of glassing to do in that area but i now have a better base to hopefully allow for less shaping of the wood in order to get a good seat. My fiberglass order is in the UPS warehouse here in town so the stern skin work will continue next weekend. The photos's show the area I did the grinding on.

All this work today raised some more questions. From what I understand I am supposed to use a buffer between the stringers and the hull. Well, what about the floor and the hull where it meets the sides? From what I understand, I need to leave a gap between the edge of the deck and the side and then fill that in with fiberglass putty, but, what about where it rest on the bottom hull at that point? I have read where people mention PL between the stringers and the hull, but, what is PL? And, should I use that on the bottom edges of the deck where the deck meets the hull? There are no stringers there at that point so secure it to and the bottom of the deck will be touching the hull at the perimeters.

Thanks guys, and gals.

Aaron

 

[gm280]

Welp, today I got a lot of prep work done. Most of it wast grinding off all of the old fiberglass putty that ran the length of the boat on both sides that tied the old deck in. It is now nice and flat so I will have a good surface to seat my strings for my grid when I measure for the new stringers. I also ground down the surface where the new transom will seat on the sides and bottom. I still have a lot of glassing to do in that area but i now have a better base to hopefully allow for less shaping of the wood in order to get a good seat. My fiberglass order is in the UPS warehouse here in town so the stern skin work will continue next weekend. The photos's show the area I did the grinding on.

All this work today raised some more questions. From what I understand I am supposed to use a buffer between the stringers and the hull. Well, what about the floor and the hull where it meets the sides? From what I understand, I need to leave a gap between the edge of the deck and the side and then fill that in with fiberglass putty, but, what about where it rest on the bottom hull at that point? I have read where people mention PL between the stringers and the hull, but, what is PL? And, should I use that on the bottom edges of the deck where the deck meets the hull? There are no stringers there at that point so secure it to and the bottom of the deck will be touching the hull at the perimeters.

Thanks guys, and gals.

Aaron

Oh yes that white itchy, smell, filthy fiberglass powder everywhere, I do remember. But it looks like you've done good. As for the material between the stringers and hull, I used PB and laid down a nice amount and then installed the stringers on top of it. After it cured, I made PB fillets on both sides. Then 1708 and poly resin-ed them in. And then went again with wider 1708 tabbing. A very strong stringer is now the base for the floor. Keep posting your progress. You are coming along very nicely. :thumb:

PL is a type of glue sold in tubes like caulking and it takes a few days for it to cure (PL Premium Polyurethane Construction Adhesive). So if you go the PL route, you will need to apply that and then the stringers next on top of the PL, and then wait for everything to off-gas before you can continue. JMHO!

 

[AFlowers]

Ah. I think I had the two confused. I said PL and thought I was talking about PB. What is PB? And should I use it on the perimeter of where the bottom of the deck meets the hull?

 

[Woodonglass]

PB is discussed in the link I posted back in Post# 44

Here's a video on how to make PB.

 

[gm280]

PB is discussed in the link I posted back in Post# 44

Here's a video on how to make PB.

One thing I would like to add, when you mx up your first batch of peanut butter, as you add in the Cab-O-Sil you will wonder how in the world do you mix that stuff into the resin because it seems to want to stay on top. It is very light material. But keep mixing and folding and it will mix it and then you can see how thick it is. If you like the thickness, then stop adding Cabosil, if it is still too runny, then add more. And like the video, how you mix yours up could be different then how he mixes his. The order of additives isn't really important just as long as resin, cabosil, MEKP and 1/4" chopped fiberglass all get included. I usually add the resin and then the MEKP and mix that up thoroughly and then start adding in the cabosil and finally the 1/4 chopped fiberglass. But it really doesn't matter. And there are no set amounts other then the proper percentage of resin and MEKP. JMHO!

 

[AFlowers]

Ok. I think I'm good on how to make the PB. It's what I referred to as fiberglass putty in my post 82.

My main question is does there need to be a buffer od this between the bottom edge of my deck and the bottom hull?

Like I said, I have no stringers on the perimeter to fasten the deck to. I do plan to fill in the gap between the edge of the deck and side hull.

Am I overthinking it? Should I not worry about the bottom side?

 

[gm280]

Ok. I think I'm good on how to make the PB. It's what I referred to as fiberglass putty in my post 82.

My main question is does there need to be a buffer od this between the bottom edge of my deck and the bottom hull?

Like I said, I have no stringers on the perimeter to fasten the deck to. I do plan to fill in the gap between the edge of the deck and side hull.

Am I overthinking it? Should I not worry about the bottom side?

Okay I now see what you are asking. I didn't have any cleats of side supports either when I rebuilt my flooring. But I did have a lot of bulkheads to help support the floor. However, you can lay the flooring in and PB the sides to attach them, and then you install tabbing along the edges as well. Most go with 1708 biaxle fiberglass and poly and allow that to run up the sides for about 3". Then apply a second tabbing and this time running up the sides 6". Then the floor is securely attached to the hull side.

And when you install the stringers to the bottom of the hull, use the PB and then the stringers. Once cured, PB fillet the stringers and then tabbing like previously mentioned. And the floor can either be screwed down to the stringers, or PBed down with a lot of heavy weight to keep them in place until the PB cures. I didn't use any screws myself so there are no holes or possibilities for water to seep in anywhere. But that is just how I did it and screwing the floor down is common if you fill over them after the fact. There are no right or wrong ways sometimes to do things, just differences.

Hope that answered your question. If not let us know. JMHO!

 

[AFlowers]

Yep. That answered it. Thanks.

 

[AFlowers]

A lot of progress should start being made on this project now. Looking ahead, I realize I do not know what thickness of plywood to use for the deck. I’m thinking 1/2”. Would that be about right for my little boat?

Also, I am going to build my own seat boxes. In my head I am thinking to use ? or 3/8” plywood. Then, wrapping them in glass then CSM, then gel coat. What I’m concerned with the most is that I want them to look exactly like the ones in the attached photo. When thinking about how to fasten the plywood together, I’m thinking I need a frame to attach them to but I want the boxes to not have the frame once finished.



What I’m thinking of doing is making the top out of a thicker piece of ply, may ?” with edges angled to make the pyramid shape. Then hot gluing the vertical supports in until I get the outer wrapped and cured. Then removing them and wrapping the inside.

What do y'all think? Is there a better way?

 

[gm280]

A lot of progress should start being made on this project now. Looking ahead, I realize I do not know what thickness of plywood to use for the deck. I’m thinking 1/2”. Would that be about right for my little boat?

Also, I am going to build my own seat boxes. In my head I am thinking to use ? or 3/8” plywood. Then, wrapping them in glass then CSM, then gel coat. What I’m concerned with the most is that I want them to look exactly like the ones in the attached photo. When thinking about how to fasten the plywood together, I’m thinking I need a frame to attach them to but I want the boxes to not have the frame once finished.



What I’m thinking of doing is making the top out of a thicker piece of ply, may ?” with edges angled to make the pyramid shape. Then hot gluing the vertical supports in until I get the outer wrapped and cured. Then removing them and wrapping the inside.

What do y'all think? Is there a better way?

So you are building some areas under the seat for putting things when out boating and not some actual dry storage boxes. I wouldn't got too large on the plywood. Because once you fiberglass both sides, it gets really solid. So thinner material will work and save weight.

On my tri-hull boat project that I'm still working on, I built some nice 16" cube type storage boxes with hinged top section so I can use them for anything and water will not get into them. And they are amazingly solid as well. I think I either went 3/8" or maybe 1/4", I can't remember now. But 3/4" is way over kill in my opinion. If you are going to use 1708, go on the lighter side. If CSM then the 3/8" stuff will work. When you cut smaller parts out of plywood, it is amazing how stronger the parts are in comparison to the entire sheet of plywood before cutting. And then went you start adding the poly and CSM or 1708, the strength goes up quickly. JMHO!

 

[AFlowers]

No Title

Weekend update: I got the new transom cut, glued and screwed together, and fitted today. I also made a hard fiberglass roller on my lathe. I coated it with Bees Wax, so maybe it will last longer than one application.

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[gm280]

Weekend update: I got the new transom cut, glued and screwed together, and fitted today. I also made a hard fiberglass roller on my lathe. I coated it with Bees Wax, so maybe it will last longer than one application.

​​

Looks nice. And I see you have a lathe as well. I have to say, I hope your flat roller works better for you then the marketed ones did for me. I bought an aluminum bubble buster roller and honestly, I just don't like it at all. It really doesn't work for me. Or maybe I am too stupid to use it correctly. IDK. However, I do use the 4" nap/wool type rollers for applying large areas with resin and fiberglass. And I've had great luck using those disposable rollers too. Key to making that bubble buster roller last longer then one use is to immediately clean it after use. I used Lacquer Thinner for that. But Acetone works too. It just evaporates quicker.

Keep posting your progress. It look good. :thumb:

 

[AFlowers]

No Title

I use the disposable 4"rollers as well. They work for me. I just had a little bit of difficulty today and thought that it would sure be nice to have a bubble buster.

My lathe is the small harbor freight one. It sure come in handy. I turned these chess pieces with it. Although i haven't finished my knights yet.

 

[gm280]

I use the disposable 4"rollers as well. They work for me. I just had a little bit of difficulty today and thought that it would sure be nice to have a bubble buster.

My lathe is the small harbor freight one. It sure come in handy. I turned these chess pieces with it. Although i haven't finished my knights yet.

Ha AFlowers, That IS some nice lathe work there. I too have a wood lathe. Mine is a Grizzly model that I've owned for about 15 years now. I also have a Jet metal lathe as well. Both have their place and I wouldn't want to do with out either. I have turned bowls, spindles and so many things. I have made a lot of pen and pencil sets and sold them. Quick money that one day I'll get started up again. And since we have a LAZER engraver as well, we LAZER engrave the boxes and pen and pencils with names symbols and such. A huge hit around here. Hardest material I've worked with yet is deer antler. That is like turning and cutting rock.

 

[Woodonglass]

Hmmm, Bubble Buster Roller problems???? Not sure why. Keep em wet in an Acetone filled container and use em one the initial roll out on mainly large flat surfaces when you're driving the resin up thru the fabric from the bottom up. Really keeps the air pockets from forming and drives the resin up into the cloth. Also works great for getting the CSM and Fabric into tight corners. But they gotta be Clean a free rolling. Thus always soaking in acetone.

 

[AFlowers]

Advice requested. I have the the inner hull glassed up and the new transom glassed. I'm now ready to affix the transom to the hull. What is the best way to go about this? Should I put a layer of CSM In between for binding purposes or mix some peanut butter and spread it over the surfaces before I clamp it down?

 

[Woodonglass]

I'd advise you to read and study this...Fabricating Decks, Stringers, and Transoms

 

[gm280]

AFlowers, I can't say how others did theirs, but what I did was mix up the PB and troweled it on the outer fiberglass skin and then attached the new transom with lots of clamps. But not just short around the edge clamps, I made a version of WOG's transom clamps. Maybe WOG will show up and explain them. You can search for how to build them as well. I would certainly wait until you make those to proceed. JMHO.

I also did something else to make a totally smooth flat outer skin after installing the transom. When you clamp things together with a lot of clamps, some times you get waves in the finished product do to the clamps. So I took another piece of plywood and used it as a buffer between the outer skin and the clamps. That way it spread the clamping forces over a larger area and eliminates any wave in the outer transom skin.

Hope this helps or gives you an idea of what I did. Others may offer their ideas.

 

[AFlowers]

No Title

Hey guys. Sorry I haven't posted in a while but here is basically my finished product.