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  1. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Making some progress . . . I have the glass and infusion materials laid out as well as the vacuum bag in place. I had to make a complete bag to fully seal things. I have run a vacuum test and made sure the runners are lined up where they should go. The little HF pump takes a while to pull...
  2. tpenfield

    Windlass anchor systems

    Here is a picture that I found on the web for the QuickUSA rode splice . . . Not sure what the pull rating is on the rode, but I assume that is the crimp that the arrow points to . . . Lowlysubaruguy I assume you tried the rode with a regular rope/chain splice. Just wondering why you would...
  3. tpenfield

    Getting '502- Bad Gateway Error' when clicking on login link

    'www.iboats.com/user' is getting an error all of a sudden.
  4. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    $100 later, Back in business, hopefully . . . The other pump had the rotary vanes stuck from ingesting resin. I got one of the vanes freed up , but the other one is still stuck. The original pump may be fixable, but probably won't be 100%. So, this new one will have to do.
  5. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Progress update . . . First coat of tooling gelcoat on the plug. Not sure if it is orange or red :noidea:
  6. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Looks pretty much the same as it did before the wax & PVA . . . Maybe a bit shinier :)
  7. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Ladder Hatch Molds . . . . I am all set with the ladder hatch molds. They will just need a coating of PVA before making the hatches. Now on to the main platform mold . . :)
  8. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Quick update regarding the test 'part' . . . The test part had cured enough that I could turn off the vacuum and pull the part out of the bagging. It looks like the outer 3" or so did not get a full saturation, so something to keep in mind for the main mold. The piece is only about 0.055"...
  9. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Update - Feb 23, 2019 . . . A big day doing some tests and working on the hatch molds. Hatch Plug/Mold . . I decided that the hatch plug was a bit too damaged to fix up this weekend. Sooo, I put some more time into re-working the mold from the damaged plug. Pictures to follow tomorrow :)...
  10. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Slight change of plans for the weekend . . . In addition to doing the resin flow/gel time testing, I will probably have some extra time on my hands. When I inspected the first hatch mold, it initially looked OK, but upon cleaning it, I realized that it had a few areas of resin void and the...
  11. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    I have a bunch of stuff on order to test out for the gel time reduction. Norax MCP catalyst - extends gel time to about 2X TBC - can be used to extend gel time 2-4 times normal by using 200 - 500 ppm. Probably best to stay 300 ppm or less. I plan on setting up an 8" x 18" test of 3 layers of...
  12. tpenfield

    1995 Larson 174 SEI Complete Rebuild

    FWIW - I think the vinyl could use some 'tightening up' . When I made new vinyl for my Formula 242 seat, I put in a 1/8" foam backing to the vinyl, which tightened it up a bit without getting the seams out of alignment with the main cushion contours, etc. They came out pretty much the way...
  13. tpenfield

    Price check - 2001 Crownline 248 BR

    I get $14,000 - $15,900 on Bucvalu.com , but that is in average condition with the 6.2 engine. So, if you go +15-20% on condition and add maybe $2K for the 496 HO Mag, then it puts you in the $20-21K range. If I do NADA, and add the engine and trailer, I get . . . . So, I think $20K is your...
  14. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    I found a vacuum pump that has very good ratings and seems to pull about 25-30 Hg according to the reviews. It seems to fall within the spec's recommended on the fiberglass web sites, in terms of capacity, etc. for this size of job. I have this pump, some extra oil, and a gauge on order for...
  15. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Just checking my material estimates on the platform mold . . . These online calculators are pretty handy. I plan on using 3 layers of 1.5 oz CSM, which should yield me about 1/8" thick glass. . I'll be using the 50" wide mat. I noticed that the catalyst calculation is for the resin and...
  16. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Trying to work through a couple of issues . . . First is that the tooling gelcoat does not seem to be curing properly. Note the traces of gelcoat left on the plug. The gelcoat in the mold is a bit tacky and seems to remain so. I am letting it set-up.cure for about 90 minutes, then doing the...
  17. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Sunday afternoon update. Ladder Hatch mold #2 . . . Success . . . at least much better. I put down 2 layers of CSM, then a partial layer of 24 oz WR, then peel ply. The resin was fed under the peel ply. The resin flowed pretty well, but I did coax it along with a roller. Here are a few...
  18. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    I decided to remove my 'failed' mold attempt from the plug, considering that I may need to re-do it. Well easier said than done . . . It took all of my wedges and a few other tools to pry the mold off of the plug. Bad news is that the plug took some damage in separating the mold from it . . ...
  19. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Quick update . . . It tried the vacuum infusion on one of the ladder hatches as 'practice' . . . hopefully useful practice. Well it looks like I got to keep the day job, because it was an epic fail :facepalm: Everything started off OK, but things went downhill once I started to infuse the...
  20. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Speaking of the molds . . . I have been ordering supplies and will be going to a fiberglass supply shop tomorrow (Friday) to pick up the bulk of the glass and resin. My shopping list looks something like this . . . Mold Release Wax PVA Mold Release wedges Tooling gelcoat (gallon) 5 Gals...
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