Re: Man vs. Boat (season 1).
Hey Gus;
You caught me a good time - taking a quick "iboats" break - so I'll go ahead and fire off the replies.
1. The temperature was pretty good. It was in the low to mid 60s. That's really a little cool for glassing, but since I was working by myself and wanted a slower kick, I was okay with it. In the shop, it was probably a little higher than that - low 70s, because I had the heat on and small heater running.
2. I mixed it at slightly more than 1%. I had 750 mils of resin and I threw in about 8 mils of MEKP. I added a little to compensate for the lower temps, but still give me plenty of working time (because I was working by myself).
3. I didn't really put in a clock, but of course, you want to remove the transom from its "dry fit" position before starting to mix the PB and you certainly don't want to dilly-dally... Have everything set up and ready to go. Your transom piece in the boat (preferably), your clamping system (bolts, etc..) nearby and neatly organized and you will want to have already cleaned the area with acetone, etc...
I put in the MEKP first before adding the fillers (important for even kick). I would say I mixed it up over about 5-7 mins. Then I hopped into the boat. I spent about 5 minutes putting it on the backside of the transom and about another 5 minutes putting on the transom skin. Then another 5 minutes to bolt it on, make some final nudges/adjustments to get it straight (1 min) and then final crank-down on the bolts (1 to 2 minutes). All in all - about 25 minutes - "ISH" from the time I started mixing the PB to the time the last bolt was turned.
My resin was firming up a tad by the time I got everything installed, but it certainly wasn't kicking fast. I seems to get a little darker in color when it is starting to firm up. Mine looks like a honey color when its first mixed and then turns a little bit darker brown. It was still pretty wet (think of slightly runny jelly) when I had finished up. I was able to work some along the edges that had squeezed out by running a gloved finger down the sides (sort of like smoothing out a caulk line).
A little bit will squeeze out when you clamp down so allow for that. You don't want to apply too much and just have it all squeeze out like sandwich with too much jelly in it.
A couple of things to keep in mind.
You really want to do a couple of dry runs to practice installing it. Makes it a little more systematic/automatic and eliminates any surprises.
Also, keep in mind my clamping system was pretty easy because I just drilled holes in my boat. If you are clamping from above or using a different approach, it may take a little longer.
Also, I was using a smaller (middle section) only. This means it was easier to install, and did not take a lot of time to apply the resin.
If you have a larger complete transom piece, it will certainly take more time and certainly more peanut butter. Mix a little more than you think you will need because you don't want to get 2/3 of the way through the job and run out of PB. My PB was able to hold its position pretty well (even on vertical surface), even though it hadn't truly "kicked" yet, because I mixed it pretty thick. I was pleasantly surprised by that.
Others may have more info or tips and they are welcome to chime in... Again, this was only the second time I had ever mixed PB and I am learning on the job.
