Thread: GIS Massachusetts/Maine build (a.k.a. the 'Perpetual July' project)

Hi mxp. I'm just up the road from you in Boxford. I was attracted to the GIS for the same reasons as you. If you'd like to get a sense of it in person, my boat is sitting here in the yard most of the time so you are more than welcome to take a look at it, go out in it, use it, etc. There are a couple small ponds here in Town where it can be launched. I'm nearing completion on the sailing appurtenances and hope to have it rigged soon. I've only read about sailing. I also have a number of tools and a portable planer if you need a hand.

Thanks Beaton! I'm really hoping to get quite a bit of work done in the next few weekends (before we begin to feel the fall weather). I might take you up on a viewing of the boat sometime down the line... For now at least, I think I'm set for tools, but we'll see what problems I encounter as I move forward. I'm not a sailor either - I'm building the goat (in part) to learn on, but will likely launch with a small outboard like a 3.5hp Merc (I grew up around small motorboats and bought a kayak some years ago that has seen some limited use).


I'm currently looking at epoxy options -- leaning toward System3's Silvertip line....

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mxP
GIS in Progress

Welcome aboard mxP! The Northeast herd will be happy for the addition. What are your thoughts regarding the sail? Ready made from a reputable source? Sailrite kit? DIY?

I'll be sure to check out your blog as well.


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Originally Posted by davlafont

What are your thoughts regarding the sail? Ready made from a reputable source? Sailrite kit? DIY?

Hi Dave! Heh, Given my extremely limited sailing experience, I afraid I wouldn't know enough about what constitutes a good sail to make my own... I'm thinking that I may go the Really Simple route, but I haven't given it too much consideration yet. With the hull not even 3d, it's sort of a cart-before-horse type of concern right now.

Thanks for the warm welcome! The next few days are filled with non-goat related projects, but I'm planning to spend much of the weekend on it.

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mxP
GIS in Progress

I used the West System epoxy because it was what I was familiar with. With the fast hardener it works down to 40F. If your garage isn't heated then the lower temp stuff opens up the window a bit to work in the shoulder seasons.

Originally Posted by mixProtocol

... I haven't given it too much consideration yet. With the hull not even 3d, it's sort of a cart-before-horse type of concern right now.

Not necessarily. It's a little circular, but the sail can inform the construction of your spars. I say circular, because you could also provide your spar bend info to a sailmaker to inform their cut and construction of the sail.

The Really Simple Sail is a good way to go for many reasons. Let's assume that's what you end up doing. You would get best results if you made sure your spars flex enough--but not too much--to match the RSS head and foot shapes.

None of this is super-critical of course. But it's good to have future problems to think about when you need a good reason to not do what right in front of you!

keep up the good work and the great blog...

I just realized that I never posted the worklog for last Sunday (8/24). I'd already transferred most of the measurements for the bulkheads, transom and sides from the plans to the plywood, but Sunday was my first day of cutting. First, I needed to draw the curves (the points for which I'd already marked). I used a length of 3/4″ quarter-round molding clamped to 4d nails (which I found had to be driven through the plywood, else they’d pop out under the force of the clamp). My circular saw, with the blade set to extend just below the thickness of the plywood, cut the curves without problem. When cutting the pieces for the second side, I clamped the already-cut piece in place above the uncut piece of plywood, brought the blade down another 6mm, and cut the second piece while cleaning up the edges of the first piece at the same time. I’m happy that my sides (though not yet glued) are virtual mirror images of each other. I didn't take many pictures of the work, but I'm attaching the few that I have.

GIS-20140824-IMG_0182-1024x768.jpg Marking the chine-edge of the side with a fairing batten	GIS-20140824-IMG_0184-1024x768.jpg Preparing to cut half of a side panel	GIS-20140824-IMG_0185-1024x768.jpg The back (stern) half of one side panel
GIS-20140824-IMG_0189-1024x768.jpg Clamping sides together for tracing and cutting	GIS-20140824-IMG_0191-1024x768.jpg Preparing to cut both stern edges at once	GIS-20140824-IMG_0192-1024x768.jpg All cut: bulkheads, sides, transom and two buttstraps
GIS-20140824-IMG_0194-1024x768.jpg The workarea (a.k.a. “Driveway’s End Boat Yard”).	GIS-20140824-IMG_0200-1024x768.jpg All cleaned up.	GIS-20140824-IMG_0201-1024x579.jpg Boulter Plywood’s Lloyds Register Stamp

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mxP
GIS in Progress

I ordered System Three's Silvertip Epoxy, fiberglass tape and a few associated tools from Chesapeake Light Craft yesterday; the shipment should be here by Tuesday. I also bought a couple extra yards of 4oz cloth for added bottom protection near the bow (before the skid-runners start). As I won't have glue for this weekend, I'm planning to cut the bottom panels, pre-cut much of the edge-framing for the bulkheads and, if I have the patience , start to shape the stem.

Looking forward to the long weekend,

mxP

I've seen the system 3 stuff around but have never tried it myself. Looked it up and the page I found said the silver tip is for wetting out glass, coating etc. and down to 35F without blushing which wound be great! Are you using another type for glueing up?

Most of what I've read suggests that the System3 Silvertip epoxy is slightly thinner than others (which is why it's better at wetting out glass), but it can be mixed with fillers (silica, wood flour, etc...) using the same basic proportions as other epoxy systems and cures to the same strength. Duckworks "Premium" epoxy kit for the GIS includes Silvertip resin, hardener and silica. My plan is to use it with MAS Cell-o-fil.

I used Silver Tip for the coating but went with System Three's adhesive product for the gluing, including a couple tubes for the caulk-gun dispenser. I used their filleting goop too. I bought but never used the fairing product.

The one thing that's inconvenient is that the ratio is 5:1. It makes it tougher to mix small batches. I strongly recommend buying a small kitchen scale. I used a cheapie plastic dial scale because I had one already. But a digital is not crazy expensive and if not ruined with epoxy is actually a good kitchen tool.


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Yeah -- I have a small digital scale (this model) that I bought when I got into homebrewing (to measure hops, grains, etc...). It has a 1000g limit (~2lb), but I think it should be okay for mixing up small batches of epoxy. I was planning on lightly draping some plastic wrap over the scale for protection...

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mxP
GIS in Progress

Howdy,

There shouldn't be any trouble wetting out glass in the sizes and weights we use with any well known resin.

And the goat has so little glass anyhow.

The comments about wetting out are aimed at much heavier cloths such as the heavy and separate layered stitched cloths like biaxial and triaxail, where the resin tends to stall on the way through all the layers.

MIK

Labor Day weekend passed too quickly. As the epoxy I ordered won’t arrive until tomorrow, I spent this weekend doing prep work for the goat: cleaning the garage, precutting the frames for bulkheads 1 and 2 and, perhaps most importantly, staining the exterior of the side panels. For this, I chose Minwax’s water-based stain (after reading West System’s test of epoxy adhesion over a variety of stains). My plan is to lightly sand the stained panels with a fine sandpaper and precoat with three coats of tinted epoxy before assembling the hull (masking the top and bottom edges of the sides to allow for the gunwales and bottom tape).

GIS-20140830-IMG_0204-1024x768.jpg Cutting a part of BHD1′s frame	GIS-20140830-IMG_0205-1024x768.jpg Cleaning up the edge of BHD1 with a plane
GIS-20140830-IMG_0207b.jpg Cleaning up the edge of BHD1 with a plane	GIS-20140830-IMG_0208-1024x768.jpg Preparing to stain the exterior of the side panels
GIS-20140830-IMG_0209-1024x768.jpg The side panels after the first coat of stain (the color is darker in reality)	GIS-20140830-IMG_0211-1024x768.jpg The side panels stacked for drying (I later painted the edges where the sides will be butt-joined)

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mxP
GIS in Progress