Thread: Flathead

Finally closed the hull and have added the transom (still only rough trimmed). Was originally going to interlock the side strips with the transom but decided to just glue it on straight across. Last 3 days have been adding 1 strip of jarrah per day to the bow stem. One more to go then should be able to shape it.

Outer stem now shaped and hull sanded all over. Had a lot of trouble with small low areas not cleaning up easily – probably due to not having consistent thickness of strips. Next time.............

Anyhow have decided it is smooth enough and now preparing to do the hull glassing. Bought some 3oz glass cloth from a net trader and although it was delivered quickly I am just a little disappointed because it does not drape as well as the 84g cloth I used last time. Shouldn’t complain too much because the price difference was considerable but it does show that better quality can cost more, and I suspect that this stuff will be an utter bitch to wet out properly due to the tight weave.

Going to let the cloth sit there for a week and give it a bit of a rub each day to help it conform.

This pic was a couple of weeks back when Ii wet the hull down before fine sanding.


This is from today with the glass draped over

Looking good Bob.
The stiffer fabric suggests a tighter weave.
Not necessarily a bad thing, just harder to work with in this application.
Look forward to seeing your posts.
AJ

Well I said it would be a bitch to wet out properly and it was. Had the heater going all day in the shed and warmed up the resin so it was reasonably runny but I think the cool weather compounded the problem. Last time I glassed a hull it was mid summer.

This is how it looked after I squeegeed and rolled as hard and as long as I dared. Creases from the folds in the cloth seemed to wet OK but the areas that look whitish had definitely not taken the resin onto all the fibres. The weave was very obvious in many patches, not just from the surface texture but from the colour under the surface.



In short - not good enough, so the next evening it was out with the heat gun and the lot came off leaving this:



Not too bad but needed repairs in several small spots where the surface of the cedar pulled away. Had to go over the entire hull again with the sander but it was much better with my new Vacmaster wet and dry vacuum cleaner (birthday present) hooked up to the ROS.

So anyway I called in to AMC on the way home from work and bought some of their 84g glass again. It may be expensive but this is wonderful stuff and I don't think it's worth trying anything else now. It is a more open weave so is easier to wet out and conforms so well I may get away without having to cut at the bow. Stern will need cutting no matter what glass is used because of the transom.

So here we are ready to try again.



.....and with about 30 degrees predicted for tomorrow I think it's going to happen soon

Decent glass, decent epoxy, a 30 degree day and a couple of hours to spare = recipe for successful wet out . Actually it only took about an hour and a half including clean up and all went well. Now just need to do a couple of fill coats and she can be flipped.

Some areas look dry in the photo but they are OK - the glass fibres are all wet but I squeegeed off more in some areas so the weave is more prominent.

There was no need to cut the glass at the bow (as expected) - just a cut in each rear corner.

When you have a "process" and you stick to your procedures, it seems that an "epoxy run" does go quickly and the results surprisingly easy and good looking.

Par, your words are wise as usual. Sometimes we need to try something different to learn and advance - and sometimes what we learn is that a particular thing is not worth improving.

Unfortunately the fill coats didn't go all that well - I've never actually found a process for it that works for me. It always seems lumpy or ridged and the amount of sanding required then goes through to the glass in some areas. Hence it's been 2 weeks to this stage.

Anyhow it's now official - I've finally flipped!

The only drama was that after removing the screws from the forms I found that the hull would not lift. Turned out to be a broken drill bit going through a form and into the riser plate that the form was mounted on. Must have happened when putting the strongback together but I don't remember doing it . Just had to unscrew the riser and move it out then she came up. It's quite heavy with the forms inside.



If anyone has any tips on deck stripping now's the time

Deck shear strips are now on. These are tapered at the bow to achieve the curve and this this also helps with minimizing the bending required for the next few strips.

After the struggles with trying to keep the strips on the form while doing the hull I've decided that a few nail holes are going to be easier to fill than gaps left by poor joints. There are plenty of such gaps inside the hull and a lot of smoothing work before it can be glassed. Consequently the shear strips have been secured with nails and these will be used whenever there is any hint of a strip misbehaving.

The pics show the taper, nails with protective pads and the shear strips glued at the bow. The plan is to finish the tip in jarrah, preferably formed into a handle, and blending with the jarrah hull stem.

That technique with nails and protective pads is exactly the way I hold the sheer strips and the occasional difficult strip.

When you remove them, use an iron and a damp cloth to swell the wood and they will be almost impossible to find.

That's good to know - 'cos if you do it then it means I'm on the right track

Glued strips for the centre of the deck - Jarrah flanked by a white wood from recycled blinds (don't know what it is but it works easily).

The centre strips seem to have glued up OK. Fit is quite acceptable although not perfect and that is very pleasing since they were sized with a hand plane.

Cut out a slot in the strips at the bow for the strips to sit in using saw and chisel. Needs to go just a bit deeper yet but it looks like it will sit in there fairly well. This area will be covered by a jarrah continuation of the stem so fit is not too critical but I want the joints in this area to be strong so minimal gaps are required.

Not sure whether to strip from the centre out, keeping the strips parallel or from the shear in with curves. Curves would probably look better but be more work.

Curves don't necessarily look better.

I like the look of the decks on some old wooden speedboats. Most of the deck consists of straight planks, often with a fine line between them, possibly caulking.

I have seen a similar effect on kayaks with what look like pinstripes of a contrasting timber between the strips. I like that look.

It is a lot easier to get good tight joints with straight strips and it is quite a bit quicker than working in from the outside.

On the other hand, the curved strips help accentuate the curved shape of the kayak.

Different people like different effects, which is just as well, otherwise we would all be paddling kayaks that looked the same.

I really like that look of your centre strip with the pale strips on both sides of the jarrah.

Thanks for your comments Allan. Thought it over for a bit then came up with the idea of straight strips with a slightly different area at the front separated from the rest by an "s" shaped pin stripe diverging from the centre line line around the cockpit until it is near the shear then going straight backward. (Sorry, it's hard to describe in words).

Have put on a few strips over the last week using the nail/pad method. I doubt that I will ever try stripping without nails or staples again - especially on hulls. Even if the holes are visible afterward it just doesn't seem worth the trouble messing around with all the other things I've tried.

Anyhow this is where it's at now and even stripping from the centre there will be lateral curve to cope with due to the compound curves created by the rise and fall of the deck in front of the cockpit.