Thread: Puddle duck building the South African way

Hi Jeff

Sharp eyes indeed and noted. I have already filled the joints with glue and wood inserts.
To me the inspection hatches was a cheap solution and I did not have to wait for overseas orders. In South Africa they are available but at a greater cost than I am willing to part with. The Cold drink bottle tops was used as drain plugs, placed high on the stern and will be used for draining the airboxes in the event of a leak and I hope that it would not be the case.

The hull has been registered with Shorty at PD Racer .com with the number 606.

As to the hull coating with GRP vs. Epoxy. Epoxy is waaay expensive here at about A$330 to 350 for 5 liters. GRP at the moment is a more economical option and with the boat being dry stored between sailing sessions I am happy with the alternative.

Chris

See if you can get some styrene monomer, and add to the polyester resin , as it will help it to adhere to the timber.

I used it on a rebuild on a Fibreglass boat where I fitted new seat boxes , and side console. , worked a treat , you only nees a 5%addition to the mix.

The console &box seats were stitch and glue plywood glued filleted and glassed with polyester resin and styrene monomer, they turned out solid as a rock, I then coated them with FLOW COAT, , you could not tell they were timber.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff

I have a local supplier who will give me a pint of styro for the equivelent of A$ 9.00

Thanks so much for the advice much appreciated

Good news!
I have discovered a supplier of all the proper goodies for finishing the duck.
CKD boats in Cape Town. I have placed an order for Epoxy and woven glass cloth.
Roy has been extremely helpful

GREAT GEAR, good to see that you have been able to find a reasonable supplier.

When I built the MANGROVEJACK, I wet out the glass epoxy thinned 10% , then when the whole hull was covered did a second coat while the first was still green IE just dry.

Do your Glassing in the afternoon, to reduce out gassing from the ply(air trapped in the grain).

make sure that all corners are radiused and sand the hull with 80#grit paper to give the epoxy a good key surface, .

Happy glassing

Jeff

A break in my work responsibilities has put me back in the position to enjoy my boat building again.

I read of a story board on the net and used the technique to gauge the length of the center case end posts and sides. A really simple solution to a complex problem
The deck has been cut and test fitted. I now have to glue the mast pardner and cut the two mast postions. One for a windsurfer sail with a strenthened mast and the other for a balanced lug rig.

The mast for the lug was the remains of the second windsurfer mast which was used to strengthen the wind surfer mast and is 8 foot long.

No glassing as yet and I think as a noobie to glassing I am suffering from first coat fear because I am afraid of making a royal stuff up

Good-day mate,

before you glass , make up a short check list. Beg borrow or steal a set of digital kitchen scales, and a dozen or so disposable containers for mixing resin, and stirring/mixing sticks (craft shop icecream sticks)

1 glass cut to size
2 scales and mixing cups
3 disposable gloves.
4 resin&hardener(of course)
5 fine dry weather ( pick your day)
6 check all is ready, and go for it 1 panel at a time .

Do not be afraid do the chines with 50mm tape first this will give you some practice, then the bottom panels and followed by the sides. Alternatively you can lay the cloth across the hull starting at the stern and moving to the bow, this will allow you to glass the bottom and sides simultaneously(or in 1 go), just over lap the glass 25mm on to the previous lay-up.

Once the glass is down leave until the surface is not tacky and give the second coat of resin , in this one add some Micro -balloons as a filler and spread with a squeegee.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff

Advice taken.
I completed a dry assembly and fit of the dagger board case, new rudder and cheeks in progress.

After fitting the deck I noticed that I made a 5mm miscalculation on one of the deck cross stringers which stood proud under the deck but I would be able to cover that with an epoxy fillet

I got the sticks, rags a plenty, scales is a mission but I will see if I can come up with a plan or else buy one.

The weather is generally good with temperatures ranging in the upper 20's to lower 30's in the day and about 15 in the evenings. So late night glassing will be in the order of the day

I could start writing a book on my experiences with boat building, the virtue of patience and forgiving one self for a silly measuring mistake as it is in life

Scales are a bonus, and if you have meter pumps for the resin & hardener, do not worry about them.

As long as you can accurately measure the resin & hardener you should be right.

Glass in the early evening and watch out for insects.

you can store your tools in WHITE VINEGAR between uses and clean off with a drop of acetone before use., vinegar will also remove resin from hands.

Jeff

Simple way to measure epoxy (Posted 20 July 2006)
Jem, one of the forum members posted a real nifty idea for calculating epoxy resin and hardener ratio's.
Now I cannot wait to start coating the boat but I have been invited to go sailing in a L26 in a handicapped pursuit race on Sunday. I doubt if i will crew much other than foredeck as the skip implied he needed more ballast

So... other than sailing invites, no more poxy procrastination. The temperatures are a bugger though with evening temps staying in the mid 20's but that will have to do for now. February is approaching at an ever increasing pace and I want to have the boat ready for the RTI Regatta.

Cheers

The sailing was great
Got a whipping with a sheet rope and the scars to prove it.
Experienced extreme sailing by running on the rail while broad reaching with a speed of 20 knots!

Started work with the duck again. Family and work responsibilities has taken up more than its fair share of my weekends boat building time.

I have followed the wisdom of the forum members and started epoxying small bits and pieces to get the hang of it. Easy as chips but I still have to glass the bottom of the boat.

Some pics on the progress so far. Please forgive the grainy quality - cell phone camera only

Last pic is a simple torture board I have made and it works like charm

Looking good, i hope that you will be removing those screws on the side decks etc, I hink that they will be an issue otherwise

Torture Board is a good idea, I don't normally use them, (bad shoulder), and on such large flat areas it will be an advantage for fairing.

I suggest either a dab of hot melt glue or velcro backed paper , also you can staple the paper to the vertical ends .

remember to sand on the diagonal and slide across on a slight angle, this will prevent long narrow grooves.Start with 60Grit paper,.

Cheers
Jeff

Ponal wood glue was just what the doctor ordered to stick 80grit on the board. I will staple other grades as suggested. I bought a scale, disposable plastic cups, ice-cream sticks, plenty of paper towels and hand gloves. I mixed the epoxy in 100mil batches and apply with a brush or roller.

I have coated the inside of the hull with poxy using foam rollers. When they go off I toss them and get a new one. (cost about a $ a piece) I am really impressed with the application thickness of the poxy resin and when applied it does go tacky quiker than brush applied resin.

I will post pics when the hull has second coat inside and out.
When doing the calculations on the amount of epoxy including the wastage I realised that I had 2 kilograms short which was promptly ordered yesterday from Roy McBride at CKD Boats in Cape Town