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Sealer epoxy coat

Did a few things in the past two weeks. First, I put a sealer coat over the inner part of the deck, and sanded it down.

Second, I prepared the front edges for trimming. I did this the same way I trimmed the hull - drill holes from the bottom up, put a nail through the hole, then clamp a strip along the nail and mark the fair line. Just be sure to mark along the outside of the strip. The gunwale strip fits underneath a 1/4" overhang of the deck surface - so don't cut the deck flush with the ends of the strongback ribs.

Finally, I cut down a 8' long 8/4 mahogany board into 3/4" x 1/4" strips. These are used for the outer gunwale edges and I'll also use some for details on the wings. Having done this, I can honestly say that spending the money to have someone mill the strips instead of me doing it was money well spent. It's messy, dusty, you have to be cautious to not cut off fingers, and for all that you wind up making big sticks into little ones. (I only had to visit the doctor once after this escapade - while cutting the very last strip, the push stick I was using was kicked back by the blade into my thumb, causing my thumb to bend back in some weird way. Nothing broken, just a very swollen thumb for a few days...)

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Strip counts

I haven't been working on the boat much recently - other things have been keeping me busy. I did create a strip count, however... here are my notes. All these counts are for one half of the hull - i.e. you could build port side with this many strips.

Strip count on the bulkhead material 26 strips

Strip count below the chine 23 strips chine to c/l

Strip count on the flare 21 strips per flare

 
 
These are all numbers for one side (port side).  Double these to 
get the full deck. 
 
centre to middle 
1    F 
2    1/2" yellow 
3    F 
4    1/2" yellow 
5    F 
6    F                  # first strip to fit into outer strips 
7    10' + scr 
8    F 
9s   cut (80") + scr (60") 
10s  cut + scr 
11   F 
12   F 
s    scr                # first strip which doesn't touch transom 
s    scr 
s    scr 
 
 
step to middle 
1    F                  # runs free both bow & stern 
2    F                  # runs free both bow & stern 
3    F                  # first strip to fit into centre strips 
4    10' + scr 
5-6  F 
7s   cut + scr 
8    F 
9    1/4" yellow 
1/2s 1/2 + scr 
11   F 
s    scr                # first strip which doesn't touch transom 
s    scr 
s    key 
 
step edge to the gunwale forward of station 6 
s    74" 
s    60" 
s    53" 
s    44" 
10s  ?                  # 14 scrap strips in total 
 
 
(plus a 14 scrap strips, lengths 74 to strip the area from the 
step edge to the gunwale forward of station 6) 
 
step: 
1/2  cut                # 104" 
-s   scr x 2            # 80" + 60" 
-s   scr x 2 
1/2  cut 
 
transom: 
cut x 20           # 58" 
 
gunwale: 
1-6  6              # full length 15' strips x6 
 
 
 
11/29/03 [bld] 360 bead/cove WRC, 5760 lineal feet @ $0.28 per   $2,028.12 
360 bead/cove western red cedar strips 1/4"x3/4"x16' 
5760 lineal feet x $0.28/lf 
12.5% savings for swift solo clients    $1612 
 
6 bead/cove yellow cedar strips 1/4"x3/4"x16' 
96 lineal feet x $0.55/lf               $52.80 
 
handling and packaging (4 tubes)        $80 
local transport to Vancouver BC         $125 
regional transport to Issaquah WA       $108.32 
customs services                        $50 
 
(net net for this order: $0.35/lf) 
 
 
10/24/04 [bld] 10 bead/cove WRC, 10 bead/cove yellow cedar       $370.81 
10 bead/cove western red cedar strips 1/4"x3/4"x16' 
160 lineal feet x $0.40/lf              $76 (?) 
 
10 bead/cove yellow cedar strips 1/4"x3/4"x16' 
160 lineal feet x $0.70/lf              $112 (?) 
 
(net net for this order: $1.159/lf) 
 
(net net for both orders: $0.39/lf) 
 
 
 
As of Feb 15/05, Raven quotes 
WRC at $0.40 for 16' ($0.36 for Swift Solos) and YC at $0.70 for 16'. 
 

A wee bit 'o epoxy

I decided I'd gotten to the point that it was time to start filling the staple holes. Not the end of sanding, but far enough along that there doesn't seem to be a lot remaining.

[Update 2005 Dec 21: I should note that if you're very observant, you can see this initial application of epoxy in the finished product. Probably not worth doing if you want a perfectly continuous tone to the finish.]

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Sanding, sanding

It's amazing how quickly strips go from looking like hell when they're glued up to looking smooth and sleek when they're sanded.

This week was spent pulling all the staples up and starting on sanding. This time around I pulled the staples with pliers, using the plastic when the staple was so tight I couldn't grip it with the pliers. I pulled up everything but two rows of staples and the screws in the bow, all the while scraping it down with the scraper (with a fresh blade). Once the bulk of the scraping was done, I hit the entire deck with the random orbital. I'm using the orbital a lot more for the deck - I sand it down to the point where I can't feel ridges, and then return with the fairing board and ensure it's completely flat. This goes a lot faster, and it seems like I'm getting just as good a surface.

In front of station 6 it is difficult to sand with the fairing board (or the ROS for that matter) - so I have had to use a block to be able to get things smooth. The curve changes quickly, and so the curve on the fairing board is either too little or too much. And the curve can change this much in the width of the board. This means that lots of moving around and sanding in different directions is required. I also found that the deck is too high to sand easily - I'm standing on a milk crate to be able to sand down. I probably should have taken 6" off the bottom of the sawhorses.

On the hull, I had problems with glue lines, especially in the flare where the flare is most concave. I don't seem to have as many glue lines this time - I was careful to press the strips tight to each other, and I'm going back and scraping off extra glue when I see it.

I picked up a sheet of 1/4" purpleheart, and once I got it home immediately thought "gee, wouldn't it be nice to have a 1/4" strip of that next to the 1/4" yellow cedar in the deck..." what a drag. Should have bought it sooner.

Another note - the front three stations with a step are shifted perhaps 1/8" to starboard. When you look at the deck, you can see that something's not quite right with the yellow cedar strips, as if they're flat on the port side. It's amazing how sensitive the eye is to things like this.

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