Outdoor build of GA Kodiak, Orange, CA

[Brian.Dixon]

Fiberglasssupply.com look on the net or call.  I often get stuff the next day.  Been  great to deal with so far.  I talk to Rich.

Ditto on Fiberglass Supply ... http://www.fiberglassSupply.com .  They're my go-to company for glass and fillers.  They're in the Seattle area.

Brian

[json]

Cool, I will check them out. There is a composites shop in newport beach called revchem that has a ton of stuff that's about 1/2 hour away depending on traffic, it's easier to order online but sometimes I will throw my kid in the car for the carpool lane and take a trip down there to just get the stuff in hand. After that glass snaffoo I am definitely interested in finding an online resource that's trustworthy.

[davidnolan]

Json whats the LOA going to be?

DO you use a carbide scraper on green glass?    I hope the answer is yes.  I'm assuming you are.

Dave

looks great!!

[json]

Json whats the LOA going to be?

DO you use a carbide scraper on green glass?    I hope the answer is yes.  I'm assuming you are.

Dave

looks great!!

Thanks Dave! LOA for the hull is currently a hair over 29', I made components for 28' but with the curvy transom I was able to maximize bottom panel and stringer length to get to 29'. Definitely yes on the scraper, makes the glass overlay or fairing much easier when there aren't wild strands sticking up all over the place.

-- Jason

[json]

I finished all the exterior seams on the boat today, and was able to glass the starboard side last night. Making progress, little by little. I didn't get to do the month of full time boat building that I had hoped for (life gets in the way of the best laid plans) but I did get to focus on it quite a bit more, so I am happy with the progress I have been able to make. I do have a fairly large hump on the starboard side where the second bow layer scarf joint is, I have sanded a lot of it down but it's still there somewhat. I might just say good enough is good enough and move on, as I am not sure how much material I am going to have to remove to get it down far enough.

[First Draft]

Fill in on either side of the hump and then sand and blend it in.  Kinda like doing a butt-joint in drywall.

[Djeffrey]

I agree fill in the low side and don’t sand the wood down any more. I had a little hump in that area as well. Filled it with micro balloons.

[json]

Ok, I will keep trying to fill around it. It's a pointy peak, so material removal seems like it's the way to achieve the right shape... I will keep on adding on both sides tho and hopefully I can come up with something that looks fair before too long.

[Jim_Hbar]

Being a bit of a "Devil's Advocate" here.  Some additional points to ponder.

Is the "hump" due to excess epoxy between the layers? or a void? 
If it is a void, then I see some "Epoxy Injection" in your near future.

IMO - IF you haven't glassed that area yet, and IF it is due to excess filler between layers, I would knock the wood down to get it to "grade", then continue fairing and glassing.  But you don't want to make this area of the hull any thinner than any other - just knock off the excess.  A straight edge (or a curved batten) will be your friend.

If you have your glass on already, you are stuck with fairing.  The glass layers provide the major component of the strength and stiffness to the panel, and you need to preserve their integrity, and not sand into them.

That area is approximately where the water surface (and debris) will impact the hull when planing at speed - I'm not sure a pile of weak filler between the wood and the glass is a good idea in that area.

When are you ever going to see it, after the hull is flipped?

David Nolan over on FishyFish swears by an 80 grit flap wheel on an angle grinder for finish sanding...............  Just be careful!!

Brian should be along shortly, and set us all straight

[json]

Being a bit of a "Devil's Advocate" here.  Some additional points to ponder.

Is the "hump" due to excess epoxy between the layers? or a void? 
If it is a void, then I see some "Epoxy Injection" in your near future.

IMO - IF you haven't glassed that area yet, and IF it is due to excess filler between layers, I would knock the wood down to get it to "grade", then continue fairing and glassing.  But you don't want to make this area of the hull any thinner than any other - just knock off the excess.  A straight edge (or a curved batten) will be your friend.

If you have your glass on already, you are stuck with fairing.  The glass layers provide the major component of the strength and stiffness to the panel, and you need to preserve their integrity, and not sand into them.

That area is approximately where the water surface (and debris) will impact the hull when planing at speed - I'm not sure a pile of weak filler between the wood and the glass is a good idea in that area.

When are you ever going to see it, after the hull is flipped?

David Nolan over on FishyFish swears by an 80 grit flap wheel on an angle grinder for finish sanding...............  Just be careful!!

Brian should be along shortly, and set us all straight

That's a good point Jim... I am going to do a bit of investigation to see how well the layers are laminated. There might be a void, although I think my underlying (first layer) scarf wasn't quite square and was a bit off center on the scarf surface which pushed up the next scarf joint a bit. I will drill a couple holes though to have a look...

[json]

A couple of exploratory holes later and I don't think there is a void. It's sort of hard to see in this pic but I put about 5 holes into spots that were in various locations near or far from fasteners or the joint (including one on the actual joint) and it seems like there aren't any gaps. I might do more just to make myself sleep better but I am pretty sure the bottom joint was shifted a bit up the joint on the top and that it just left a short surface on the top to adhere to. Looking from below there is a small ridge, combine that with possibly too much glue and maybe not a great centering of the second panel and I am pretty sure that's what is causing the issue.

[json]

David Nolan over on FishyFish swears by an 80 grit flap wheel on an angle grinder for finish sanding...............  Just be careful!!

This is hilarious... haha... I had some fill that wasn't quite stiff enough run into the chine flat on that seam and grabbed one of those wheels to clean it up. An hour and a whole crap-ton of dust later I had removed the material as well as cleaned up all the chine seams, and spent the next day filling all the craters I left behind. hahaha. Those wheels are no joke.

[Brian.Dixon]

I think everyone's on the right track here.  Use your eyes .... they're great at spotting un-fair conditions.  I expect a combo of taking off material at the 'hump' combined with filling on either side is the secret.  A little of each.  Get it right now and the final exterior sheathing will smooth things out.  Same on chines, especially near any scarfing.  It's OK if it's not perfect ... just tune it in and go forth.  I always say, "The difference between a good wood worker and a bad is that a good one knows how to hide the defects".  Each step in construction is a combination of fixing what wasn't perfect in the last step followed by performing the next step.  In the end, you get a fantastic boat!

Brian

[json]

I glassed the final strake today, they took forever and a day. I had to take down my tarp covering it because santa ana winds are supposed to be kicking up today and tomorrow, so I didn't want to have to go track it down after the blow. Question regarding epoxy and UV - how long can I leave this uncovered? I notice some of the epoxy is starting to turn yellow where it has been in the sun here and there, and I am trying to knock out the final fairing on the bottom and get it coated with graphite epoxy. I tried using titanium dioxide in epoxy on one of the sides to block UV but it's so heavy that it's really difficult to keep in solution, which means it's tough to get onto the boat. Any thoughts on how quickly/slowly UV damages epoxy would be helpful. It is also moving to fall which means the intensity of the sun is less, so that should sort of help on that front a bit.

Another question I have been wondering, I ordered some interlux primekote high body filler. Brian, you had mentioned somewhere that it 'hides a thousand sins'. I am pretty sure I have more than a thousand, but just how fair should I be trying to get before applying primer? For instance, if I miss fairing a seam of like 10oz cloth would a high body primer successfully hide that? I am hoping I can just get it it roughly dialed and then a couple coats of primer with a good sand in between and be done. I suppose I can test it on a scrap with different sized flaws and see what I can come up with. If I do primer and then find I need more fill, do I need to sand it all off before applying more fairing compound?

[Brian.Dixon]

This time of year, your latitude, I wouldn't worry about the UV at this point.  Discoloration happens long before breakdown and you'll be adding additional coats.

The barrier primer that I referred to is Interlux Barrier Kote 404/414.  It's a high-body primer.  The sins that it hides are more like rough grit sanding, not unfaired fiberglass edges.  I'd still fair things in, final sand with 100-grit, and use a high-body primer.  The 404/414 isn't the only one.  Just make sure it's compatible with epoxy and your paint system.  Sometimes, you have to put on a coat of your paint system's primer on top of the thicker barrier coat primer in order for your paint to stick well.  Tech support is your friend.....

Brian