I really like using the silicone glue brushes and just paint epoxy on. The epoxy just peels of the brush when dry. 2 thin coats is more than enough to seal the wood.
Following good advice, I started on the stringer on the port side. It's slow progress, but I'm getting there. Next is the starboard stringer, and then the casement decks. Once I get all these glued on, I will sand it all flush and then epoxy it all. Thank you for the tips on how to apply the epoxy to the ribs.
Update: I have all of the stringers and casemate decks glued on. It's not very pretty, but it should do the trick. Next I'll sand everything flush and then get down on some epoxy action.
Well, there was a bombing at the shipyard last night. :cry: I was sealing the frames with epoxy and one of the casemate decks broke. I will repair it and continue on with the sealing. Is there an easy way to tell the spots I missed on the first go around with the epoxy sealing? Thanks for the help guys. Cheers
Hello again, I worked on sanding last weekend, and now I will finish water proofing the hull, hopefully this weekend. I have seen a few different ways to create the hard area before fiber glassing. One method that looked easy was gluing in foam blocks and cutting it down with a hot wire. As far as foam goes, has anyone tried that "Great Stuff" spray foam? I will try to post some pictures when there is visible progress. Cheers, Garrett
I used it on my Edgar Quinet, actually. I put an outer shell of 1/64" ply on the outside of the frames, then put down a sheet of wax paper, and then a piece of 1/8" thick balsa with a weight on it to keep the foam from expanding straight up (wax paper keeps it from sticking to the balsa). Spray the Great Stuff into the spaces between the ribs and wait. Come back the next day, and trim the foam that's expanded into your penetrable area. I sealed the top (where it got trimmed) with epoxy just in case.
Sealing is a must if you go with this method. Great stuff will degrade (worse when subjected to UV) and begin to lose its integrity over time.Tugboatt must be much better with great stuff application than I am... I would be scared to get near one of my boats with it in fear of having the foam completely encapsulate it due to my typical over application
I just noticed in your last picture there is a bottle of Titebond II in the background.... Titebond III would be a better choice moving forward.... Make sure to waterproof anything you already fastened with Titebond II really well, and I would use epoxy to waterproof and not a spar urethane or anything of the like due to that.
I found a few pics from the process... Below you can see a number of weighty objects sitting on top of the balsa, on top of the wax paper. And after the foam hardened and the balsa and weight removed... I had trimmed some of the foam in this pic. I had gotten a bit messy at one point... Note that the wax paper DID actually stick to the foam. Oops. Forgot that part. Trimmed; you can see a few spots where I got worried that I would spray in too much....
Thank you for all the info and help. I did use Titebond III for all of the wood gluing. I sprayed the foam in with the inside of the hull covered like the pictures Tug put up, but I did not put the balsa on the bottom, because I figured it would be easier to trim the outside than the inside. Will it be ok to apply the fiberglass directly to the foam, or will I need to allpy something similar to the balsa in Tug's build before fiberglassing? I only ask because balsa is scarce in my neck of the woods. Thanks again for the help guys. Cheers, Garrett
Thank you for all the info and help. I did use Titebond III for all of the wood gluing. I sprayed the foam in with the inside of the hull covered like the pictures Tug put up, but I did not put the balsa on the bottom, because I figured it would be easier to trim the outside than the inside. Will it be ok to apply the fiberglass directly to the foam, or will I need to allpy something similar to the balsa in Tug's build before fiberglassing? I only ask because balsa is scarce in my neck of the woods. Thanks again for the help guys. Cheers, Garrett
Here is part of the hull with the foam sanded to the contours of the ribs. Below is a picture before sanding. Does it look right for the waterline to be right about on the stringer in the above picture? The blue marker is the waterline calculation. It is about 1 inch below the bottom of the subdeck. Thanks for the interest. Cheers, Garrett
