Plank Sizes
6" wide planks worked reasonably well. If I were to do it
again I would use 6" planks for bottom and center section of sides.
There is a bit too much edge lift at ends where the curvature is
extreme. I would use 5" planks forward of front cockpit and aft of
rear cockpit.
Minimize the number of widths to allow re-use of the scraps.
At the transom, do not let the planks run too long. Trim within 1/2
inch of transom prior to gluing. If left long, the staples pull out as
the plank does not want to take on the transom curvature.
Plank layout and gluing
The planks are dry fit and stapled lightly in place. I started in the
middle and worked towards both ends. Number the planks and mark
the position of the battens and frames prior to removal. Leave the
starting or master plank in place as a guide.
Put the glue on the frame
(1.5-2" foam brush - stroke in 1 direction only to avoid breaking
brush). Have your helper "butter" the beveled edges with glue.
Once several planks are fastened, you can remove and glue down the
master. ~15 planks per session is the limit for me to get glued down and
cleaned up. If you have another helper inside doing clean up, progress
will be MUCH greater.
I normally staple the inner package of staples at a convenient point
on the boat bottom. This keeps the staples in reach and they won't fall
off due to the constant pounding. I used ~1 stick per plank on average
(Arrow T50 type). There is a lot of reloading with sticky fingers. At
the end of the session discard any staples in the package which have
glue on them. Otherwise, you will forget and have a jam in the middle of
the next glue session.
Lighting
There is a lot of time spent under the hull for clean-up and
filleting. Good lighting is important. The kids strung a set of C9 (7.5
watt) white Christmas light bulbs over the motor stringers. These work
well, provide even light and are not too hot. The bulbs are at head
level inside the hull.
Inside clean up
This is the most tedious part so far. Every batten edge and the
seams need to be cleaned up and the squeeze out is formed into fillets.
I used a small amount of ash flour in the epoxy in addition to the micro fibers
and colloidal silica. This gives a nice color match and
helps the fillets blend in better. I ended up using my finger tips - not
recommended - but I could not do it otherwise. Watch for errant staples.
They rip open the skin quickly and epoxy in the cuts is not pleasant.
Clean up is then finished with rags and denatured alcohol. I wear a
respirator and have the door cracked open. There are two dangers - Fume
buildup to toxic levels in the enclosed space and explosion hazard.
Watch out for both.
I removed the deck carlins in the cockpits to make it easier to crawl
around under the hull. |