We also went over the taped joints one last time. This one was the worst. There was a large gap in the joint. The gap had no epoxy in it, and the tape had bonded poorly at the seam. We cleaned things up and filled the joint with thickened epoxy.
Not a single tape joint was truly smooth. There were "waves" in the epoxy, so we smoothed it all out by laying thickened epoxy, using a sqeegee.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Patched Front Transom Gap
We went around the entire boat and patched all gaps, holes, gouges, and so forth, with thickened epoxy.
...and Then I Went to Help Greg...
... work on his boat.
This week we did a final laying of thickened epoxy, in preparation for taping the seams.
In this photo, you will see a small gap between the transom and the hull, and a screw hole.
This week we did a final laying of thickened epoxy, in preparation for taping the seams.
In this photo, you will see a small gap between the transom and the hull, and a screw hole.
Flaw in the Rubrail
In a continuation of "back to basics" week, I will discuss this rubrail in a bit more detail.
We purchased 10-foot sections of oak, which is obviously too short for the entire canoe. We compensated for this by angle-cutting the oak sections and joining them together with epoxy. We did the joints at port-bow and starboard-stern, for load balancing. This way if we hit something that would break one joint, they both wouldn't break.
This spring, my boat hit a rock in rapids, and popped the rubrail joint. I tried patching the popped joint with gorilla glue, but that was inadequate for the job, and the joint popped again, (on a much smaller rock, at a much lower speed.)
As you can imagine, I was starting to get a little frustrated over my canoe continually "breaking." I figured it was time to do the job right, so I decided to sand and re-epoxy the joint from scratch.
Unfortunately, my daughter wanted to help, and due to a perfect storm of circumstances, I didn't quite mix the epoxy right, and it never quite set. Growing even more weary of this ongoing problem, I sunk a couple of bronze nails into the seams, figuring that would do it. That's when I sanded and painted the boat, and when I noticed the flaw in this picture. If you look VERY closely (not the best picture), you can see that there's no epoxy bonding the rubrail to the hull. Once the paint dries, but before I stain the rubrails, I will bond the rubrail to the hull with a thin line of unthickened epoxy.
We purchased 10-foot sections of oak, which is obviously too short for the entire canoe. We compensated for this by angle-cutting the oak sections and joining them together with epoxy. We did the joints at port-bow and starboard-stern, for load balancing. This way if we hit something that would break one joint, they both wouldn't break.
This spring, my boat hit a rock in rapids, and popped the rubrail joint. I tried patching the popped joint with gorilla glue, but that was inadequate for the job, and the joint popped again, (on a much smaller rock, at a much lower speed.)
As you can imagine, I was starting to get a little frustrated over my canoe continually "breaking." I figured it was time to do the job right, so I decided to sand and re-epoxy the joint from scratch.
Unfortunately, my daughter wanted to help, and due to a perfect storm of circumstances, I didn't quite mix the epoxy right, and it never quite set. Growing even more weary of this ongoing problem, I sunk a couple of bronze nails into the seams, figuring that would do it. That's when I sanded and painted the boat, and when I noticed the flaw in this picture. If you look VERY closely (not the best picture), you can see that there's no epoxy bonding the rubrail to the hull. Once the paint dries, but before I stain the rubrails, I will bond the rubrail to the hull with a thin line of unthickened epoxy.
Back To Basics
Building the Nice Canoes was our experiment. We built the canoes first, so we could get an idea of how much work building the GT-23 would be, and to make sure we were up for that kind of work.
I've had my canoe for about a year and a half, and I've used it a LOT. She was starting to show her age...
It was time for a new paint job. I sanded down the entire exterior, including the rubrails. This photo shows the paint job. Today or tomorrow I'll do a bit more painting, a little touch-up, and then it's into storage.
I've had my canoe for about a year and a half, and I've used it a LOT. She was starting to show her age...
It was time for a new paint job. I sanded down the entire exterior, including the rubrails. This photo shows the paint job. Today or tomorrow I'll do a bit more painting, a little touch-up, and then it's into storage.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Answers to Questions
As I mentioned in my last post, Greg asked a couple of questions about planing a swath along the seams, so the fiberglass lays flush to the hull after laying the fiberglass, as opposed to building up the layers of fiberglass, then fairing... thus saving us some sanding. Bateau recommended that we not do this. Here are a couple of other links that discuss the recommended methods of taping and sanding the seams...
Stitch and glue basic tutorial
Outside fiberglassing
Stitch and glue basic tutorial
Outside fiberglassing
Monday, October 03, 2005
Video Synopsis
It's been a while since we've made any significant progress on the boat, so we haven't done any videos for a while. In commemoration of what we've accomplished this weekend, we did a video. If you're interested, click here.
We plan to build the keel up one more time, and sand again, just to make sure we've got a straight line, and to make sure it's properly filled before we lay the fiberglass. If you're interested in seeing our plan for that, click here.
We plan to build the keel up one more time, and sand again, just to make sure we've got a straight line, and to make sure it's properly filled before we lay the fiberglass. If you're interested in seeing our plan for that, click here.
SandedHull
All of the seams are now sanded and rounded. We've got a procedural question in to the gurus about taping the corners. Apparently, some people plane the hull where the seams are, and the result is a lot less sanding. We'll let you know when we find out.
Trimmed Transom
Greg got the overhang trimmed from the front and rear transom, using a jigsaw. It looks a lot better now.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Clarification on the Errors We're Experiencing
I received a message from one of the administrators at bateau, requesting that I clarify something about the errors we're experiencing.
There are three possible places where these fitting problems could be occurring. Those places are the plans themselves, the kit, or how we as builders are executing these plans (or any combination thereof). At this point I honestly don't know the root cause of the issue. I will say unequivocally that the administrators at bateau have been incredible about working with us when we've experienced problems, and I will clarify for the record that it's highly possible that the issues are due to what we're doing and how we're doing it, as opposed to it being a problem with the plans or the kit we purchased.
Please do NOT take the contents of this blog as any intent to question the quality of the plans that bateau produces, nor the kits that they manufacture. This blog is designed to look at the building process... nothing more.
There are three possible places where these fitting problems could be occurring. Those places are the plans themselves, the kit, or how we as builders are executing these plans (or any combination thereof). At this point I honestly don't know the root cause of the issue. I will say unequivocally that the administrators at bateau have been incredible about working with us when we've experienced problems, and I will clarify for the record that it's highly possible that the issues are due to what we're doing and how we're doing it, as opposed to it being a problem with the plans or the kit we purchased.
Please do NOT take the contents of this blog as any intent to question the quality of the plans that bateau produces, nor the kits that they manufacture. This blog is designed to look at the building process... nothing more.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
A Nod to the Designer/Architect
In my last post, Dr. Howdy has (quite rightly) recommended that I give some credit to the designer/architect of this fine boat. Greg purchased the plans from www.bateau.com. I will work to find out more about the individual who designed this boat and will post as the designer deems fit.
Front Transom - Inside
This is the front transom from "inside" the boat. Again, the purpose of this round of work was to fillet the front and rear transoms. If you notice at the top center of this pic, the thickened epoxy dripped. Why??? Because we were too lazy to run to the store for good duct tape. we used package tape instead, it didn't hold, and the peanut butter oozed through. This will cost us a lot more work in the long run, when it's time to sand.
Filleting
In this picture, we are filleting the gap between the hull and front transom. In the picture you will notice the large gap filled with thickened epoxy. You see the stringer in the left-top of the picture, and you see that the stringer is covered with plastic, in order to prevent the stringer from sticking to the transom or hull during the epoxying process.
Another Shot of the Hull
In this picture, we've still got weights on the front end, because we haven't filleted the inside transom joints with thickened epoxy yet.
Coming Along Nicely
We've got the joints epoxied, and the zip ties are pulled out. You may notice a couple of sloppy tape joints. We'll need to fix them before we glass the whole boat. If you click on the picture, you'll be referred to flickr, where you can see a larger picture, and a note pointing out the sloppy tape joint.
Front Transom Overhang
The overhang on the front transom is more pronounced than the rear transom. Again, the hull extends past the front transom.
Though this makes for a bit more work, I'd rather have the pieces measure too large than too small. It's a lot easier to cut away the excess than it is to build on a piece that's too short.
Though this makes for a bit more work, I'd rather have the pieces measure too large than too small. It's a lot easier to cut away the excess than it is to build on a piece that's too short.
More Flaws in the Plans
This is a picture of where the hull and rear transom come together. If you look, you can see that the hull extends past the transom. In addition to this, we've discovered that the rear transom was also too wide, and we've had to shave some width from the port and starboard sides of the rear transom.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
