[omegadef]

I did something different today and took a short video of a walk around.
I have done a decent amount of work on the port side. You can see the markup's where more attention is needed. one or two more passes with the magical correction putty and we will in a place to start glassing.

This whole phase of the project would have been completed much more quickly had I taken a different approach to getting the core on the frames. I would also have increased the number of frames between the middle and the bow. When I get closer to the end, I'll try to make a summary of all the places I made mistakes so hopefully some of you wont.

Let me know if you like the video. I can do this without too much effort and it lets you see the curves and the flare much better.

 

[omegadef]

Well, today was a roller coaster of emotion.
Last night I finished fairing the core and round overs. I got the resin coat on the hull early this morning. Took another progress video. Next time I may turn the phone sideways for this, but I will likely forget. Lovebugs cannot handle the smell I guess. They pass out and immediately divebomb onto the wet resin. I will have fun removing them later.

I cut out the mat for the first layer, images to show how I cut it below. I used the edge of the box to keep a straight edge on the cut. My wife is going to be cursing me about the strands of fiberglass in the house for a long time coming.

This is where the day took a bad turn. I started applying the first layer of mat at the transom, only to have a rainstorm come out of nowhere in the middle of the lamination process. I cut off the fiberglass as soon as it started, but the resin got extremely cloudy just from the moisture in the air. I panicked and PM'd Chris asking if I needed to take it off, but before i gave him a chance to respond, I decided I would rather not have that constantly in the back of my mind. I pulled the glass off before it hardened and will grind whatever is left off before I start again. I am out about 20oz of resin and a yard of cloth, but I feel much better about the whole ordeal this way. The weather ruined the rest of the day for progress though. Hopefully the week coming up is dry.

 

[omegadef]

Got about 8ft of one side glassed yesterday before the gnats ran me inside. A couple of lovebugs have incorporated themselves into the hull. I have a couple of bubbles to grind out, but overall it went pretty good. I think the main thing is to work in small sections with the mat.

 

[omegadef]

Quick update from the phone. 40% of the way done with the first layer. I’m basically out of resin, but more is on the way.

 

[omegadef]

Kind of a big update, though I'm moving slower than most on here with builds do. If there is any threat of rain, I don't glass. First, another $500 in supplies showed up. I believe I will need two more buckets of resin after this one to finish.

The resin is $180 a bucket, but shipping is $110 due to it being flammable and heavy, so its about $60 a gallon. This would be a good reason to live in Florida. I can find regular polyester resin in 5 gallon buckets in New Orleans, for $120. I will probably be switching over to this for the inside of the hull and the deck. Based on hull area alone, my calculations put the total I would need at a 60% resin to glass ratio at 14 gallons, but that does not include filler flange or extra layers at the transom.

I got the mat laid over the whole hull and got the edge mold for the sheer in place. I used "U' shaped lattice caps. I was able to just screw this down. It would have made the bends if I had a heat gun handy, but I didn't. I used non hardening clay to make the radius and shape the corners. Overall it wasn't bad. Its a shame this material isn't taller for use on the deck mold.

I then laid down a layer of 6" wide 1708 tape along the sheer flange. I started wetting this out on a separate board, but it went just as easy doing it in place. I peeled it back and put resin on both sides. I could squeegee excess resin that settled into the trough over to the next piece. It took slightly over 64oz of resin to do the whole flange.

I cut the excess cloth that was hanging over the sheer flange, then I went through and knocked off resin drips and other high spots to get me ready for the cloth layer to go over the top. I will get it measured and ready to go this week. Here's how she sits.

 

[omegadef]

I got the first layer of 10oz cloth on it today.Only a few spots to work on at on the transom where the overlap was. I started at 7am and finished at noon without any breaks, completely solo.
I don't think there is quite enough resin left to complete the next mat layer. That layer of 1708 tape around the sheer took more resin than I anticipated. I guess its time to order more. Love bugs were out in force today. I'll get to sand them away.

 

[omegadef]

Outside glass is on. Just need to trim the flange and then I can flip it.
I came up with a new method to do the glass this time, completely by myself. Had the whole cloth layer down in less than 3 hours. I glassed one strip all the way to the keel. Each time I would mix a new cup of resin(16oz batches) I would go back to the wet edge and extend it a couple of inches further onto the other side. this way I was able to do the whole boat without anything hardening before I was ready. I would have cut the time in half if I had had help. I added a few strips of 1708 in some key areas as well.

 

[omegadef]

Quick phone update. Flipped. went from feeling super accomplished to feeling like I barely started after seeing how much work is left.

 

[bryson]

Congrats man, big step!

 

[Mike Haydon]

Wow that thing is a lot wider than it looks upside down. Looks great so far. Keep at it. At this pace you will finish before you know it. It's the last 10% that kill you. You want to use it and the list just keeps growing.

 

[Zika]

Noticeable headway if you don't see it every day. Keep plugging and you'll be fishing before you know it!

 

[omegadef]

No more physical progress, but I did take a pass at designing a poling platform and deck layout now that I have actual dimensions. Livewell will be the small hatch at the back of the boat.
The entire poling platform will be fiberglass, frame and all. I may build it after the boat is running so as to not delay it any further.

 

[omegadef]

It lives.

 

[CurtisWright]

This is really good DIY here.

 

[omegadef]

I got the inside skin done. Transom is next.

 

[omegadef]

From the other thread i made about console dimensions and design:

Thanks everyone. That console Tigweld posted is almost perfect with excellent craftsmanship. I did a little design around that and came up with this one.
View attachment 160063
View attachment 160062
View attachment 160061
View attachment 160064
View attachment 160065

 

[tractortitan]

awesome job, really cool. the computer images are bad ass too

 

[omegadef]

Did some glassing on the transom and received the fuel tank.
I layed up a layer of mat on the inside of the transom, followed by a layer of cloth, then wet out a layer on mat on the core piece and then rigged a clamp while everything was still wet. I left a pool of resin on the top and squeezed across the width to make sure there were no bubbles.

 

[Seebs]

Great work, seems to be coming along nicely.

 

[omegadef]

Been spending vacation to get some work done when weather is cooperating. Thank god I'm using polyester resin and not epoxy, because I'd never be able to finish. This is sort of a big update so I'll just space it out with the images to follow. I have decided to go side console and floorless cockpit. If i decide I don't like floor-less, I will add a floor for next season.
I will finish out the rest of the interior and then flip to fair the outside before I build the deck.

Notable accomplishments:

• Inside of transom glassed, in one layup, it got hot AF when it was curing. Had to grind out a couple of bubbles near the bottom on the last layer of cloth. so from outside to inside its 10oz/CSM/10oz/CSM/Core/csm/10oz/csm/Core/csm/10oz/csm/10oz/csm/10oz. Transom came out slightly over 2" thick.
• Drain tube installed, 1" fiberglass tube, silica'd in place and glassed over.
• Front and rear bulkheads installed
• Built splashwell, need to fair and glass inside before I install.
• Rod tubes fit (I may dress these up more, but they are probably gonna stay like they are.
• Purchased jackplate
• Purchased trailer
• Purchased 60hp Tohatsu, which is in sitting at the dealer waiting on me to stop being slow and lazy