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Foam Core build in Louisiana

46K views 125 replies 33 participants last post by  omegadef 
#1 ·
I've finally got enough progress to post something. I had debated back and forth about whether or not to post this online, but I figure I learn a lot from seeing other builds and maybe someone will learn from mine. Also, you guys have a tendency to prod enough that progress happens.

I had originally designed the boat to be built stitch and glue, and had completed most of the jig. I was waiting for the right opportunity to go buy the marine plywood (3hr round trip), when I came across some of the conchfish builds on this site. The idea of not having any wood in the boat appealed to me greatly.

I went back and forth about ordering plans and starting over, but I'm the kind of person that would rather build something I designed. So, I took my design from freeship and modified it in sketch-up to include a few design features that Chris Morejohn uses, as well as adding a bit of forward flotation. It took a bit of thought to devise a way to get some use out of the work I had already completed. Screen caps explain the modifications fairly well;I'm not sure why freeship left an artifact of a vagina in the transom, I never bothered to remove it.

My wife scoffed at the $1200 box of foam that arrived on our doorstep. Forgiveness is easier than permission. I had already purchased 3gal of epoxy so I'm stuck with epoxy. Price difference is not that high vs vinylester, but I'm understanding that the work involved is. I'm not sure on lamination schedule yet. I also don't fully understand if stringers are necessary. Maybe Chris Morejohn will chime in.

The boat will land somewhere between 18.5 and 19 feet long. Beam is about 75 inches. Might be too big to be considered a micro-skiff.

I still have to get the transom angle support figured out. I think I will cut the transom out of a piece of foam. I am also going to attach the flange mold to the jig before I attach any foam, but we are going pretty quickly now. The bow mold has a very slight curve in it. I will pull it straight with the flange.

I'm sure work, the 8 month old son, or hunting season will slow me up again. If the temperature doesn't cool off soon, bow season will become boatbuilding season.

Anyway, here comes the pictures.















 
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#60 · (Edited)
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
 
#68 ·
Got rigging tubes run, and gel in the hatches. Didn't fair inside the hatch areas. I will fair the cockpit though. I had to stack a bunch of small pieces of cloth to get the bow u-bolt a flat surface for the backing plate to rest on. I do not want to ever have to mess with it once its in. Locktite will happen.
I don't remember if i said it anywhere, but the whole boat will be FGCI seafoam green.
164741


Vacuumed and ready for gel.


1st coat on(no wax)


2nd coat on(with wax)


Remaining tasks of significance in order:
Glass in rod tubes
Fair cockpit
Gel cockpit
Drag boat into yard and cover with tarp
Fabricate deck
Fabricate hatches
Glue deck to hull
Flip hull
Fair outside of hull
Add Lifting strakes
Gel outside
Make it pretty
FLIP IT ONTO TRAILER AND RIG IT
 
#76 ·
Lookin very good, love the interior color, is the hull goin to be the same color
 
#81 ·
Got the first two coats of gelcoat on. I've been slacking on all fronts, including the posting of updates. I'm past ready to start fishing.

It's as fair as I feel like taking it, I've had enough. The pictures kind of make it look way worse than it is in some areas, and better than it is in others. For instance, the stbrd chine pocket is not curved, its as square as you can get.
From 30 feet away it looks like a production boat, any closer and you begin to wonder if it was made in a carport over the course of two years. Pretty boats catch less fish anyway.
I went with a simple planing strake made out of half inch core. I has 1708 tape overlapping up to the corner. I used a powerplaner to shape the foam. I should have used a powerplaner to fair the core material, but I'll file that one away for my next boat. The tape looks less fair than it is in the pictures, but it will be underwater anyway.

I have a couple pictures of the first coat (rolled and tipped) and the second coat, which was applied via brush only.
No wax yet. I will probably do one more pass without wax with a brush before I do the final coat with wax, then I'll sand the whole thing and buff it to show just how not fair it is. I also gave the whole boat a wipedown with acetone before the first coat to ensure we had a good bond.
For those not aware, gelcoat and polyester resins need something to prevent air from getting to them to cure fully. This is why fresh fiberglass gums up sandpaper so bad. Usually either wax is added to the gelcoat or on small pieces PVA is applied after the surface is no longer tacky.







 
#86 ·
I've not been keeping up with this very well. I will be down a week as I am having deviated septum surgery tomorrow. Here's a long overdue dump.

Got the exterior gelcoat done, wetsanded to 400, 600, 800, and then 1000. Used totalbuff, totalshine, and podium finish.





Got it flipped over and put on the trailer.







I procured 5 sheets of 3/4" melamine and laid them down on top of some 2x4 scraps to raise it off the ground a tad. I screwed some 5mm luan underlayment down across the gunnels and ran a flush trim bit on a router around the outside to get the template. Then I built the hatch gutters which was a 2x3 with a 1x4 kreg screwed to it with a 2x2 for the return. For the hatches, I should be able to use a piece of 1/2" core edge to edge with the glass skins and be pretty close to flush at 3/4" thick. I used partall mold release wax on the wooden pieces and painted the entire thing with PVA.




 
#87 ·
For the deck lamination, I put down a layer of 1.5oz mat followed by a layer of 10oz cloth. Then another layer of 1.5oz mat and the core pieces. After feathering the edge I put down a later of 1708 over the top of the core. To feather the core, I used the 7" sander at 2000RPM and just bumped it until it looked right. The foam core dust was very hard to remove from the rest of the laminate, and I wound up having to lightly sand and then wipe down with acetone to get it ready for the next layer. I would recommend to lay the hatch channels and flanges separately from the main structure, it's just too much to have to keep up with. I had many spots that I had to grind out the problem areas. I reinforced the hardware areas and ran a layer of 1708 tape around the outer and inner flange. The hatch channels have 4+ layers of 1.5oz mat on them with 1708 on the outside verticals. I kept all of the core cuts as straight as possible to help with getting the 1708 to follow contours. All of this was completed with having to vacuum out a few inches of rain water nearly every day before work could begin. My back is stronger now, and I am woefully aware of my excess body fat.









With help from the wife and mother in law, we got it pulled from the mold, which was a little nerve wracking. Some of the hatch gutter molds had to come out with the deck, but everything pulled out pretty easily. The deck had a lot of flex at the point where the rod supports will be, so I'm going to heavily reinforce that a bit before we glue it down. I have to trim up the back flange and cut out the area over the splash well. I am still not sure how I will be tying the deck to the splash well. There's also an interference point where the front hatch meets the rod tube supports, but I expected that. I had excellent help pulling the clay and tape off of the pulled part.




All I lack is finishing up.
 
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