More Plywood, Keel Catastrophe, Start Building a Boat, More Scarfing, Epoxy Resins & Gluing Techniques.

 The Last 11 sheets of Plywood.

At last a window of fine weather allowed me to pick up the plywood from Sydney. The last 11 sheets of Okoume are loaded onto the roof racks and a few other goodies in the boot. When back at the workshop I stored the plywood vertically on a raised floor and secured tight against the storage frame.

More work on the Keel.

I thought It would be easier to add some extra layers of cloth to the very bottom of the keel before installing the bottom and sides. This would provide extra protection when beaching and loading onto the trailer. I removed the keel assembly from the building cradle and placed upside down on two sawhorses. 

I taped up the centerboard opening to prevent epoxy flowing into the centerboard case.

I applied a second layer of cloth wet on wet.

When cured I trimmed the excess cloth, sanded and cleaned the area and proceeded to place the assembly back into the cradle when............bang crash.......the keel assembly toppled off the wheeled trolley and the forward end of the keelson broke off, fortunately this was the only damage.

I recall reading a comment from another Pocketship builder who accidently broke off the forward section of their keelson and I admired their positive comment and attitude regarding the challenge to repair it. 

So now I've given myself that extra challenge to replace it.

"Oh the Joys of boatbuilding"

Here is my three-piece keelson, The challenge here is to firstly remove a large enough section above the nose block to be able to firmly glue the new piece in place. The section was removed using an oscillating renovator tool. The broken pieces are used as a template to make the new section.

Two straight edges are clamped to the centerboard case and used as a visual guide to ensure the new keelson piece is exactly midline along the keel. After a dry fit with screws and clamps the new piece is glued in place to the nose block.

The new keelson piece is cleaned up, now I can get back to the build.

Finally It's Time to Start Building a Boat.

I placed four 2.5 m x 1.2 m sheets of 6mm ply together and marked out the blanks for the hull bottoms and cabin sides.

The Second and Third Scarf of the Build.

The hull bottom blanks are scarfed and glued together on sawhorses. A long straight piece of timber is clamped on the edge to ensure the two 2.5-meter panels are aligned. It's now you get an idea of how long the length of the boat will be, my workshop/garage is looking a bit smaller.

I thought I would share some of my thoughts on epoxy resins and gluing techniques.

EPOXY RESIN.

As I mentioned in the beginning of the blog I am using "Bote-Cote" epoxy resins and products. (Please Note: I am not sponsored by this company)

 I have experience in several types of epoxy resins over the years and decided on "Bote-Cote" for this build due to the following:

• It has a two resin to one hardener mixing ratio.
• It has no amine blush which makes sanding easier and reduces sandpaper clog.
• Brushes, utensils and surfaces can be cleaned with methylated spirits (no need for acetone)
• The resin is water soluble until dry with makes personal wash up easy.
• It has a thinning agent to enable better absorption into the wood fibers.
• The gluing and filleting powders are of a density that reduces dust when mixing. 
• It's an Aussie company and a one-stop shop which for me is very convenient.
• Its low allergenic formulation.

TECHNIQUE.

• Firstly, prepare the area, benches, tools, resin station etc. 
• Perform an assembly practice trial run i.e., clamp/use weights or screw pieces in place then unclamp/unweight/unscrew the pieces in order.
• Mix up resin and wet out all timbers and end grains using brushes, scrapers or foam applicators.
• Add glue filler powders to resin and apply.
• Secure pieces together with clamps/weights or screws.
• Clean up during the curing process, it's much easier than sanding cured epoxy.

That's the end of the Third month of construction.