Building a Squirt

Roberta Hegy · **Posted:** Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:48 pm

You just need to consider that the forward side of the transom will be bigger than the aft due to the angles cut for the sides and bottom. Depends on your pattern as to how you lay it out and then cut it.

Roberta

BarnacleMike · **Posted:** Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:01 am

Well, transom II is coming along nicely so far. I've already got the frame members cut. Drove to Atlanta yesterday & bought a sheet of 3/4 marine Douglas Fir for the transom itself & a nice piece of 1" Sapele for the motor board. Hopefully I'll get it assembled & glued within the next few days.

I'm thinking that the "safest" option for the 12-degree bottom will be to just fair off that part to make it even with the keel and battens, as Roberta mentioned. Aside from the considerable amount of sanding, are there any major reasons NOT to do it that way?

J Clark · **Posted:** Fri Mar 16, 2012 7:28 am

That's the way I did it on my squirt. Took a few minutes with a sharp hand plane to get it done.

When it comes time to plank your squirt I would stay away for the douglas fir in 1/4". Most of it isn't stamped and it is unbearably stiff. My local lumber yard is a Foxworth Galbraith and once they had there supplier on the phone I had them ask if they had Okoume. They didn't but they did have Virola marine ply in 6mm. It was cheaper than the douglas fir and it has a BS rating too. They didn't charge me shipping either. Sorry about the unsolicited advise but it just popped in my head since I was originally going the douglas fir route as well.

BarnacleMike · **Posted:** Fri Mar 16, 2012 1:45 pm

Thanks for letting me know about the Virola... I'll have to check that out.

BarnacleMike · **Posted:** Mon Mar 26, 2012 7:03 am

A little more progress over the weekend. I got transom II assembled, with motor board. This was my first experience with Poxy Shield + Silica filler for the gluing. I found it to be a very different beast than Poxy Grip... much more like a "paste" than like a "goo." Possibly I added more silica than necessary (2:1), but it in the end, worked. This time around, I only clamped the mating pieces together while the epoxy cured, whereas before I screwed the pieces together while the glue was still wet. I may add some screws still, although from what I've read the epoxy is much stronger.

I also brushed on my first layer of "encapsulating" epoxy on frames 1 and 2. That went pretty smoothly. However, 2 days later, the cured epoxy has a slightly "wet" feel to it. It's definitely not sticky... Rather, it feels kind of slick, almost like there's a thin film of oil on it. I'm wondering if it's just condensation. Anyone else encounter this?

Roberta Hegy · **Posted:** Mon Mar 26, 2012 7:12 am

What you are seeing and feeling is called "amine blush". Very common with many epoxies especially if it cured in humid conditions. If you recoat within 24hrs it presents no problems. On fully cured epoxy it should be cleaned off with water and scotchbrite and wiped down with clean rags before sanding and recoating.

Roberta

BarnacleMike · **Posted:** Mon Mar 26, 2012 8:30 am

GREAT info. Thank you! I'll see if I can't get them cleaned off this afternoon.

Yes, this is a very high-humidity climate. And last Saturday was a particularly humid day.

upspirate · **Posted:** Mon Mar 26, 2012 9:18 pm

Amine Blush....some info:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Anmine+ ... 40&bih=773

BarnacleMike · **Posted:** Tue Mar 27, 2012 6:25 am

Last night I washed the frames with water & a mild detergent, then dried them with a clean rag. That seemed to work, but after reading some of the articles in UPS's link, I think I'll wash and scrub them a little more vigorously just to make sure it's all off before I sand & add the next encapsulation layer.

On sanding the epoxy... I was planning to just sand it smooth with 220 grit before adding the 2nd layer of epoxy. Is this the right way to go, or does the first layer need more scuffing for the 2nd layer to adhere to?

Thank you, as always for your help!

upspirate · **Posted:** Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:13 am

When I scrub blush off,I use a scotch-brite scouring pad.i buy a box of them from Sam's club.

I also use detergent and ammonia in the warm water....I found that ammonia from the hardware store doesn't have lemon oil in it (wasn't sure if that would affect the outcome,so didn't want it) and was much stronger

jprice · **Posted:** Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:25 am

Does getting rid of the blush really require that much to remove?
I haven't had to clean too much of it yet, but the little bit where I have, I've just done a quick wipe with some denatured alcohol. Seemed to work fine.
Does it really need a thorough scrubbing to remove amine blush?

upspirate · **Posted:** Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:29 am

I scrub pretty good...if any is left on, neither paint nor epoxy will stick to it,so I scrub pretty good.

My last build, I didn't scrub or scuff up the inside, (didn't know about blush back then and no forum :wink:

) and the paint peeled in lots of places

BarnacleMike · **Posted:** Tue Mar 27, 2012 11:57 am

Should I scuff the epoxy surface before adding the 2nd coat of epoxy?

Also, is 2 layers adequate for frame encapsulation, or would 3 be preferable?

Roberta Hegy · **Posted:** Tue Mar 27, 2012 12:22 pm

If the epoxy is cured you need to scuff it up so the subsequent coats will mechanically bond. Two is usually enough, but if an area looks dry, give it more.

I am using a very slow curing epoxy (System Three General Purpose with the slowest hardener, also supplied from Glen L) and that gives me more time to add coats so I don't have to clean blush or scuff between coats. As long as the epoxy is not fully cured you can do this. Once it has hardened up, you must clean blush off and scuff sand. Also, I have not had problems with blush due to my drier environment. I use 120 to scuff sand for resins and 220 to scuff sand epoxy for top coats like paint and varnish.

Roberta

BarnacleMike · **Posted:** Tue Apr 10, 2012 7:50 am

I sanded & scuffed the epoxy with 120 grit, then added a 2nd layer of Poxy Shield. Again, I had the amine blush to deal with, but I just scrubbed it off with a scotch-brite pad & some warm water with a little dishwashing liquid, then wiped it off with a clean towel.

I wanted to encapsulate the two frames before temporarily fastening them into the construction form notches. I'm not sure yet if I should encapsulate the inner side of the transom & the stem assembly NOW, or if it would be better to wait until I flip the hull... Any suggestions?

Here's a photo of my latest progress... initial fitting of the stem assembly to frame #2.

Glen-L.com

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