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Roberta Hegy · **Posted:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 4:25 am

Lookin' Good, Ian!!!

Roberta

Onplane · **Posted:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 10:27 am

Iggy! No doubt you have been busy!

Looking great. Doesn't look like you had veneer splinters either... I was wondering how that would turn out. Seems like every piece I cut splinters on the end...

Good job on the square head screws too. Much easier to install and remove than a regular phillips.

jeffh · **Posted:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 11:46 am

Really lookin go Ian.

Iggy · **Posted:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:59 pm

Robertson screws are the best... ask any Canadian

I removed about a hundred today before my cordless drills needed recharging.. only a few 'stuck' and only 2 so far pull a tiny bit of the meat.

Pre-coating the epoxy really helped with splinters.. the edges cut as clean as I could hope for.

I picked up what just might be my last batch of epoxy (2 gallons), screws, foam rollers, fiberglass (top deck) mesh, and a few extra mixing supplies from Don @ Boatcraft today.

The 'end' is not quite in sight, but definately on the horizon now.

denbrlr · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:50 am

Just keep on

fergal butler · **Posted:** Fri Aug 05, 2011 10:36 am

It won't be long now before you have to change the name of this post to where to finish :lol:

Great work.

Iggy · **Posted:** Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:04 pm

I am very sore! 1st layer of white tinted epoxy got layed in the deck seams today and I would still be out there if Trish (wife) didn't help me to pretty much all of it. Its 1st layer because, as we discovered, epoxy likes to run downhill and the rear deck has a lot more slope than you might envision at first glance. Even slighly thickened epoxy quickly started pooling near the bottom. I added some temporary tape 'dams' to halt the flow and will let everything setup tonight and add a 2nd layer to fill the remaining void tomorrow... with a much thicker batch.

The epoxy I used is a slow hardener and non-blushing so I should be able to fill the last little bit tomorrow if I can summon the strength to get out of bed to do it!

Pictures tomorrow... even with a bit of a mess it looks pretty cool with the white lines standing out!

Roberta Hegy · **Posted:** Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:26 am

Ian, I used System Three Gel Magic and their white pigment for my caulking. I had no issues with running or sagging. The tape over the deck boards helped me with cleanup. I was able to get all the cleaning done long before the caulk cured hard. When it was turning to the green stage, in about an hour after application, I was able to pull the tape off and clean up the deck with lacquer thinner much like grouting tile. My caulking is slightly below the deck boards and has that classic concave look. Very happy with the results and was very easy to do. No sanding required, except the sanding I would have done anyway to smooth the encapsulating epoxy on the deck boards. If you are going for the flush look on the caulk (flush with the decking) you could still use the gel magic, but then you would need to sand.

Roberta

Iggy · **Posted:** Wed Aug 24, 2011 9:22 pm

Did a bit of sanding tonight and grabbed the camera to take some pictures. I will go over what I did one more time to go along with the pictures and I have some early recommendations and warnings on this technique.

My top deck is 2" wide strips of 1/4" BS1088 Meranti Plywood that I pre-coated with 2 layers of epoxy before I cut it them into strips and epoxied them to the 3/8' sub-deck. I

I used 1/4" wood spacers to set the distance, then tapped in finishing nails to act as 'rails' to hold each 2" piece while dry-fitting them into place. I was able to epoxy everything in one shot using the 'rails' and some help to screw between the spaces with big-washers.

After everything setup, I cleaned the deck and gaps, and mixed non-blushing Epoxy with white epoxy TINT and cabosil filler. The first batch was not quite thickened enough but I pressed on and ended up having to reapply a 2nd, thicker layer of white epoxy ontop. If you use this technique, test your thickening amount on a slightly slanted board first... so you don't have to do it twice. I used the plastic syringe shown in the photo below to apply the white tinted epoxy in the gaps.. worked really well as a tool. Don't use large batches or it will heat up fast. Soaking in Acetone keeps the syringe good for re-use.

Today I started to sand the excess epoxy from the overfill. I want my 'lines' flush with the top deck, as I will be laying fiberglass overtop and protecting the surface from more wear.

BS1088 Meranti has a 1.5mm thick outter veneer... so you got to be VERY careful not to over sand. The 2 pre-coats of epoxy kept the white filler epoxy from 'bleeding' past the surface, but it sands off pretty quick under a sander so you need to go slow and work it lightly near the end.

I would probably suggest using 3 pre-coats next time to give yourself more insurance.
I would also try a different filler than cabosil.... perhaps micro-spheres? I am finding my epoxy lines a bit harder to sand than I like... mostly from gumming up the sander as it heats up from the friction. I might also be a bit 'early' to be sanding as I did 2 layers, but so far no big worries.

Also, the filler and application technique did produce a few bubbles that appear after sanding. I will re-fill the noticeable ones, however if there was a way to avoid it I would suggest you try to find a way to do so... like perhaps a pre-thickened epoxy that does not need as much mixing?

I would NOT suggest this technique for BS 6566 Meranti as the face sheet veneer is thinner at 1.0mm.

I think this technique would work just fine for solid lumber, but you don't need to pre-coat. Just keep an eye out as the solid mahogany likes to suck up epoxy quite a bit as well.. so overfill if you want flush!

Iggy · **Posted:** Wed Aug 24, 2011 9:28 pm

Post sanding... surface is still dusty and only dry-cleaned... wetting it confirmed it will be nice and bright once covered with epoxy/fiberglass.

Roberta Hegy · **Posted:** Thu Aug 25, 2011 4:27 am

Look's Great, Ian!!! That will look really great when finished.

Roberta

upspirate · **Posted:** Thu Aug 25, 2011 6:26 am

Look's great.

I have been told, and I have experienced that cab-o-sill as filler will turn yellow though

look at the extra thickened stuff around the stem/keel joint and you'll see what I mean

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Iggy · **Posted:** Thu Aug 25, 2011 7:12 am

Ya.. I am not quite sure how the cabosil will hold up. So far its about as white as it can get, however that might change with time. I will be clear-coating my top deck so that should offer some layer of protection,however if it does yellow I am still fine with that. The other option I was looking at was using white ash or white cedar, and both of those are also yellowish. I suppose I could have used paint or white vinyl pinstripes, however it was not quite the look I was after.

There is no turning back now... not without some major work, and I am happy with how its turning out so far. In the end, she is going to be a work-boat, not a show-boat... and every bit of character I add makes her more my own!

upspirate · **Posted:** Thu Aug 25, 2011 7:15 am

Well, the originals looked yellow cause they varnished over the caulk anyway!

denbrlr · **Posted:** Thu Aug 25, 2011 7:34 pm

It is looking great Ian.

Glen-L.com

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