Glen-L 17 overnighter sloop build

[Milhouse]

Hi All,

I thought I would share some (small )progress with you on my Glen-L 17 overnighter sloop. You may recall from my new member introduction that I bought it from a friend who had completed the planking but it was un-faired.

It took a whole lot of sanding and epoxy to get her faired! and she still not perfect but its as fair as I an get it...

I just rounded over the chine and added a healthy fillet to the skeg so the fiberglass will manage the transitions around the corners.

I also just rolled on an encapsulation coat of epoxy over the whole boat. I had test rolled a small section and then tried to sand it and noticed that the sandpaper gummed up right away. So I scrubbed it with dish soap and a scotch brite pad and it got rid of the gummyness. My first run in with amine blush.

Questions: (I had a whole ton of questions until I re-re-read the Glen-L book section on fiberglassing and "How to fiberglass boats" by Ken Hankinson).
How many coats of epoxy encapsulation do you put on before you lay the fiberglass? Is one enough? Note that I used the west marine roller to apply the epoxy.
The transom will stay bright. Do you fiberglass a bright transom? I see in the glen-L book that it says that it will be transparent so it may be a good idea. How do you handle the fiberglass overlaps in this case?
They mention stapling or taping the fiberglass to keep it from moving around when applying the epoxy, what is preferred? I imagine the staples are hard to remove later?
Any other tips before I get started? I don't want to screw it up!!!

[Gayle Brantuk]

Millhouse,

Glad to hear from you and your progress on the Glen-L 17. We usually put one coat of epoxy as a base coat prior to applying the fiberglass cloth. Using tape to hold it in place works well--you can remove the tape once the cloth doesn't move any more. We usually lay the cloth on the bottom in two halves, lapping over the keel and chine a couple of inches on both sides. The sides also lap the chines. Fairing of the laps can be done with thickened epoxy when the fiberglassing is done. We would fiberglass the transom that you're leaving bright.

I hope this helps. Keep us posted!

[Milhouse]

Thanks for the info!

[Milhouse]

So I am slacking a tad....I just took off the amine blush following the epoxy encapsulation after 4.5 months!!! Eager to get her fiberglassed now!

Attached are the pictures of the pair of Appalachia ladderback chairs that I just finished which took a front seat to the boat build...

[mrintense]

No problems with the delay. We all get into slumps. I'm beginning to feel like the old man in the sea with my build. Definitely taking far longer than I originally thought. But I continue to put in at least 30 to 45 minutes a day everyday with many days having more time spent. You'll find that the build progresses even during those slow periods if you do this. And it will help you keep motivated because you eventually get to something that is photogenic or real visual progress.

[Milhouse]

After removing the Amine blush with a scotch-brite pad and dish soap+water (which worked well) I sanded to 80 Grit on 1/2 of the hull with my Bosch ROS20VS sander to give the fiberglass + epoxy something to bite into. The use of a respirator was required and the cloud of epoxy dust hung thick in the air and settled on everything in the shop was a pain (see picture). In the process the power switch died and I had to order a replacement (ordered the switch for $8 at my local tool repair store, still has not arrived though...). Since the Bosch died and I was without a sander I started researching Festool sanders and after a LOT of research and internal debate about spending more $ on this sander setup than I did on my last truck I decided to pull the trigger.

I got in a Rotex 150 for large jobs (like a boat Hull) a ETS EC 125/3 for smaller jobs and finish sanding (bright transom). They are connected to the CT26 Dust Extractor.

These are amazing tools, which although are expensive, I could not be happier with them. I just sanded the other 1/2 of the hull with the Rotex 150 in much less time than I sanded the first 1/2 with the bosh (6" diameter pad on the Rotex 150 vs 5" pad on the Bosch) and the dust collection was AMAZING!!! There was not even a hint of a cloud of dust in the air, no dust on my glasses, there was the finest tiny amount of dust left that remained on the hull but MUCH less than the Bosch left. There was much less vibration which was notable because my hands were not numb after using it like they were with the Bosch. I guess I'm comparing Porsches to Pintos here...but it turns out the Porsche is faster.

I highly recommend these tools!

I saw a few more low areas that needed some Epoxy so I filled them in and the next step will be to finally lay some glass on this hull once I can shanghai a friend to come over and help with promise of Burritos and Beer!

Wish me luck!

[Gayle Brantuk]

Good Luck! Our son is a fan of Festool as well. I guess you get what you pay for--thanks for the feedback!

[Milhouse]

I have been cheating on her with this faster gal 16' Ski Boat Restoration.

Hope to get the sailboat glassed this winter when its not 100deg in my shop...Oh wait..it was 96 here today in San Diego the day before Thanksgiving...What the heck!!

[Milhouse]

The weather is really nice so I think I will try and fiberglass the sailboat next weekend if I can get some epoxy mixing helpers

I put two more coats of epoxy on the bright transom because I am probably not going to glass it.

I put one more encapsulation coat on 1/2 of the hull because I think I probably sanded too much off after the previous encapsulation coat.

[hoodman]

Looking good!

[mrintense]

Nice work. I have a bright finished transom on my boat as well. Just looks right on these boats, even when the rest of the boat is painted.

[Milhouse]

Anyone have any experience installing the swinging keel on this sort of boat?

[Milhouse]

I have a trailer selection question posted in the trailer section here: http://www.glen-l.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=33092&p=198163#p198163