Glen-L.com

Ok guys, ive got the hull complete on my 20ft flats flyer build!
Im in the process of sanding the hull down before I put down the first layer of epoxy. There are some minor gaps at some of the seams. Is there something I can use to seal these gaps before I epoxy. Would wood putty work? Do I use wood putty to fill in counter sunk holes above screws?

On the bottom, which would be painted, I just used Elmer's wood putty to fill seams and screw heads prior to fiberglassing.
On the sides and transom, which I wanted to be stained and varnished, I used mahogany colored Famowood.

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Bob
Completed Malahini (launched 6/24/2012)
http://bobsboatbuild.blogspot.com/

If you are going to glass or even coat the hull with epoxy, I would also use thickened epoxy. If you are painting over the sealer or glass coating, just thicken your epoxy with the cabosil. Just don't make the filled areas too proud as it makes it harder to sand when cured against the wood, which sands differently. I also use a hook paint type scraper to remove a lot of the proud fill in the green stage which helps too. Make sure the blade is really sharp before attempting to remove the extra.

Agreeing with Oyster, thickened epoxy is the way to go. IMNHO using a non-waterproof filler just seems like a bad idea.

Epoxy thickened with wood flour works on bright surfaces.

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Some plan to stroll through Saint Peter's Gates, I plan to go through them at 150mph... backwards... in a screaming ball of flame, with a glimmer belt wrapped around my head, and a NOx button in my hand.

Nothing works better than your hand when feeling for gaps. Just be careful of splinters.

All jokes aside I wouldn't sand the ply much before you get some epoxy on it. The soft wood tends to sand away much faster than the rest of the grain creating hollow spots.

Do you have any pics of your flats under construction? That is on my "to do" list!

Thanks

STeve