Glen-L.com

Hey, thanks Chip. BTW, how's the party pontoon going? Do you have a thread somewhere? I looked for one once, but couldn't find it.

Cool, so there are really five of us crazy Tug Along folk. I agree with Chip. I'd love to see one hit the water someday. I'm contemplating running hull trials if all goes well in finishing the bottom and sides.

Re: solar panels, that roof is just begging for about a 50 watt set-up. Air conditioning probably wouldn't require a very large unit, but you'd need the battery bank to support it well though. Can you get really small heat-pump unit that'll run on 12 or 24 volts? That way you could take her out in Florida Winters too.

When I did my flip, one of the fellow's suggested a glass bottom. That could work, couldn't it?

... I think I just need to get her done.

Cheers,

Richard

Richard,
I just finished glassing the middle pontoon and today I couldn't help myself. She got wet.



I hope to get the the main pontoons glassed this week. I do have a thread http://www.glen-l.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8750 and speaking about a glass bottom. Check this out.http://www.boatdesigns.com/9-6-Glass-Bottom-for-underwater-viewing/products/905/ Follow the link and it will show how the window is installed. It might give you some ideas. Really not a bad idea for the Tug Along!!!

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A secret to a good marriage is to have a quick mind and a slow mouth!!!

Nice work. You didn't want to post a pic with you balancing on top? Thanks for the reference to your build posts. I'll be able to follow along now.

The glass bottom boat looked neat. If I were to do something like that, I think it would be a post build mod. I want to stay focussed on the build, as is. With Summer coming I'll have even less time to work on her, since boating season starts up and the family boat needs attention. The Tug is designated the off-season project.

Looking forward to seeing the other pontoons floating.

Cheers,

Richard

Have you ever seen a heart-shaped hull? This is the boat that spells L O V E.

Happy Easter.

Richard

sure is looking good..................after you spent all those hours sanding...did you put the cloth on and then saturate it with the epoxy, or did you put another coat of epoxy down first????, then the cloth.....................just let me know, so that I can try to have mine look something like yours...how much epoxy did it take to wet it out??? how many coats???............I'm getting closer every day....I'm probably way too fussy..................
happy Easter
wayne...............(aka flordia boy)

Looking good there and a happy Easter to you and yours.

George

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I Peter 2:17

Thanks George.

Wayne - fussy is good. I'm sure you'll be glad for it later.

I didn't epoxy coat the hull again before draping the cloth over one half of the bottom. I did sand the entire hull, but didn't penetrate the encapsulation layer that I had applied in September (seems like a long time ago now).

I applied three coats of epoxy. In the first coat I used about 32 oz of epoxy to wet out the cloth. The second coat required 16 oz and that filled the weave, although invisible, you could still feel the weave of the cloth somewhat at that point. In the final coat that feel was gone after an application of 12 oz of epoxy. Those numbers (32, 16, 12) were consistent when I covered the other half of the bottom.

Your bottom has about 20-25% more surface area, I expect, so you'd obviously need a little more epoxy, but I hope that's helpful in estimating your needs.

Cheers,

Richard

After a six week break, getting the other boat in the water and ready for the season I got back to the tug, worked on shaping the skeg.

Plus I had to add some bi-ax cloth to the inside of the motorwell. I've been impressed by the strength of the plywood, but the 1/4 inch thickness of the stern arc, just needed a little insurance.

its good to see your back to work........I understand why you added bi-axial to the stern...I had an extra plywood section, so I glued it to the inside on the stern arc....now its rock solid...........I feel it was a good move for me................Wayne

Summer is over, so it's building season again.

By way of updates, I've faired and fibreglassed the entire hull, except the bulwark and I installed and shaped the skeg.

It's all very dusty, but below are a couple of pics of the skeg.

Richard

Richard.........its good to see your back to work......your keel/skeg.... looks good.....we just returned from 2 weeks in n.c.....taking care of the granddaughter, the dog,the bird, and guinea pig...got my order of 2 gallons more of epoxy, so now I can complete my bulwarks, get everything faired, and the final cloth and epoxy coatings....the reinforcements to the bulwarks are a pain in the rear, and time consuming................off to the shop tomorrow...keep in touch
Wayne

Thanks Wayne. Welcome back from grandkid sitting. BTW, your build is looking great. The bulwark is a bit tedious. It took me many hours to install. You seem to have a lot of time, which is good. Looking forward to seeing more as your Tug takes shape.

Richard

Although I've been doing a lot of work, it's not so it shows in pics.

The hull is completely fibreglassed and five layers of epoxy have been applied. The primer paint and anti-fouling paint have been bought, so I'm really close to the flip-back after I paint her. These are the last couple of pics of actual wood and fairing compound before the paint job.

I fibreglass encapsulated the skeg and chose not to use screws to fasten it.

The bow eye is installed, though I'm able to remove it when I have to paint.

richard, your project is coming along very nice...expect to see it in color soon!!!...I just returned from a week in San Antonio TX....and now we have to go to ny...as my sister-in-law is in the hosp......not a fun trip.....I'm going to work on my bulwarks today...and leave by Wed...hopefully it will not be a long extended stay in ny.....will keep everyone posted
Wayne