Sunday, June 9, 2013

Bottom Fiberglass Part 1

I went over the entire bottom with an eye to making sure everything was smooth and fair.  Rounded out the chines in preparation for the fiberglass.


I did one side at a time using my normal method of taping off the area with blue painters tape.  Since this was such a large area I rolled out the fiberglass, cut the requisite darts and let it sit for a couple of days so that it could conform to the shape of the hull.


Did I mention that it's hot in FL?  Anyway, since I had a large area to do and I would have to reach so far over the hull I decided that it was prudent to purchase some disposable painters overalls.  So I bought the Home Depot cheapies.  They were advertised as durable and breathable.


It was about 85 degrees in the garage when I started.  I decided that it would be too hot to wear the painters overalls over a layer of clothes so I wore them over my under wear.  That was a mistake.


I stared by using a shortened chip brush to attach the fiberglass to the keel.  From there I switched to a roller.  This system had worked well on the smaller areas I had done before but rolling large amounts of epoxy pulled the fiberglass out of place.  I struggled with this and the fact that the painters overalls wern't as "breathable" as advertised.  The heat was actually making me feel faint and I had to work quickly with small batches of epoxy to keep it from flashing in the cup.  Eventually I got everything done and looking the way I wanted.


By the time I got back into the air conditioning the cool air made the room spin.  I peeled off the overalls in the utility room and about a pint of liquid splashed on the floor.  Yuck, but the cool air on my skin soon brought back to my senses.  I would have to re-think how I did this the next time.

A few hours later I went back over with a razor knife and trimmed the fiberglass to the edge of the tape and removed the excess.  The results were excellent.  I found a couple of places that will need to be sanded and refilled but in the end very minor stuff.

A few days later I repeated the prep for the other side of the hull.  This time I paid about a $1 more for a different brand of overalls that the guy at Home Depot said would be "better".  I decided that I would wear clothes under this set to absorb the sweat and that I would get up early on a Sunday morning to do the work before it got too hot.


When I got up that morning it was 74 outside and I set up my shop fan to blow into the garage.  I set about attaching the fiberglass to the keel using the same method as the last time.  This time instead of using a roller to lay out the large areas I used a spreader.  This went much easier and didn't displace the fiberglass nearly as much as using the roller.  The second side went quick and easy.  It too had a couple of spots I will have to tend to but it was easier and I didn't feel I risked my life.  No light headedness, not nearly as much moisture trapped in the suit and a much more enjoyable experience.

I've just got the hull sides and the transom left!

Hours this session: 15
Hours total: 533



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