For anyone who's built their own boat....

Ya know smooth sides and bottom wont make much difference when she's running. Further fairing can always be done after the first winter haul out.
just something to think about.
 
Good thought Bruce. But........... creases, dimples, bumps, warts, dingleberries and swirly marks just won't cut it for me. Call it an obsessive compulsive or something but it's going to be damn near perfect before I'll put her in the water. Just the way I am.
 
quote:
Originally posted by pdecat

Do they still use microballoons??

Click to expand...

Yes they do. I think I called them glass beads which wasn't correct. Glass beads are for sandblasting.
 
It s a lot easier to correct minor issues early on... Don't ask how I know !

That said, bottom paint is very forgiving... Again dont ask how I know !
 
Well rather than sanding down everything how about knocking down the big stuff then fairing with filler?
 
Filler can help but it adds weight. also fairing filler isn't very hard and can chip more easily....
 
I've still got two layers of glass to go over this one. I'm trying to eliminate the big errors and I'll deal with cosmetic fairing when the next two layers are on. I've used some QuickFair on the other side because of the deep ripples in the laminate. I'd say the difference between the highs and lows on the stbd side are less than a tenth of a millimeter. It just looks worse in the pictures. You can barely feel them with your hands. Some more longboarding may be in order before the glass goes on but It's pretty much ready now. Just waiting for a shipment of 30 gallons of epoxy from FLA.

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I would also be knocking down the high spots at this point. Sure its more work now, but it will will save time later. The only downside to sanding it now is the burnout factor. Stay with your gameplan. No need to push off the sanding till later; it is what it is.
 
0.1mm is less than 0.004 inches. if you were doing final finishing prep prior to spray paint that would be worth considering but with two more layers of glass to go worrying about it is overkill. Pattern print through is probably bigger question at the end.
 
You're probably right Bruce. I'm not going to put much more effort into it at this stage. I'll save my efforts for the final prep.

I worked my way down the port side this morning before it got too hot. It was 80 degs when I started at 9:00 and 85 degs at 11:00 when I quit. I sprayed a guide coat on and then blocked it.

GOPR0058.jpg


With just a light sanding the guide coat was virtually gone telling me I have a pretty good surface to work with on this side.

GOPR0059.jpg


I also applied a light skim coat of filler on the bulwarks.

GOPR0056.jpg


These'll get sanded tomorrow. They're actually pretty good so it won't take much effort to finish them off.

Of course the Project Manager showed up to overlook the workin's. I think I got his paw of approval again! :-)

GOPR0055.jpg


I have a short video processing of the block sanding process. Not very exciting but I think I've found an easier way to sand the hull. Standby for that later.
 
Great, now that we got that cleared up.

The sandinsanity (I just made that up) continues. Six hrs today. The sides are now as smooth as a newborn baby's tookus! ;-)

RIP one Black & Decker half sheet RO sander! It died a horrible death!
 
Hey, even the highest-end builder yards use filler and have to spend hours and hours fairing hulls smooth. It's just part of fiberglass boat building. Glass mat and resin set up different with each layup, even when using vacuum pumps in a controlled climate environment. Temperature, air pressure, humidity all impact on the day's work. The only difference in your case is there's no mold. Your boat could be the plug for a mold! Looks to me like you're experiencing most of the fiberglass boat building challenges the big yards come up against every day, Rick. Keep building 'er right and the results will speak for themselves!
 
You know you're a boat builder when:

You're masterfully filleting joints on your latest creation when you come up 2" short! Looking around you can't find any more wood flour or other filler so you comb out your mustache and beard and get 'nuff to git 'r done!
 
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