RC sailboat things I did this week:
1. Went to the Seattle Model Boat Pond at South Lake Union and watched the T37 races. Met a couple of guys named Ken and Pete who are building them too, and had a great time getting ideas from those who have already built theirs.
2. Fiberglassed the deck on my T37. Because I made my own deck instead of using the standard kit deck, I felt it needed a bit more strength. So I added one layer of 1.4 oz. glass.
I cut a piece of fiberglass a bit over-sized and set it aside. (NOTE: I purchased the 1.4 oz. glass from ACP Composites. They sold small enough pieces at reasonable rates! I've got enough extra to do several more decks/keels/rudders/hulls, so if you're in the Seattle area send me an email and I can sell you some. I bought two yards for about $20 including shipping... so enough to do your deck will run you about $5 if you get it from me. That's cheap!)
(Complaint time: WEST System needs to sell their 105 and 205 epoxies in small batches for hobbyists! You can only buy it in a quart sized can and then they get you for another $20 for the pumps. Grrrrr...)
Then made up some clear epoxy and wetted out the deck.
Carefully laid the glass on top and did my best to smooth it out.
Probably should have stopped at that point, but instead I carefully spread more clear epoxy on top using a spreader instead of a brush. It worked OK but produced too many waves in the cloth.
Some people say you don't need to wet out the bare wood first, and they are probably right. I had luck with that though when I made my Pygmy kayaks. Less chance of starving the wood by having the cloth suck all the epoxy out. The down side is that you probably get more waves in the glass. Not sure which is the best way and may try the glass over bare wood next time.
Let that harden for several hours (5 or so?) until it's into the 'green' state. At that point you can very easily take a hobby knife and trim off the edges and around the deck openings. If you cut too soon you'll lift the glass and it won't cut well. If you wait too long you'll have a tough time cutting it. The green state is the perfect time to trim!
Let that cure overnight. Next morning I cleaned off the amine blush and then hand sanded the deck just to get the high spots down a bit. There were obviously some waves in the glass but overall it was OK.
Painted on a top coat of clear epoxy and let that cure all day and overnight to get a pretty good cure on it. Then CAREFULLY and GENTLY sanded with the my random orbital sander using 220 paper just to flatten the surface. Don't go too far or you'll cut into the glass. Pause often and examine how much you're taking off. I got about 98% of the deck smoothed glass smooth! There are a few tiny low spots that I just didn't dare sand down into because I think I'll hit the glass. You can see them reflected in the picture below. Tiny little spots. Hopefully most of those will be filled with the varnish later on!
3. Made a custom boat stand! Used scrap cedar and mahogany I had around. Bought some webbing. Also found that my local Ace Hardware carries stainless steel wood screws with nicely painted heads. Bought some red ones. Looks good I think!
4. Painted on my first coat of Interlux Primekote 404/414. It's a white epoxy primer base that fills the wood grain. You can spray it or brush it, but whatever you do WEAR A GOOD, PROPER RESPIRATOR! I got a new one at West Marine from 3M and I didn't smell anything... until I took the mask off back inside and I could smell the residual on me. But the mask worked so well that I couldn't smell it at all while painting! Phew...
You mix three parts of the filler with one part of the reactor. Mix well and let it sit for about 20-25 minutes. Then add one part (or slightly less) of reducer (thinner really) and mix well. Then brush it on.
If you look closely at the picture you'll say that it looks horrible. You can see brush strokes and such. But keep in mind that this is not paint. It's filler. The idea is that it fills the grain over several coats. The real paint will be sprayed on once the hull is smooth.
Tomorrow I'll sand most of that first coat off and put on a second coat. Then I'll sand that with 180 or so and add a third coat later this week. That final third coat will be sanded with 220 and should result in a perfectly smooth hull with no grain showing. Then I can start painting. Fingers crossed!!
5. I added a new blog for the Star 45 RC Sailboat! Just bought the plans for it but am not sure if I'll actually build one or not. Just curious for now, and thinking about it. Will let you know if I do anything with it.
I'd love to know if anyone is reading this blog. Leave a comment or email me.
Hope your build is going well!
1. Went to the Seattle Model Boat Pond at South Lake Union and watched the T37 races. Met a couple of guys named Ken and Pete who are building them too, and had a great time getting ideas from those who have already built theirs.
2. Fiberglassed the deck on my T37. Because I made my own deck instead of using the standard kit deck, I felt it needed a bit more strength. So I added one layer of 1.4 oz. glass.
I cut a piece of fiberglass a bit over-sized and set it aside. (NOTE: I purchased the 1.4 oz. glass from ACP Composites. They sold small enough pieces at reasonable rates! I've got enough extra to do several more decks/keels/rudders/hulls, so if you're in the Seattle area send me an email and I can sell you some. I bought two yards for about $20 including shipping... so enough to do your deck will run you about $5 if you get it from me. That's cheap!)
(Complaint time: WEST System needs to sell their 105 and 205 epoxies in small batches for hobbyists! You can only buy it in a quart sized can and then they get you for another $20 for the pumps. Grrrrr...)
Then made up some clear epoxy and wetted out the deck.
Carefully laid the glass on top and did my best to smooth it out.
Probably should have stopped at that point, but instead I carefully spread more clear epoxy on top using a spreader instead of a brush. It worked OK but produced too many waves in the cloth.
Some people say you don't need to wet out the bare wood first, and they are probably right. I had luck with that though when I made my Pygmy kayaks. Less chance of starving the wood by having the cloth suck all the epoxy out. The down side is that you probably get more waves in the glass. Not sure which is the best way and may try the glass over bare wood next time.
Let that harden for several hours (5 or so?) until it's into the 'green' state. At that point you can very easily take a hobby knife and trim off the edges and around the deck openings. If you cut too soon you'll lift the glass and it won't cut well. If you wait too long you'll have a tough time cutting it. The green state is the perfect time to trim!
Let that cure overnight. Next morning I cleaned off the amine blush and then hand sanded the deck just to get the high spots down a bit. There were obviously some waves in the glass but overall it was OK.
Painted on a top coat of clear epoxy and let that cure all day and overnight to get a pretty good cure on it. Then CAREFULLY and GENTLY sanded with the my random orbital sander using 220 paper just to flatten the surface. Don't go too far or you'll cut into the glass. Pause often and examine how much you're taking off. I got about 98% of the deck smoothed glass smooth! There are a few tiny low spots that I just didn't dare sand down into because I think I'll hit the glass. You can see them reflected in the picture below. Tiny little spots. Hopefully most of those will be filled with the varnish later on!
3. Made a custom boat stand! Used scrap cedar and mahogany I had around. Bought some webbing. Also found that my local Ace Hardware carries stainless steel wood screws with nicely painted heads. Bought some red ones. Looks good I think!
4. Painted on my first coat of Interlux Primekote 404/414. It's a white epoxy primer base that fills the wood grain. You can spray it or brush it, but whatever you do WEAR A GOOD, PROPER RESPIRATOR! I got a new one at West Marine from 3M and I didn't smell anything... until I took the mask off back inside and I could smell the residual on me. But the mask worked so well that I couldn't smell it at all while painting! Phew...
You mix three parts of the filler with one part of the reactor. Mix well and let it sit for about 20-25 minutes. Then add one part (or slightly less) of reducer (thinner really) and mix well. Then brush it on.
If you look closely at the picture you'll say that it looks horrible. You can see brush strokes and such. But keep in mind that this is not paint. It's filler. The idea is that it fills the grain over several coats. The real paint will be sprayed on once the hull is smooth.
Tomorrow I'll sand most of that first coat off and put on a second coat. Then I'll sand that with 180 or so and add a third coat later this week. That final third coat will be sanded with 220 and should result in a perfectly smooth hull with no grain showing. Then I can start painting. Fingers crossed!!
5. I added a new blog for the Star 45 RC Sailboat! Just bought the plans for it but am not sure if I'll actually build one or not. Just curious for now, and thinking about it. Will let you know if I do anything with it.
I'd love to know if anyone is reading this blog. Leave a comment or email me.
Hope your build is going well!
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