Fiberglass, Stage III

My wife helped on Saturday and we glassed the underside of the deck. I used 4 ounce (4 oz./sq. yd.) cloth (West Systems 740) for this step in order to save a bit of weight and use a bit less epoxy (the rest of the boat has been sheathed in 6 ounce cloth). I had actually intended to use the 4oz cloth on the topside of the deck as well but 'accidentally' used the 6oz cloth (I grabbed the wrong roll but convinced myself it was the correct roll). I put an extra strip of cloth just in front of the cockpit and two extra layers behind the cockpit to strengthen these areas for getting in and out of the boat. I really liked working with the 4 oz cloth - it wet out easily and conformed easily to curves, particularly the radius of the bottom side of the coaming riser.

My father-in-law was on hand to take lots of photos (in fact, I think the flashes may have prematurely degraded the epoxy) so I'll post some photos later.

While I had the epoxy out, I also made a curved panel that will become the backband. I made a form to the desired backband shape (a more rounded version of the cockpit back shape) out of 1" thick particle board and tacked a piece of 1/8" birch plywood to it, allowing the ply to assume a fair curve. I then used a scrap of 6 oz cloth to glass over top of this and allowed it to cure (where it remains). Once fully cured, I'll remove the glassed plywood from the form, then may glass the inside of the curve (maybe - I'm not sure if the second layer is necessary and may make the backband too stiff). I'll then use this curved piece to cut out the final backband shape, adding slots for the webbing which will hold it in place behind the seat.

With the whole boat now sheathed in fiberglass, I'm practically done right? Here is my current "To Do" list:

1. Build cockpit coaming lip
2. fiberglass the coaming
3. sand epoxy smooth on hull and deck (external)
4. apply 3rd fill coat to hull & deck?
5. sand the epoxy some more
6. cut hatches
7. build hatch lips
8. build & install moby latch system
9. make & install soft padeyes
10. make & install regular padeyes (internal tie down points)
11. make & install cheek plates
12. carve pieces to fit into the extremities to fill the cavities that will be impossible to glass at the seam
13. mate the deck and hull once again and glass the interior seam
14. glass the exterior seam
15. make the seam glass transition "seamless"
16. make & install bulkheads
17. carve seat out of minicell foam
18. build and install backband
19. drill holes at bow & stern for grab loops
20. varnish
21. sand
22. varnish
23. sand
24. varnish
25. install deck lines & bungees
26. install grab loops and toggles

Once the above list is completed here are a couple more items I could turn my attention towards:

1. carve paddles
2. make spray skirt
3. make paddle float
4. build cradles for car-topping
5. build cart
6. make pump
7. make tuuliq