And So it Begins . . . Knottybuoyz' New Project

[knottybuoyz]

Originally Posted by minaret

Yeah, I use a slightly more expensive hunter's listening device. Are you laying a lot of resin on the surface before laying down your first ply, or putting the ply in place dry and then wetting out?

I've actually done both not knowing which is best. Usually I wet out the fabric as best I can then hang the ply. Squeegeeing it out. I do find I end up with the ply showing a lot of dry spots so I got back and roll on more resin. I'm working on the vertical sides so it's sometimes a bit of a rush to get it on and get to the next section. With help tomorrow I should be in a better position to take my time. Maybe I'll take the GoPro out of the Jeep and get it on video.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by knottybuoyz

That's pretty close to what my measurements are telling me I've got. Maybe just a little less.

I like to do 60/40 by weight and then remove excess, either by bag and process materials or hand lam. If you bag you need to dial in your perf hole frequency for this. I like the 1" pattern. Have you considered bagging your lam?

[minaret]

Originally Posted by knottybuoyz

I've actually done both not knowing which is best. Usually I wet out the fabric as best I can then hang the ply. Squeegeeing it out. I do find I end up with the ply showing a lot of dry spots so I got back and roll on more resin. I'm working on the vertical sides so it's sometimes a bit of a rush to get it on and get to the next section. With help tomorrow I should be in a better position to take my time. Maybe I'll take the GoPro out of the Jeep and get it on video.

Nice. I always wet out the surface first, so resin is soaking in from both sides. Faster and more thorough wet out. Don't get yer GoPro sticky!

[knottybuoyz]

Originally Posted by minaret

Nice. I always wet out the surface first, so resin is soaking in from both sides. Faster and more thorough wet out. Don't get yer GoPro sticky!

Sometimes it's a bit of a challenge. I'm working in a pretty tight space so I've hung the sides tacking them with just a very light dusting of 3M Super77, on the bottom panel. So I can only wet the sides out from the top of the fabric.



Again, doing it myself doesn't help, not enough hands to manage a sheet of fabric that's 33' 8" long by 5' wide.

[knottybuoyz]

Originally Posted by minaret

I like to do 60/40 by weight and then remove excess, either by bag and process materials or hand lam. If you bag you need to dial in your perf hole frequency for this. I like the 1" pattern. Have you considered bagging your lam?

I have. Cost is a factor for me. I've done some small infusions and bagging but nothing on this scale. I've only got a Robinair 5 cu ft and a venturi generator that I don't think will cut it on a project this size.

I think I priced out a reusable 'Stretchalon' bag and it was over $650. I'd use it twice then what do I do with it? Then there's the consumables to throw away.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by knottybuoyz

I have. Cost is a factor for me. I've done some small infusions and bagging but nothing on this scale. I've only got a Robinair 5 cu ft and a venturi generator that I don't think will cut it on a project this size.

I think I priced out a reusable 'Stretchalon' bag and it was over $650. I'd use it twice then what do I do with it? Then there's the consumables to throw away.

Yep; bag, bleeder, perf, peel ply, butyl tape. Process materials for bagging add up quick. Real quick. Bag film is however usually the cheapest of these (except maybe bleeder). Hand lam is much cheaper. Right about the time you finish up you'll have it all dialed in and your quality will be great!

[minaret]

If you're wetting out from one side, spend more time with the nap roller. You gotta make it sloppy wet to get it to soak through. Use a 1/2" nap roller and push hard on the second or third pass. You might consider just wetting out one section at a time and working in the resin before moving on, if you just wet out the whole thing the resin will flash off and get tacky on you even if its not kicking. You need to be working in fresh wet resin. I'd only do about 4' at a time, wet it out thoroughly, roll air and make it perfect, then move on. Peel ply when all is already perfect, using just a little fresh resin for the peel ply if you need it. I'm sure you probably already do this, just my 2c.

[knottybuoyz]

Originally Posted by minaret

Yep; bag, bleeder, perf, peel ply, butyl tape. Process materials for bagging add up quick. Real quick. Bag film is however usually the cheapest of these (except maybe bleeder). Hand lam is much cheaper. Right about the time you finish up you'll have it all dialed in and your quality will be great!

Right! Just in time to build another boat! WAIT! Someone slap me upside the head!

[knottybuoyz]

Hey Minaret

We got through the stbd side pretty well today. I used the colloidal silica in the mix for the top edge and had much better results. It was still cooler than the weather man said it would be so we had plenty of pot life in the epoxy so wetting the glass out and getting the peel ply on went well. My buddy was fascinated with the process and I spent a lot of time trying to explain it all to him. It was nice to have someone to talk to besides the ole' Tom Cat.

Pics tomorrow after I rip of some peel ply. Standby.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by knottybuoyz

Hey Minaret

We got through the stbd side pretty well today. I used the colloidal silica in the mix for the top edge and had much better results. It was still cooler than the weather man said it would be so we had plenty of pot life in the epoxy so wetting the glass out and getting the peel ply on went well. My buddy was fascinated with the process and I spent a lot of time trying to explain it all to him. It was nice to have someone to talk to besides the ole' Tom Cat.

Pics tomorrow after I rip of some peel ply. Standby.

Excellent! Congrats on a good layup. Glad you had fun too!

[knottybuoyz]

I guess the results are ok. Still got some bleeding out of the resin even after we squeegee'd the crap out of it. This wasn't there last night when I packed it in.



At least I've got no large bubbles to deal with. This is the chine where the bottom meets the sides where I had all the trouble on the other side.



Just a few dry spots but nothing major. Overall I'm happy with it. Getting better bit by bit. More quality time with my sander ahead! Standby..

[minaret]

Looks much better, but still plenty of bleed out. Got to be your resin viscosity. Did you try leaving heat on it so its not sitting wet all night? Some big heat lamps might be the answer for you. Pretty cheap too. Don't give it the time to run out before it kicks.

[knottybuoyz]

Originally Posted by minaret

Looks much better, but still plenty of bleed out. Got to be your resin viscosity. Did you try leaving heat on it so its not sitting wet all night? Some big heat lamps might be the answer for you. Pretty cheap too. Don't give it the time to run out before it kicks.

I had a radiant propane heater going underneath the boat, heating from the backside till I shut it down about 9 PM. I don't like leaving electrical equipment running all night in there.

I'm happy with the result. It ain't perfect but then again neither am I!

There's nothing that can't be fixed with a sander and some more glass. I have to go into savings mode for awhile before the next purchase of epoxy. We're building totally out of pocket so no dipping into the credit cards.

Thanks for your help Minaret. The colloidal silica worked well. I'll file that info away in the ole' storage banks for next time.

[knottybuoyz]

The whole week I've been having trouble with my hands. Tingling and numbness in my hands when I'm using the sander and when I was rolling out the epoxy. It got so bad it woke me up in the night a few times. Bit the bullet and saw the Quacker today. Sure 'nuff I've got carpal tunnel syndrome. This was confirmed with an electrical test. I don't know how I'm going to deal with this with the amount of sanding etc. I have left on the boat. I'll get some splints for my wrists but I don't know if I'll be able to work much with them on. If it's not one thing it's another. Dammit!

Anybody got experience with carpal tunnel thing?

[minaret]

I've been dealing with it for many years, along with rotator cuffs, wrists, knees, etc. And I'm relatively young! Get used to it if you wanna boatbuild...