And So it Begins . . . Knottybuoyz' New Project

[delmarrey]

Congrats Rick!!!

New year Show 2011 (FWsim) - YouTube

Your time is yours now!

[Jesse]

Congratulations on your retirement Rick.

[Southern Star]

Yes Rick, congratulations! And it seems like your progress on the boat and towards your future life is coming along extremely well.

Cheers!

Brad

[knottybuoyz]

Thanks for all the well wishes on my retirement folks. Although..... The Admiral can't retire for at least another 5 yrs...... And she keeps mentioning this "Honey Do List" thing that I've never heard of. Somehow I think I'm going to be busier now than I was at work........

First day of retirement I wandered out to the boat shed and started to lay out the glass for the keel.



This is the first of two layers of 1708 Biaxial fabric to go on the keel. Doubled over on the bottom. These will get covered with a final layer of 10 oz plain weave. It'll also be my biggest pour of epoxy. Probably 3 gallons or so in one session. Little nervous about that. The whole hull will be done in three steps, keel, bottom then the sides. It's a little tricky handling these long pieces of cloth on top of the boat. I've got a trapeze setup to lift the rolls and it helps a lot. I'll have to lay out 4 more long runs and roll them up to go on after the first layer gets epoxied. Logistically it's a bit of a challenge. I'll get the other pieces cut tomorrow.

I made a command decision today and decided to take an afternoon nap on my first full day of retirement. I highly recommend them!

[DeepFrz]

I made a command decision today and decided to take an afternoon nap on my first full day of retirement. I highly recommend them!

Careful, you can get addicted to them.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by knottybuoyz

Thanks for all the well wishes on my retirement folks. Although..... The Admiral can't retire for at least another 5 yrs...... And she keeps mentioning this "Honey Do List" thing that I've never heard of. Somehow I think I'm going to be busier now than I was at work........

Just remember you're still working! Just for yourself now, saving the $$$ you would have had to pay someone else for the boat. You can just dictate the hours now.


This is the first of two layers of 1708 Biaxial fabric to go on the keel. Doubled over on the bottom. These will get covered with a final layer of 10 oz plain weave. It'll also be my biggest pour of epoxy. Probably 3 gallons or so in one session. Little nervous about that.

HOT POTS!
Do the epoxy in small batches. No more then you can handle at one time. Just have someone making up more small batches as you go, which makes it a continuous pour, just like with cement.

The whole hull will be done in three steps, keel, bottom then the sides. It's a little tricky handling these long pieces of cloth on top of the boat. I've got a trapeze setup to lift the rolls and it helps a lot. I'll have to lay out 4 more long runs and roll them up to go on after the first layer gets epoxied. Logistically it's a bit of a challenge. I'll get the other pieces cut tomorrow.

I made a command decision today and decided to take an afternoon nap on my first full day of retirement. I highly recommend them!

One of the first things I did was to catch up on sleep. It took about a week before I felt rested. Then I set my own hours, which seems to be 9 AM to midnight. I hate mornings! Check out this time stamp (PST).

One advantage I find now is I don't put in the miles (gasoline) as before. Everywhere I go is calculated, I pick up stuff along the way, rather then push the envelope to get somewhere, before it closes, in my free time. Now I make lists and pick up what I need all in one trip. And when the wifie is off so am I, so she can help with the honey-do list.

[knottybuoyz]

Thanks Del. There's some good advice there I'll follow!

Some of the friggin' guys on the Internet make it look easy building a boat! Like hell! Six hours on top of the boat today and I only got one half of the keel epoxied. Up and down, up and down! I feel like I've been rode hard and put away wet!



I had a hard time getting the heavy fabric to lay over the curves and ended up with some bridging. I'll sand those out and fill them. I don't suspect it'll affect the structure at all. I just don't want any voids in the laminates. My second gaff was having to change epoxy brands mid way! I thought I'd have enough of the old stuff in the metering pump to get the job done! NOT! This monster sucks up epoxy like a drunken sailor with a keg 'o swish! I figure I used two full gallons on just the bottom and one side of the keel. That equated into about two dozen trips up and down the ladder to mix epoxy. *sigh* At least my bum knee is getting a good workout.

I ordered some 1208 0/90 but they sent 45/45 *sigh*. I had to cut the second layer to go on at a 45 deg angle. Makes for more work.

I don't think I'll tackle the rest tomorrow. Taking some friends out for brunch so that'll screw most of the day and I intend to goof off the rest of the day. It'll mean a couple hour sanding session before I can get the rest of the layers on. Oh well. That's the best I can do working alone.

I thought the bugs were bad 'nuff now it's freakin' aliens I gotta scrape off the grill!

[delmarrey]

What I've done with bridging is; while the epoxy is still wet or very tacky is take scissors and cut down the middle and over lap the slice. I have a thin tall bucket filled with MEK that I keep my all-metal scissors in while working with layers.

The over lap just has to be faired in after the cure. Then make sure the next layer covers the slice.

I too hate the heavy stuff! It seems one can only use it on fairly flat surfaces. I've had to use shoring to hold in corners and such. I've seen a lot of all glass boats with air pockets in the corners. And usually that's where there is a stress crack.

[knottybuoyz]

I'm not happy with the results of the other day's epoxy session. I'm going to put boat building on hold for awhile. Hopefully by the spring my knee will be better and my mobility not as restricted. I'll also go looking for a helper who doesn't want $50/hr, retirement and medical benefits and a company car.

I'm making a lot of amateurish mistakes and that really bugs me because I know better but get in a rush to get through a job and end up wasting about $300-400 in materials.

So aside form a little sanding and filling that's all that's going to get done to the boat this year. Don't be disappointed. I'm not. I knew this was a big project and underestimated the amount of physical effort involved. Time to just step back a little and reassess the situation. It's not a race and we'll be back in the spring. Thanks for looking in.

Standby....

[Blue Stocking]

Those of us who have built boats from scratch understand how you feel.
Like you said, it'll be there when you are ready to jump back in.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by knottybuoyz

I'm not happy with the results of the other day's epoxy session. I'm going to put boat building on hold for awhile. Hopefully by the spring my knee will be better and my mobility not as restricted. I'll also go looking for a helper who doesn't want $50/hr, retirement and medical benefits and a company car.

I'm making a lot of amateurish mistakes and that really bugs me because I know better but get in a rush to get through a job and end up wasting about $300-400 in materials.

So aside form a little sanding and filling that's all that's going to get done to the boat this year. Don't be disappointed. I'm not. I knew this was a big project and underestimated the amount of physical effort involved. Time to just step back a little and reassess the situation. It's not a race and we'll be back in the spring. Thanks for looking in.

Standby....

Good call - Get healthy. I am feeling a bit pf pressure just getting my haulout done by end of October. I keep saying, "lot's of time." But really it's only 5 more weekends - 10 more days...

Need to make sure I do it right - not just do it...

[Jaxxiam]

I agree, get rested, it's not a race. I'm amazed at the work done so far, I know I had to step back from projects just to regain sanity.

[knottybuoyz]

Thnx for the kind words fella's. I think it was the right decision to get healthy then take another run at this monster.

Since I made the decision I've tried to keep myself busy tinkering and prepping the shed for another winter. I had just bought a boat unit worth of epoxy and that had to come inside.



Yes for you eagle eyed individuals that's a brand new Delta plow sitting there too! This is the second of two anchors we'll carry. The other is a Danforth.

Before we started this project one of the tools I wanted to get was a "Sticky Stuff" dispenser. It accurately meters & mixes the goop with just the pump of a handle.



Well after having pumped about 12 gallons of epoxy through it without a hitch, other than forgetting to fill the hardener reservoir ONCE it's worked perfectly. Yesterday I had to tear it all down and clean it out as I'm changing epoxy systems and don't want to risk any screw ups.



Amazingly robust machine. I think it'll earn it's keep!

Other than patching a few holes in the roof of the shed that's about it. I think I'm ready for another long cold winter.

MRI on my knee next week so we'll see what's got to be done to fix that.

Standby..

[atoll]

you won't be the first boat builder that has worked himself to a stand still!

getting a helper for the heavier layup is a good idea,just make sure you have plenty of materials,as 2 people can normally get 3times as much done once you have a system!

the wharrams who live near me have a good system for finding free help,by offering apprentiship type on the job training for other would be catamaran builders!

you might be surprised by putting an ad in a local paper,who might respond offering free help,in return for learning the in's and out's of this type of boat building.

[knottybuoyz]

We caught a bit of the winds from Sandy week before last. Nothing much, winds gusting to 60+ kts. The shed survived easily because the winds were from the NE. Yesterday we had some gusts that might have hit 40 kts but were from the due south. This is what they did to my boat shed.



I don`t know why it let go like this. There were no obvious rips or tears that the wind could have gotten under.

Time to get the ladders out.