Slow but Steady (Part II)
Some of you may be thinking that while all these coats of epoxy are curing, I am sitting in the air conditioning drinking beer. This is not so. The inside of the boat gets three set of floor boards. These provide a flat surface to stand or walk on and also keep your feet dry should a small amount of water get in the boat. I work on the floor boards when the boat has a wet coat of epoxy or when structural pieces have been attached and I am waiting for the glue to set up. The third photo shows a group of planks lined up on a table. These are the planks for the forward set of floorboards that have just been given a thin coat of epoxy. The next night they were flipped over and the other side was coated. Over the next four successive nights two more groups of planks were given the same treatment. In all they are 32 planks of varying lengths that will make up the floor boards. The planks are 4" wide x 5/8" thick cypress. The forward set (not shown) was glued together last Sunday. This Saturday the middle section (first photo) was glued up and the screws were removed this morning. This afternoon the aft section, (second photo) which is also the largest section, was glued together. Shortly before taking the picture all of the screws were loosened 1-1 1/2 turns to make sure the epoxy did not bond to them. After they have been trimmed to fit the curve of the hull any areas of bare wood will be covered with epoxy and they too will be sanded down to be primed and painted.
Some of you may be thinking that while all these coats of epoxy are curing, I am sitting in the air conditioning drinking beer. This is not so. The inside of the boat gets three set of floor boards. These provide a flat surface to stand or walk on and also keep your feet dry should a small amount of water get in the boat. I work on the floor boards when the boat has a wet coat of epoxy or when structural pieces have been attached and I am waiting for the glue to set up. The third photo shows a group of planks lined up on a table. These are the planks for the forward set of floorboards that have just been given a thin coat of epoxy. The next night they were flipped over and the other side was coated. Over the next four successive nights two more groups of planks were given the same treatment. In all they are 32 planks of varying lengths that will make up the floor boards. The planks are 4" wide x 5/8" thick cypress. The forward set (not shown) was glued together last Sunday. This Saturday the middle section (first photo) was glued up and the screws were removed this morning. This afternoon the aft section, (second photo) which is also the largest section, was glued together. Shortly before taking the picture all of the screws were loosened 1-1 1/2 turns to make sure the epoxy did not bond to them. After they have been trimmed to fit the curve of the hull any areas of bare wood will be covered with epoxy and they too will be sanded down to be primed and painted.
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