"Knot Likely" -- Deck

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One of the frustrations I had as a first time builder was adding a second layer of cloth over the "football" area of the hull. It wasn't that adding another layer of cloth was difficult, it was that the threads at the edge of the cloth would come lose, leaving strings embedded in the resin. There is an easier way! Start by masking off at the edge of the area to be covered.

Apply the cloth and wet it out in the same manner as the initial layer, making sure the cloth is wet out past the near edge of the tape. I like to use blue tape because it shows up well under the cloth. I've heard of others that use clear tape because it doesn't show if you leave a piece embedded under the cloth. I'd rather use the blue so that I can see where to do the third step.

After the resin has set to the "leather" stage, use a packing knife to carefully trim the excess cloth away at the edge of the tape. It only takes a light touch to cut the cloth at this stage, allowing the excess to pull away leaving a clean edge. I use the same process to apply extra material to the stem/keel line.

Rather than using the stands with soft straps just as Nick and Joe suggest, I once again cut saddles for a couple stations which were mounted to the strongback after the hull and forms were removed from it. I prefer this method because it hold the hull and forms steady while stripping, fairing, and standing the deck. I've left the hull with just two coats of resin - I'll sand it and fill with remaining coats after the hull and deck are joined.

The saddles fit much better for this boat, since I used this highly complex special tool to draw them out instead of just eyeballing the distance like I did on the first boat. Taping the three carpenters pencils together gave me just enough allowance to provide for the thickness of the strips and the foam.

I decided to try using square cut strips on the deck of this boat rather than bead and cover. For the most part, I think it has been a successful experiment. The biggest advantage is that you can clearly see how close and tight you have the glueline. A secondary advantage is that you save 1/8" width on each strip.

I built a beveling jig by cutting a 3/8" deep, 1/4"+ dado in a piece of 2x8 that was looking like a volunteer. I put the strip into the slot, then by resting the heel of the plane on the 2x8 and varying the angle to the strip, I can cut a consistent bevel on the strip. On almost every joint, I left one edge of the strip square and beveled the mating strip as necessary.

I'm a bit disappointed in the Port Orford cedar this time. The board I used on the Return had a wonderful pattern to it. This, on the other hand, looks to be quite plain in comparision. At this point, I've cut the opening for the recess and inserted "pinstripes." I worked directly from the plans for the size of the recess, not thinking about the impact of the pinstripes on the remaining width of the recess. I ended up narrowing the cockpit slightly as a result. Not a big deal - just wasn't thinking far enough down track.

It is always nice when you get far enough along to wet down the boat. In addition to raising the grain prior to the final sanding, it gives the first glimpse of the true colors in the wood.

After glassing the deck, the deck is removed from the forms, and the forms are removed from the hull. I use a 36 grit sanding disc with a smaller backup pad to do the rough sanding on the inside. It is a very "hungry" tool. You must be careful to not sand holes clear through the wood! I finish up on the inside with 60 grit on the random orbital sander. As crude as it sounds, I've been very happy with the resulting finish.

The inside glassing was a little challenging because of the heat. In spite of the swamp cooler running in the garage, temps were about 100 degrees which necessitated the use of very small batches of resin. I glassed the inside of both the hull and the deck the same day. Spreaders were installed at every other station to maintain the proper beam. Due to work schedules, the spreaders stayed in place for a week. Wonderful! Both the hull and deck are now stable, and I'm not going to have to fight it to make it fit when they go together. I really like the idea of letting the project set for a week while the glass cures.

Still needed one more pass at sanding and fill to hide the glass around the edges of the hatch covers, but it's getting close. I inset a 5/16" stainless washer (3/4" o.d.) with a 1/2" hole counterbored into the hatch. This gives enough room to insert a hook like a paint can opener to open the hatches. Did this on both big hatches, stuck with a nylon ribbon pull on the day hatch so I could open that with a gloved hand without tools.