That's a Whole Lotta 'Glass - Cockpit Fiberglass

The last few days were industrious, to the say the least. On the sailing front, I got out on the water three days in a row, all with good boats and great people.  Alas, I have but one picture to share as I left my phone in the car twice and ran out of batteries the third time.  On Thursday, I tooled around on a 30 year old M class racer on White Bear Lake. My host, Bob, knows a ton about sailboats and is very (very) picky about whom he sails with. This is partly because one wrong move in the right conditions and we're swimming, and partly because Bob's a talkative fella and expects talking in return. I'm glad to oblige.

Friday, I got out with Sailor Beth on Lake Pepin.  What a spectacular fall day that was.  Her 30' sloop cut through the water like a champ; the fall colors along the Wisconsin and Minnesota bluffs were truly stunning.  You don't hear much about Chrysler TMI's, but you should.  They are fine vessels.

But my favorite sail of the weekend was with none other than Garage Sail, by way of California Sean. Sean moved here to follow his work and took PocketShip (and his wife) with him, with a little nudging from the two other builders here in the area.  We wound up on Lake Independence, an 844 acre lake about 30 minutes NW of the Twin Cities.  This was a much nicer lake than I expected, and Garage Sail took advantage of the open waters.  With the mainsail only, she tooled along at 3 knots in light winds and kicked up a little past four with a gentle, steady breeze.  I was a kid in a candy store peering under the floorboards and into the electronics.

As we were waiting on the dock for the truck, many folks stopped to appreciate PocketShip bobbing freely in the water as I held the line. Kudos to JCH at CLC for designing a classic, and to Sean for putting it all together in amazing fashion.

Lake Independence - picture perfect cruising grounds..

I knew, however, that I would pay for these exploits with housework, which includes my own shipbuilding exercise.  I've been working diligently, short of continuously, preparing for the flip.  My wife plans to host a party this weekend and now I have a deadline to meet.

I spent a full day preparing all of the fiberglass areas. This included a lot of filling, fairing, sanding, and "just so-ing".  To get in and around the boat, I worked with the garage door mostly open. Here's a shot of how close the bow is to the garage door.  There's about 2 feet behind the boat where I can skirt behind and get in.  For those of you working in big, heated barns, seriously...

Missed it by that much.

Finally satisfied, I laid out the green tape and started on the port seating area.  One thing I wanted to do, though, was ensure good overlap in stressed areas, as well as being economical with the fiberglass. I think I'm going to run out, and I'm not going without a fight to use every square inch first.  To that end, I cut the 'glass in half leaving about 25 inches across.  This gave just enough coverage a couple inches above the port fillet and a couple inches into the footwell.  I then mixed up some epoxy and let that cure overnight.  By the way, it is so nice just to mix epoxy and not thicken it.  The small things in life, I tell you.

Laying out the fiberglass tape pattern.

Dry fitting the 'glass.  This is a sheet cut exactly in half.

Wet down and curing.  It overlaps both the footwell and up the sides, too.

While that cured, I figured I'd work kitty corner and do the starboard cabin decking. I like setting up the 'glass first, getting it just right, and then adding the frog tape to fit the 'glass.  Works very well this way. It looked a bit like a ghost ship with the fiberglass. 

The ghost ship, Lollipop...

Wet down.  As I write this, it has 2 layers of epoxy.  I am still hoping to keep the side bright, so we'll see.

Once the port side cured, I then moved onto the starboard cockpit seating area.  I figured I'd need to sit in the boat to do this right, and I did, so glad I waited.  Using the other half of the sheet, I was pleased to see I cut it pretty much exactly in half, no small feat on a sheet of 'glass that large.  This got wetted down and allowed to cure.  Meanwhile, I mixed up some more unthickened and put a second coat on the port cockpit seats.

Starboard gets laid.  I'll have a patch in the middle that will complete the decking.

Working kitty corner again, I then did the port side cabin decking.

This also went on well.  I was able to get some down the front, too.

A note about the frogtape.  With a couple years of experience now, I've got a good handle on the frogtape plus fiberglass technique.  The key to it, at least for me, is to wait until it's cured.  If it hasn't set yet, it will be difficult to cut.  And when it's cured, it doesn't even need to be cut.  Gripping just under the frogtape and lifting it decidedly will snap the fiberglass right along the tape.

I started doing it this way because I didn't want to cut the boat with the razor.  Instead, I have a thin score just outside the tape in case the snap doesn't happen smoothly.  When done right, you will have a thin, jagged edge that can be quickly sanded down, unlike those long threads of 'glass that never go away.  Being decent at frogtape 'glassing allows me the freedom to assemble the fiberglass in parts and reduces waste.  It's a win for all (but perhaps none moreso than the Big Box Store because I use a lot of the stuff).

With the four areas cured, I turned my attention to the footwell. I had grand designs on how to tackle this, but in the end wimped out and used a pretty straightforward approach.  The sides stretch out about 8 inches, overlapping the 'glass that's already here.  For the most part, it came out OK.  The corners and whatnot caused typical issues which I'll address after it cures.

The reason for the issues is that this is a fairly large area requiring large darts and a good deal of finesse (to get the alignment right), balance (to not fall into the footwell), efficiency (to work quickly so things don't gum up), and artistry (to ensure it doesn't look like shYte when done).  It's such a highly visible area I really wanted this to be near perfect.  I'll settle for OK.

This wasn't easy.  Good luck out there.

Done, after a couple hours and a couple aspirins.

Looking down the trench.  The dark areas are low spots where I tried to sand away the fillet issues.  This will of course be heavily painted so won't show.

View aft.  Note the transom doesn't have much treatment yet. I'll run a wide strip side to side to finish that up.

When walking around, I noticed that the whole boat feels much stronger.  It no longer flexes when I walk on it and it's very clearly able to hold my weight.  This is a good thing!  Over the next couple days, I'll add a couple extra epoxy applications, do the sides (aft and forward) and clean up the transom.  Then it's adding the rubrails onward to the flip.

A Return to Normalcy - Cabin Decking

I've been home for a month, slowly settling back into the groove of post-Caribbean life. That is, except for the pesky routine about work. I left my job for good on Independence Day and am now in occupational limbo as I concentrate on my schoolwork and the beast in the garage. Some day, I'll post a bit about St. Martin in far more detail, but if anyone out there wants to know the ins-and-outs of the leeward islands, I'll be a good a source as any.

One of the conditions my wife gave me in order to leave my job and sail around the islands was to finish PocketShip by the time of the frost. Given we live in Minnesota, that could've been late August.  But so far, we've been spared the sudden drop in temperature and I've been working towards getting the boat, if not finished, at least ready for painting.

I spent the first couple weeks with minimal effort, honestly, as I was catching up with friends including Chris' PocketShip (great!), the Yankees (not so great), and world news in general (holy mother of monkeys).  Long-delayed projects such as the interior cabin 'glass fix and the cabin deck were high on the agenda.  With that, I got to work by fitting the timber across the cabin deck span. These actually go in first, according to the manual, but other builders have recommended that they go in last. That was good advice, as I was able to get the other bits and pieces secured before setting this one to stone forever.

The trim on my boat is padauk, so naturally so are these beams. With a white "ceiling," they'll look terrific, if I can keep them looking good through the process. So far, it isn't promising but no harm in trying.

Spans glued and screwed in place.

From below. They were prepped and rounded over before installation, but not yet epoxy'd.

I then turned my attention to the nasty spacing between the cleats and the cabin deck itself. On the port side, I shaved off too much so that there was too much angle. In other words, the cabin deck would only lie on the corner of the cleat instead of flush. In a moment of triumph for keeping any and all scraps, I used a bit of the offcut from making the side panel cleats for the cockpit. They were nearly perfectly angled. So, with that as a lamination, I inserted it between the offending cleat and the cabin and look at that: the gap closed acceptably.

Here is the offending gap, taken through yet another gap. This is the lamination meant to close the gap between the cabin deck and the cleat on the aft cabin wall.

The first lamination gets glued into place.

I also spent some time cleaning up the fiberglassing between the hull and side panels. I applied the 9 oz 'glass on the damp epoxy. Without realizing it, I'd put finger depressions all along the wet out and it dried like that. Nice if going for the cratered look is what you're after, but not so nice when this is the inside of the friggin cabin. I've been avoiding / dreading this for a long time for whatever reason, but finally kneeled in the cabin and took care of it. Like 99% of any fix, I mixed up some epoxy and spread this thinly across starboard and port and let that cure. When sanded down, it had a nice, smooth finish. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought, and doing so inspired me to continue working in here before the cabin deck went on for good.

Just after the cabin deck installation, meant to show the fixed hull-topside 'glass joint but shows so much more!

Since I was in the cabin, I figured it was time to cut out the dorade holes. On a fear factor scale, this ranks pretty high.  I'd already decided that I would paint the entire bulkhead 2 the same color as the cabin instead of leaving it bright, so the stress was lower, but it still took about 30 minutes to measure and score where I wanted these two holes to be.

I used the adjustable hole saw (recall that this is one of the weirdest, most dangerous tools I've ever seen). They came out alright.  The black marks are scorching from the friction; my garage had smoke billowing out of it and I'm sure my neighbors had 911 on one line and their real estate agent on the other.  You know, to move away from the crazy man with the burning garage.

I cut a 3" hole and let the remaining 1.5" burn on their own. Haven't decided if I want to put a deck plate in here or trim of some sort.

View of the holes cut to show the unbelievable symmetry. Something like that. It was this shot that convinced me that I prefer bulkhead 2 whitewashed instead of bright.

Finally, after months of anticipation, it was time to fit the cabin deck. In trying to avoid router issues as others have seen, I aligned the corners of the aft cabin wall and the cabin decking itself.  This was to limit the amount I'd need to cutaway on the aft part of the sheet.  With some clamps in place and sitting gently on the cabin, I drilled holes into the cleats and plywood to set the screws.  I didn't use the tool that is recommended in the manual. I guess it would've made alignment a bit easier but I found I didn't need it.

Cabin deck placement, lined up perfectly (or so I thought).

I mixed up some epoxy and there it went. This is one of the few times a major project went better than expected. I still had gaps here and there between the cabin deck and the cleats, but they were limited in scope and I'd be able to fix them with (what else) epoxy.  I stood back and admired my work and pulled out the manual to see what was next.

Cabin deck screwed down. I used a lot of these things.. somewhere around 75?

Hidden among the usual prose, the manual clearly states that the decking needs to be 20.5" from the companionway opening.  This is to allow for the companionway slide.  I scratched my head on this and thought, well, it didn't look like 20.5". Sure enough, because I aligned the corners, it's not: it's 22.5".  (This is probably what it feels like to be winning a game only to be beaten by a last second shot.)

Crushed, I figured I had three options:

1. Ignore it and build the companionway to the regular spec (in other words, leaving a 2" gap in the ceiling)
2. Build the companionway 2" bigger, thereby having it come out 2" more into the opening.
3. Build a bridge to cover up the area and build everything normal.

I went to the PocketShip forums for advice.  Surprisingly, most people said to ignore it, including well-respected members of the builder community. A couple folks said to build the bridge, and a couple folks wanted more information.  I initially sided with the 'ignore it' group but slept on it and thought better of it, mostly because of the rain that could get into the cabin. So, out came the measuring devices, a scrap of marine plywood, and within moments I had a bridge cut to spec. The hard part would be getting it to look good, with the curve of the decking, so out came the clamps to dry fit the bridge.

Dry fit of the curve. Didn't need to make any adjustments for once.

Clamps showing that yes, this could actually work.

It looked like if I could extend the butt block aft first, which had to be done anyway, I could use that as a pivot point. I could then pull the rest of the bridge in line with the decking. This blocking went down and cured first. Once cured, out came the epoxy for the tack welds.

Glued and clamped the butt block extension, stopping 1/2" short of the edge.

Rest of the bridge gets clamped down with tack welds added.

View from below. Cleaned up all smooth and buttery now.

Once those cured, I sanded them down and finished off the epoxy application.  The last photo is the finished effort.  It looks worse here than it does on the boat.  When this is 'glassed and painted, no one will know!  And every time I step into the companionway, I will remember these hours and remind myself to always read the manual.

Clamps removed just before sanding down.

First set of epoxy curing.

Final fix in place. Very happy with the result overall.

With the "bridge" in place and flush with snatching victory from defeat, I saddled up my router and ran it around the cabin decking.  The flush trim bit carved off the offending overhangs with alacrity.  I then went to do the starboard side and suddenly it didn't work so great anymore as the router took a huge chunk out of the deck.  I looked at the bit closely and saw that the bearing -- the thing that makes it a flush trim bit -- came off somewhere along the way.  The result was a significant gouge, right where I needed it least.  Yes, that meant yet another epoxy clean up was in order.  Stupid boatbuilding!

Yet another router mishap when trimming the cabin decking overhang. I've joined a not-so-exclusive club with this maneuver.

I took a drive to the Big Box store and picked up another bit, then finished the trimming.  Once done with trimming, I sanded it flush with the side panels, mixed up some epoxy, and began what would become three applications to fill the outside gaps and prep for fiberglass.  I still have a gap inside the cabin at these areas, and I'm undecided if I want to take care of that now or at the flip; probably now.

Gap between the topside and the cabin deck filled in, first pass of it. Two more passes after sanding got this flush and nice.

Second pass in place.

With that error, too, curing, there were just a couple minor things to do before I could wholeheartedly prep for 'glass.  One is the transom skirt cap, a task I haven't been looking forward to at all.  Many blogs complain of this: it's tough to cure, it doesn't stay in place, etc.  Some people just get furniture molding and call it a day.  I figured why not try, so I did.  These pieces were done with the table saw set to the right angles.

The first lamination cut OK but as the manual indicates, it was tough to get this to hold in place.  I've realized that when the manual says, "might take some work," it's translation really means, "almost impossible."  Like, "cozy" for real estate is code for hamster-sized and "TLC" means a wrecking ball would be more appropriate.

First lamination of the transom skirt cap.  Bit of an annoying piece of geometry. Starboard wasn't too bad; port was worse. But it'll be covered up with the cap so no problem, right?

I then cut the second lamination out of padauk, but bagged that idea when I saw how tough it would be to clamp.  Basically, I'd get epoxy all over the padauk and it would be much more work to get it to stay -- and keep -- bright than just to paint the darn thing.  This held better than the first but only after coming up with the clamp configuration as shown.  One up, one down. I screwed down each end of the cap to hold it in place and keep the fair curve.  There didn't seem to be any other way to do it.  A little sanding and filling and this will also be seamless when done.

Second cap lamination gets glued down. The alternating clamps worked best.

Screwed the end of the caps down to keep the curve.  Filled the underside with epoxy.  This will take some finesse to make look good.

In the meantime, I'll be filling and fairing the cockpit and hull and the overlapping parts of the boat for the next week or so.  It really is coming together but still have a million little things to do.

Peeps, Ahoy! - Fixing the Gap and Other Fillets

My neighbor works at Target and knows of my fondness for peeps. The result is, come Easter season, I can get pretty much as many as I want, and I often eat most of the ones I get. The only catch is I have to make a diorama of whatever little buggers get left over from the gorging. I haven't been very good about this the last couple years, but this year I committed to doing something. So, here it is: Peeps, Ahoy!

The boat is a little wooden replica of a fishing boat. My father in law picked it up somewhere in his travels. It's a cool little model. Rudder, oars, even some cleats. The photo is some tropical island somewhere on my laptop. A productive evening, indeed.

Alas, there's a much bigger wooden boat that needs tending to. I installed the inwales* today (the manual calls them "sheer clamps"). Now, a bit about these because I haven't seen much written up on them, though I tried. These are meant to provide some lateral stability, form a profile, and give a place for the cabin deck to fasten against. They look good in the anchor well and also run along the inside of the cabin, so it should be some of the best work. What isn't clear is how it fits into the notch in bulkhead 2 and how it's used as a connection point for the cabin deck.

I first assumed that the inwale should run even with the topsides. When it wouldn't fit in the notch, I thought I miscut something here, so I actually cut the notch in bulkhead 2 lower so the inwale could be even with the top of the topside panel, or about 1/2" lower than the notch in bulkhead 2.

I even glued up port that way and clamped it shut, then headed for the manual and the blogs to see what was next. Something, however, kept nagging at me. If this is meant to be the cleats for the cabin deck, how is that going to happen if the cleat isn't angled? Meaning, this bit of timber should actually sit above the topsides along the cabin area, shaved down to match the sloping profile of the bulkheads, and then even with the topside in the anchor well. Only then could it serve as a proper cleat for the cabin deck. Sure enough, I went back and studied the photos closely. Clearly, these sit above the topsides most of the way around and gently slope down towards the bow.

Starboard curing.

I was/am a little annoyed that this isn't very clear in the manual. I could be totally off base here but I don't think so. I pulled the port inwale out, raised them about 1/2" proud of the topsides, and reglued them.  That will be enough to shave down on the angle to mate with the cabin deck. Worst case, I can file them down, even them up with the topsides, and be no worse than I was before. After a couple days, I put the starboard ones down, too - correctly this time. I didn't quite get the right length to meet at the bow so will craft some scrap wood, blend it with some epoxy, and it'll be good as new up there. Once that's done, I'll sand it down and 'glass the anchor well. There will be lots of extra treatment where the tabernacle goes.

Speaking of good as new, I addressed the gap in the bridgedeck/aft cabin wall tonight. The plan was to cut a bit of scrap to match the profile of the gap, epoxy that in place, then epoxy over it again. worked pretty well.

Cut a bit of ash to fit the gap.

Dry fit.

Epoxy'd in place. Left to cure.

Cabin view.

Regular fillet goes over the spot some time later. Good as new.

It's still visible from inside the cabin as a 'sandwich' but it looks 100x better from the cockpit. I haven't decided if I want to address the cabin view now or wait until the flip.

Getting the fillets in the cockpit is slow going. I'm glad I'm using the drill to help me mix because my wrists would be cramped by now. The goal is to get the fillets done this weekend, take my usual break as the semester winds down, and get the seatbacks in by next week.

* I'm fairly up on boatbuilding lingo but had to look up "sheer clamp." Per Wikipedia, a sheer clamp is "the upper, inner longitudinal structural member of the hull, to which topside panels are fixed. Outside the US. these are called inwales." I know them as inwales so will call them that here. I also call policeman "bobbies," go to the "loo," and sing God Save the Queen in the shower every morning.