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The replanking job went...

add water? never. Add more white wine. But I didn't need too.

I never met Chuck. He and I were co-located during the Contra wars in Nicaragua and Honduras- he with some black bag outfit and me with 7th Special Forces Group. We were both fascinated with the...

Well, I am from the trial & error school of boat building. I'm always willing to do it over until its right.

Your cellphone is gummed up with epoxy.

OK I promised "warts and everything". I was unhappy with the original planking job. The seams were not especially tight and there were some bumps in the planking. I think the contact cement degassed...

The answer is that I wanted the contrasting grains between long grain and end grain. The 2" thick laminated top was made with contrasting grains as well.

well thanks for the compliments guys. When guys like you admire my work, I am humbled.




Sure Mrleft8- ask anything you like.

So a few weeks ago, the Priest of our Anglican church visited my boatshop and asked me if I could build a tabernacle for the church altar- that's the strongbox that holds the sacramental body and...

I should add that this cutwater took me about 20 hours to fab- most of that polishing out tool marks. Perhaps those of you who have better metal working skills than me could do the job much faster

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Finally you must polish out...

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First make a pattern out...

[I'm going to take a small break here and build the cutwater. My chrome shop takes 6 or 8 weeks to return a piece, so I'm doing it now. I've mocked up the foredeck so I can get accurate fitting. I'm...

Did another experiment. I epoxied 6 ounce glass cloth to plywood and filled the weave with 2 coats of epoxy. Next day I rolled on another coat of epoxy and laid down 20 ounce vinyl from, JoAnn's...

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Here is the hull completely...

Frank R: wow thats beautiful. Please add further information about this fabric and where you bought it. I'm anxious to try it out.

Ok, here's the next step after hanging the mahogany planks. I do a pretty fair job of fitting the 9" wide planks together- but not perfect. In fact there is usually a seam, and ofter what is perfect...

I don't know about UV protection. But this is the same material shot on millions of cars that spend their life outside in the sun. And then its highly unlikely that someone will let an open speedboat...

OK guys- I've thought about it and concluded that I should epoxy over the mahogany. I've ordered 4 ounce cloth and I'll apply at least 3 coats of System three clear coat- then sand it smooth and...

Yes- the reason is that I can't achieve as fine a finish with glass cloth- even if I manage to fill the weave with epoxy, the surface is not perfectly smooth. Whereas the mahogany will finish like a...

There are 3 boats out there for one season. Beyond that I cant say. Of course I could always roll 3 or 4 coats of system three clear over the mahogany. I used to do that when I built shells. I'll...

Gosh Tom- I just can't consider the outer layer of skin to b e structural. The structural part of the hull is the two layers of birch ply and 3 layers of epoxied glass- thats where the strength is...

You have to keep the shop fridge stocked with whiskey for all the friends that stop by- but mention "sanding" and they clear out in a heartbeat.

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Bentley is purring along...

Tom- I've never had an issue with debonding or creep. I usually use nylon nails shot from a pneumatic gun- they are really tough and even come in dark brown color. And remember, these "planks" are...

I'll post more pictures when I'm finished staining and clear coating. The bottom and the hull up to the waterline are painted, then mahogany planks. I tape over the junctions of bottom and sides with...

bahma- if my boat building methods are unorthodox its because I never had the benefit of boat building instruction, and Murfreesboro Tennessee is not exactly a hotbed of boat building art. Instead I...

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We certainly did! The big...

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This is the stage I find...

There's a little splitting on the ends- so I loose 3 or 4 inches off the end- still its 6' long. This stuff is nearly 50" wide- yes 50 inches- which means the trees must have been huge. Probably none...

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Here's what the planks look...

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Agree with Peter- this boat is too far gone. Time and material expense just price it out of reasonable project. listen to us who have been there. Strip the boat and burn it (maybe salvaging some of...

Richard- yes, Weldwood is applied over the adhesive already on the veneer. Not sure its needed, but I do it anyway. The veneer is supplied with some kind of paper backing which makes it much easier...

Answers: The stripes are quite smooth- I see what you mean. its just the camera angle.

Its also a solid wood veneer - not 1/8- more like 1/32, and it comes with 3m STICKUM. I don't really trust it...

Time now to tip the hull form the rotissary into the Yardarm dollyies for completion. Here's what it looked like....

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Here's the finished transom. I bonded 3M backed ribbon mahogany...

I tidy every day when I finish, with the big sweep down at end of each stage. Then mop periodically. Dust is my enemy- must keep after it. All the dust chutes of my shop machinery are fitted with...

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Ok here's how she looks with primer sanded out with 320 grit. I...

Standard 6 oz E glass.

So, here's a picture after two heavy coats of primer:...

Gill- I don't use 5200 for this purpose. I use thickened epoxy with white (or black) pigment squeeged into the routed line. Its permanent and will not yellow. Important to have a stained glossy...

The last step after the glass cloth has been completely filled is the application on one more coat of epoxy with Peel Ply laid into the wet epoxy just exactly like you laid the glass cloth- except...

and from Gwen and Dale "Happy Birthday" our friend.

Another trick to pass on. When you are laminating glass cloth you will invariably get bubbles, epoxy-starved areas, and raw selvage edges. Here's a dandy example:
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Peel Ply is a layer of 2.7 oz. Dacron fabric strips or tape laminated into a layup as if it were an extra ply of glass. The peel coat wets out with epoxy like glass cloth and cures along with the...

Forgot one last step. When you roll the last coat of epoxy over your hull, I've found it helpful to lay peel ply into the wet epoxy as before. This reduces the tendency to develop raised bubbles and...

The first layer of 6 oz glass cloth is on, the weave has been filled with epoxy and its been faired. Now comes the second layer of glass. Its 53" wide and I cut it long enough to go from just past...

that truck was purchased from me by a guy from new York. It went into his personal collection and has never been seen at a truck show again. I doubt he even drives it. Pity, it was a charger

Ah sorry seanz. Here's a picture of Sherman after his body work.

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this is worth another look.