Revelations

So I think I’ve figured out the best way for me to get a high strength laminate with my materials. I’ve always found it a little counterintuitive, but the strongest fiberglass/wood bond is one that uses the least amount of epoxy to wet out the glass. Basically, you want the epoxy to glue the glass to the substrate, not have the glass suspended in an epoxy matrix that is on top of the substrate. Maintaining the proper orientation of the glass fibers in the cloth is also important, but if you can achieve a laminate that is 50% glass and 50% epoxy, you go a long way towards increasing the strength of your boat. This is something that is routinely done by professionals, but can be tough for a newbie like myself. There are different methods to get there. A lot of people will wet out the glass away from the boat on a plastic table, squeegee out the excess epoxy, and then move everything to the boat. Unfortunately, I don’t have the room for this. Others will precoat the wood with a thin coat of epoxy to stop it from absorbing the epoxy from the laminate and starving the glass. I tried this but the glass was still getting dry in spots and pulling away from the wood. The pros can throw a piece of glass on dry wood, correct for the amount of epoxy that will absorb into the wood, and get a badass laminate. Not a chance for me.

It’s a good thing the panel splices are first because they aren’t particularly structural and they give you chance play around with the materials. I found out on the Bateau site that when I precoat the pieces, I should let them set up partially before I add the glass. I did this last night, layed up the glass, squeegeed out the excess epoxy, and it worked great. Great success!!

In addition to the glassing, I've learned a few other things so far.

I found out that a grinder is a perfectly reasonable tool when the sanding disc is coupled with the proper rubber backing plate. It goes from a wildly dangerous wood knife with high potential to eviscerate the user to an aggressive, but controllable way to remove material quickly. WHO KNEW?!!

I learned that if there is enough sanding dust in the air that you can smell it burning on the halogen lights, the dustbag on your sander is probably clogged.

I learned that even though it's just wood, Meranti dust HURTS when there is enough of it in your lungs. The oils in the stuff are mean. Respirators are your friend. The Captain refers to this condition as "that ol' Red Lung", something that he informed me should only be a concern for women and children, not real men.

That's it for now. I tried for a while to get a picture showing the differences in laminate quality, but it was an exercise in futility. It’s tough enough to see it with your eye, much less with a camera. All the panels are finished now. I’ll glue up the stringers tonight. I know none of this is very exciting without pictures, but I don’t have anything new to show yet. It’ll get more interesting soon. I promise.