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To read the previous posts in this series, click the links below:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
This week I’ve been working on the dash and cowl. I laminated some Okoume to the DF dash that came in the frame kit to give it a little nicer appearance and I also wanted to make the curve of the cowl a little higher (personal aesthetics). Once the lamination cured, I used a router and trim bit to trim the Okoume to the DF dash. I reshaped the dash to allow easier access with legs because I know the Gran Kids will be sitting with their legs forward into the bow and I want to make sure that they don’t get stuck in there should they flip this thing. I made some blocks to mount the dash to the coamings. The bottom of the dash will be doweled into the crossmember on frame 2.
I had to use my Dremel with a cutoff wheel to cut and shape the Meranti cowl. It just shreads horribly so the cutoff wheel and sanding seems to be the best for all the shaping necessary to get a good fit. Today the dash was installed and encapsulated. Tomorrow I will finish fitting the cowl.
This shows the forward side of the dash. You can see the blocks that hold it in place and how I raised the curve of the dash for the cowl.This is the cowling rough fit and clamped in place. Once I established the width between the coamings, I trimmed it with the Dremel and block sanded to final shape to fit into the rabbet in the coamings.Another view of the cowl in progress. This is slow going and a lot of fitting and refitting, but necessary to get a nice fit.
Another view of the cowl in progress. This is slow going and a lot of fitting and refitting, but necessary to get a nice fit.This shows the dash now installed and encapsulated and ready for the cowling.Another view of the cowl in progress. This is slow going and a lot of fitting and refitting, but necessary to get a nice fit.
This shows the dash now installed and encapsulated and ready for the cowling.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Today I finished fitting the cowl and attached it as well as finishing the first coat of epoxy overall. I made some small attachment blocks to make sure the sides of the cowl along the coaming sat down and didn’t bulge up. The edges sit in that rabbet groove in the coaming. Tomorrow I will shape and sand the rest of the cowl and start filling in screw holes and other imperfections. The only construction left now is the transom knee.
Here is the cowl in place after checking the fit and determining where mounting screws will go.
This shows the mounting blocks I added (one on each side) and the rabbet in the coaming for the side of the cowl.
Here the cowl is in place and the deck now encapsulated with epoxy resin.A little sanding, filling, and shaping and the boat will be ready for finishing.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
After a few days of putzing (yah, I do that) I installed the transom knee in the Spartan. The knee is just a plank that runs athwartship from coaming to coaming and butts up against the transom. When I installed the aft deck planking I knew I would be boxing in the sides and make using screws difficult, so I decided to dowel pin the knee in place. Half inch dowels secure the rear to the transom and 5/16″ dowels secure the sides. The holes in the knee were well packed with thickened epoxy. The transom pins were set in place with glue in the transom and the side pins were packed with glue and slid into the holes in the coamings. Copious amounts of glue was applyed to all mating surfaces (and other things). Once the knee was set in and tapped into place against the transom, I was able to reach under and tap the side pins into the knee. Everything locked nicely onto place.This completes the construction phase of the Super Spartan. Now it is on to sanding and shaping areas, filling in and fairing where needed, and start the finish work and rigging.
- Dowel placement in the transom and coamings. The dowels in the coaming will be packed in glue and slid flush so the knee can be set on the transom dowel pins. Once the knee is set, the pins in the coamings will be driven into the knee to lock everything in.
- Knee in place and excess glue cleaned up.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
I finished the “varnishing” of the Super Spartan bottom last night. I used the System Three WR-LPU Clear Gloss using 4″ foam hot dog rollers. I have 5 thin coats over System Three General Purpose Resin. I allowed the resin to cure for several weeks before sanding. Each coat of resin was applied in thin coats using the same foam rollers purchased from HD. The resulting finish with the resin was nearly as good as the finish I achieved with the WR-LPU and I also did no tipping on the epoxy resin. After allowing to cure and completely gas out, the resin was wiped down with warm water to remove any traces of blush (I actually did not see any, but wiped the surface anyway). The surface was sanded with my 6″ random orbit air sander using 220 grit discs. The surface was then cleaned using DuPont Final Kleen 3901S prior to applying the clear gloss WR-LPU.The humidity was about 45-50% in my shop and I thinned the material 10%. I kept a wet edge, did no tipping other than remove some foam where the roller oozed some out on sharp corners, and refrained from over working the material once it was down. This paint is very sensitive to overworking. Once it is down it needs to be left alone to allow itself to shed any tiny bubbles and level itself. Tipping does not seem to be required if thin coats are laid down in a higher humidity environment.I am very happy with the results and will continue to use this product. It does not smell, is water clean up, water reduced and, once I learned how to use it, produces a very nice, durable, high gloss finish without the problems associated with spraying. Several coats can be applied in a day and no sanding required between coats if applied within 24 hrs. I did not sand or buff between coats and this finish was acheived with 5 coats applied over two days. I will let it cure for several weeks and then buff and wax the surface before righting the boat for the deck finishing.
(Note from Gayle: You can purchase System Three WR-LPU Clear Gloss on our website: System Three from Glen-L )
Looking great Roberta!
Be watching the Blog for final updates on Roberta’s Super Spartan!!!
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