JEM Watercraft

Matt, I glued up the bottom panels for my Freedom last night. I first wet out the panels then placed the fiberglass on the table and wet it with resin then placed the panels on the plastic covered table. I then did the same with the top and placed a plastic covered board and some weight on top of it.
The joint looks really strong this morning however on the bottom the epoxy completely embeds the glass with a few white spots while on top part of the epoxy is thicker than the glass with a few spots of glass exposed.
Is it a good idea to do both sides at once? I think that I might have a problem getting a fair curve on the side panels if the epoxy is too thick.
Please comment
Thanks Martin

sounds like you had a little uneven pressure. No big deal.

You can sand off the excess epoxy. Be careful not to sand away the fiberglass.

When I build a boat , I enjoy the build as much as later when using the boat , both of the steps I find relaxing and rewarding. The building offers me a good boat later for paddling.

This is one reason why I only do one side at a time , then flip it over and do the other side. I'm not in hurry when I build one and another reason is the glass likes to slide around in the wet epoxy so I feel safer only doing one side at a time. Besides Murphy and his law really likes me.
Plus a lot of my friends like to tell me that I never get in a hurry unless it is at meal time and then look out. A person has to have priorities , right.

Chuck.

Hello , this weekend I want to start filleting and I checked my supplies and found that instead of wood flour they have me MicroBalloons, I also have 3M Bubbles. Are either of those suitable for mixing with the epoxy to fillet the joints in the plywood?
Cheers
Martin

on a small paddle boat microBalloons will be ok. Problem is you'll get some funky colors.

My lightning fast mind suddenly realized that I can use the dust from my sander, it has been sitting there for some time and will have the same moisture content as the atmosphere.
Is moisure content a issue when using it as a filler with epoxy?
Also I want to use some hot glue for a temporary tack, will it leave the uokume plywood with a discoloration?
Cheers
Martin

G'day Martin,

I just use the saw dust from the sander. It is stored in an open bucket and moisture doesn't seem to be a problem. I would sift it first to get the big bits out.

I don't know about the hot glue. A concern might be some chemical residue from the glue might affect the epoxy bonding with your ply. I wouldn't risk it.

I wouldn't use the hot glue. Like Mick said, could be residue left over.

Two more questions, I finished filling the gaps between the panels , what do I use to fill in the low spots and pits left after sanding? do I need to use more epoxy butter or will they fill in when I paint a coat of epoxy on the hull?
Also what do I use to remove the dust left in these small craters?
Cheers
Martin

you fill in the small pits with more thickened epoxy.

You can wipe the hull down with a damp, but not dripping wet, cloth. That should take care of the dust.