JEM Watercraft

I have read a lot about the term fairing and how much work it is in doing it. To a first time boat builder, just exactly what is fairing and what does it do and how do you do it?

Thanks.

James

Fairing is bascially making your boat look good. It's filling in all the low spots and knocking down the high spots until you get a smooth, flat service.

It looks good but also helps protect your boat because high spots are places that will rub and wear through your epoxy/glass quicker.

How much fairing you do is a matter of taste. At the least, you should try to feather the edges of all fiberglass tape. I do this by:

1) Apply the tape and letting cure
2) Sanding down the high, rough edges. I don't spend a lot of time. Just a quick pass over with sander or scraper to get it mostly smooth.
3) apply another light, even coat of resin. When it cures, I do a light sanding to scuff of the fresh coat of resin to see where I need to do some more work.

You want to be careful you're not sanding down the fiberglass, except for the edges, because then you're weakening the boat's strength. You also want to be careful you're not using too much fairing materials because it adds weight to the boat. Lesson learned the hard way on my first boat.

If you're going to paint the boat, you could go with a fairing compound like micro balloons mixed in resin to fill in any low spots, and then sand. Micro ballons are lighter and sand easier. Be sure to apply a thin coat of resin after your final sanding over them. They are hollow and will need to be sealed.

I did the trick where I got some dark color primer in a spray can and did a flake spray on the hull. Just so I had about 30 dots per square inch all over the hull.

Then I sanded. Where there were still dots, those were low spots that needed more attention.

For a natural wood or "bright" finish, you have to rely just on using epoxy to fill in bumps. For a bright finish, you need to stain or clear coat paint the epoxy to protect against U.V.

Like I said earlier, it's a matter of personal taste. Some guys love that show-room, perfect finish. My boats are used and abused so I go for the 10-foot finish: It looks good from about 10 feet away. I don't go crazy fairing because eventually, you'll have to do some touch up work which means basically repeating the whole fairing process. Easier to do if you're not too picky.

Since it's your fisrt one and you've been talking about your next one already (hee hee hee..another boat building junky hooked for life ) I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time on it. But it's your boat so you should do it your way. Isn't that right Chuck?

Other builders: Please contribute to this thread. I don't spend a whole lot of time with fairing so please share the tricks you've used.

It's basically alot of sanding....The fiberglass leaves a weave print when it's encapsulated....You take epoxy and thicken it with a filler (microballs, etc.) to make a paste...and trowel it over the hull.....Once it dries you sand it smooth, fill any dips or pin holes or sand any high spots..It's basically the second worst thing of boat building.....The worst is finishing the boat, cause then you have to build another, then another, then another

Fairing can be looked at from several points of view. A few of them that I can think have included, Macro, micro, base material, and coverings.

MACRO means (to me) the overall design of the boat. This is basically the responsibility of the designer. The overall lines should be streamlined to offer minimum resistance to passage through the water. Builders, however, sometimes manage to work changes into the design either by forethought or by no thought. Proper placement and use of temporary bulkheads to obtain the proper cross-hull configuration is one of the easier ways of messing up. It is also, one of the easier ways to get the boat right. IE: follow the directions, and ask if there is confusion.

MICRO means (to me) the polish and finish of the boat. When I take my scared, scratched, used boats to a boat show there are always others that look like pieces of furniture. While I stand there and look longingly for a minute, I always walk a way shaking my head. See, I build my boats to be paddled, not to be looked at. “A well scratched boat is a well loved boat.”

That being said, I try to get my boats to where they are hydro-dynamically clean, meaning they’ll slip through the water without hang-ups, and make little wake. This is where filling, sanding, and scraping come into play. We need to take off what doesn’t belong there, and add in what does. Kinda like prettying up a woman, ehh?

BASE MATERIAL means (to me) the wood. The wood should be smooth and hydro-dynamically clean before we add the epoxy and fiberglass. I recognize that this should go without saying, but I feel that it needs saying.

COVERINGS mean (to me) the epoxy and fiberglass. Matt has already addressed the nasty habit of fiberglass tape to develop one edge that raises and is a real pain in the neck. Fiberglass is a different matter.

The only time I ever had real problems with fiberglass is when I used a “tight weave” material. It was so tight that it would not easily conform to the contours of the boat’s compound curves. In my experience, a looser weave is much easier for a home builder to use and be successful. It will wiggle and reshape itself as required – and it will STAY there. The tight weave would sneakily let me think that it had done what I wanted it too, but after a few hours it resumed its original shape as well as it could, and developed wrinkles all over the inside of my canoe. UGLY. Of course, the epoxy had started to set up.

Like Matt said. The 10 foot look is the all round best since you will be using the boat and not showing it, plus the fact this is your 1st one and they are always a learning experience.

Looking at it in this light ..... expect to make mistakes and have some imperfections from them. The degree of them will be up to you and the corrections.

Since you are the person making the boat and it should be made the way you want it and for no one else. That is just something I tell everyone because your boat is not coming off some shelf at the store it is your creation.

By doing this you control the amount of work that will be put into the boat and if things don't work out then it can always be painted, that covers a lot of mistakes.

I would suggest trying to make or making the boat and using the glass and epoxy shooting for a showroom look and letting the natural wood show thru. Nothing looks better then a wood boat where you can see the wood.

This means a lot of sanding before, during and after the construction process. The boat is sanded to smooth it out, then epoxy saturated which makes some of the wood stand out (Like whiskers on your face every Saturday morning) so they need to be shaved off or the glass will pull on them. No, the whiskers on the boat not you.

A light sanding will correct this so now the glass can be attached. The epoxy saturation soaked into the wood and will help to make a strong bond between the glass and wood. You have glassed the boat ... now a light sanding and then apply a thin coat of epoxy the fill the weave of the glass that has not been filed. This step might have to be repeated one more time if you want a slick smooth finish.
Also for this step I use a paint roller that is made for epoxy ..... A great way to apply a thin coat of epoxy.

Let the epoxy cure for 30 day's, yes you can use the boat during this time. Now for the final finish, sand the boat, lightly to remove any dirt, grease, scratches and wipe it down with a clean cloth then varnish it.

Chuck.
PS... Building wood boats is very addictive and habit forming.

Excellent input Jack.

I'm using 6 ounce tight weave from RAKA on a project. It does requires more attention and slows you down a bit. But I like the stuff because it needs less fairing and is a little stronger than standard 6 ounce. It can be a bear to work with.

On flat surfaces, it's the cats meow because it uses less resin and there is less weave or print to fill in. Watch out for those corners though. You realy have to pay attention and check it as it cures. Had to rip off some glass a couple times because it didn't behave.

Oldsparkey wrote: Let the epoxy cure for 30 day's, yes you can use the boat during this time. Now for the final finish, sand the boat, lightly to remove any dirt, grease, scratches and wipe it down with a clean cloth then varnish it.

Chuck.
PS... Building wood boats is very addictive and habit forming.

And that is correct. You can use your boat after a day or 2 of cure of the final coat of resin and before you paint or stain it. In fact, I advise it on paddle boats before you install any seating. That way you can test it out and see what you want to change, which seat position works best, etc.

If you go this route, make sure you give everything a nice rub down with 100 grit sand paper before paint or stain just to knock off any dirt you picked up and take off any amine blush. Just need to scuff that top surface and get a little dust going. Nothing too deep.

Varnish - you varnish primarily (only?) for UV protection. So, get the varnish that has the highest UV protection factor. Also, varnish is softer than epoxy, and the bottom of the boat (should be) under water. No need to, and good reasons not to, varnish the bottom of the boat.

DO NOT store your boat where sunlight gets to it - either direct or reflected. Chuck Littleton (Ole Sparkey) taught me what to do to the bottom of the boat. The bottom gets rough treatment. After the first coat of epoxy used to lay the fiberglass on the bottom, do this.

Apply two to three coats of graphite-enriched epoxy below the waterline. From RAKA, get a small amount of powdered graphite. I think the smallest amount he sells is 1/2 pound.

Apply masking tape on the edge of where you want the graphite-epoxy to extend. Mix up a small amount of epoxy, add powdered graphite to about 20% by volume. I use disposable foam brushes and apply this to the boat.

Let it set a few hours and remove the tape. Reapply the tape again, about 1/8" further out. Apply another coat of graphite-enriched epoxy. If you apply a third coat, move the tape again. This yields a feathered, stepped edge instead of a sharply stepped edge of graphite epoxy.

When applying epoxy over epoxy, you get a chemical bond if you do it within 72 hours of the previous application. A chemical bond is the strongest. Otherise, you must sand it to provide a roughened surface - called "tooth" by some - for the next layer of epoxy to grip and hold. This is only a mechanical bond.

If you are epoxying where you've already varnished, I think it's best to sand down through the varnish so the epoxy is gripping to epoxy. Otherwise, under stress, the top layer of epoxy could separate and pull the underlying varnish right off.

Jack was telling you about something I like to do the the bottom of my boats.

The last step for me in the construction of a boat is the epoxy and graphite mix on the bottom. I use three thin coats when doing this and I use one of the paint rollers for epoxy , Jack likes the brushes but the rest is done the same way.

The 1st coat you will see some of the wood showing thru, the 2nd coat will cover that, all you see is black and the 3rd or final coat has it covered.

The thin coats offer less runs when finished. This mix does several things.
1. It offers extra protection to the bottom of the boat and the glass.
2. It makes the bottom nice and slippery, graphite is a lubricant and is slippery, it is used it to free up sticky locks among other things.
3. It fills in any of the weave of the glass that has not been filled in.
4. It will help the boat slip over items in the water instead of becoming stuck on them.
5. To make it even slicker lightly sand it. It will go from black to gray but everything you touch when doing this will have that dust on it or in it.

One of the pirogues ( has this on the bottom) that I use for demonstrations and when a person is thinking about making one for there use I have them try it out on the lake. (all my boats except for the kayak has this mix on the bottom)

When they are just about ready to come ashore then I tell them to paddle thru the weeds next to the shore. Usually I get this what are you trying to do to me look, have you gone nut's.. ... Not thru that stuff.
But they try it to humor me.
The usual commit I get is ... This boat has 4 wheel drive or WOW this is nice. Then they try it again , just to make sure.

Chuck.

I wanted to add something that the question that was first stated may have inquired about.

In the initial lofting of the plans ( and this also means those plans that are full drawn to some degree) the "flow" or the "lines" of the craft ought to look clean and fair.....

We look for designs that are pleasing to the eye. They must also look and be practical and functional.

Fairing incorporates all this. In the "micro" view the sand paper comes into the process of "fairing".

Let the spirit of the designer ( Matt) and the Builder (you) come together to have a craft that you'll be smiling about the rest of your life.... and not to worry.... there are more designs coming!

swampy

After building only four boats using plywood and the stitch and glue method, I have come to a few conlusions.

(1) Common hand tools will do the job for almost every task involved. A simple hand drill (the egg beater type) will do the job as nicely as will an electric drill. Safer too. A Japanese hand saw will cut the panels almost as easily as will a power jig saw.

(2) The ONE absolute power tool you will need is a power sander. Or, plan on developing arms as large as Popeye's. A small, hand-held, orbital sander will do you wonders. Mine is one of the "quarter sheet" models. It takes a standard piece of sandpaper, cut into fourths. Get the kind that suck up at least some of the sawdust.

A power sander will cut a month or two off construciton time.