The Steamboating Forum

Sanding, sanding, sanding ... Here's the bow aspect after much orbital sanding. Still some hand work to do and then the cloth goes on!

Looks great!

What is your tip to avoid to much sanding?
Anything you would do better with the next boat?
Or is this something you can not avoid with this method?

Rainer wrote:Looks great!

Thanks, Rainer.

Rainer wrote:What is your tip to avoid too much sanding?

Do as much sanding as possible before the first coat of epoxy. Epoxy is difficult to sand. "Only apply enough epoxy with the first coat to occupy the air spaces around the cells without too much surface build up." (WEST epoxy text book)

Rainer wrote:Anything you would do better with the next boat?
Or is this something you can not avoid with this method?

The method is labor intensive. On this, Devlin, Brewer, Parker and the WEST text agree. But with regard to any good finish, one cannot sand too much. The key is to fair the wood as much as possible so the fibreglass cloth lays fair. Then, in order not to sand away the 'glass, they recommend doing all of the coating of the glass cloth in one siege - coat following coat while the epoxy is green in order to achieve a chemical bond until the cloth is completely filled.

So now I'm finishing up the sanding, cutting the cloth, labeling it and storing in rolls and planning the 36 to 48 hours I'll need to cover the boat in one big gotterdamerung.

Hi Steve your boat looks great - a very pleasing curvey front end. Thanks for posting the pics of your stern tube too.

I am also a member of a Yahoo group for builders of Selway Fisher designs. The word there is that using West's peel ply over your wet epoxy sheathing greatly reduces the sanding afterwards and is well worth considering. One of those things that doesn't seem important but works very well in practice. May be worth looking into.
John

John:

It's true - peel-ply is a good product. It still needs to be sanded for tooth for glazing and what follows. I'll be doing minimal sanding after covering in order not to damage the fabric, and then doing filler build-ups for panel seams and what not ...

... Still sanding. It is worth it to see the smooth finish.

Picked up this prop cheap on eBay for experimentation. It's a 21 x 26 RH

Thanks for sharing this. I am very excited to start my very own project as well along with a couple of friends. I will take note of your instructions and keep you posted as well for any updates! Thanks for sharing it!

Homer

Homer:

Best of luck to you. If you're doing wood/epoxy construction for the first time, be sure to read all of the masters; it is not for the faint of heart. The WEST textbook is perhaps the most important tome to have, but I have also found Devlin, Moore and Parker to be helpful for various emphasis and techniques.

Base hull epoxy paint coat layers on hold due to cold shop temperatures, so I am starting to dismantle the engine to see what I have. Last evening, I lovingly removed the drain cocks, cylinder lagging, throttle inlet and receiver. From peering into the LP and HP steam chest inlets and exhaust ports, I don't believe the engine has ever run on steam.

Here's a post of the front side of the cylinder casting.