Laminating the starboard side

After sanding and cleaning, I was able to laminate the starboard side. I'm using 6oz cloth. I had my boys help me hold it in position and used painters tape to temporarily hold it while I started wetting it out with resin. I started with just a 3 pumps of resin/hardner mix not knowing how it would wet out and not wanting it to "get away" from me. I quickly learned, this doesn't go very far so I doubled it--which still made for me having to stir up a ton of batches. but at least, I didn't have to rush. I used a chip brush to brush the resin on and then a squeege to even everything out. Took me almost 2 hours to wet the thing out but I'm pleased with the finish. It is a nice even saturation with no runs and hardly any mess on the shop floor (forgot to put down a drop cloth)

More taping

The boats lower port chine had only one layer of glass on it. So I added another layer of tape so that once I add the final layer of cloth, the lower chines will have 3 layers and the uppers will have 2 layers.

fixing blisters

I've found lots of little blister-like area where the fiberglass laminate didn't adhere to the plywood below. I'm using a sharp knife to cut out these areas. I'll then sand and clean them and then fill with thickened epoxy. There are probably over 100 of these things! Sweet!

Why is my epoxy curing so slowly?

It seemed my epoxy was curing rather slowly. I thought this was good because everyone is always telling me not to let it get away from me. But today I thickend some up to fair in some little bubbles and it just wasn't kicking off. That's when I read on the can of slow hardner that it is only recommended down to 60F and the temp in the shop was at 50F. So I went to Anacortes to get the "fast" hardner that is good to 40F which should work fine except for the coldest days this winter. No one had it in the"C" size so had to drive up to Bellingham and found some at LFS.

Taping the seams

The plywood panels are just glued together with thickened epoxy. The seam (or chine) needs to be reinforced. I'm using 6" fiberglass tape that I put over the seam and then wet out with epoxy resin.

Building a new strongback

When I brought the hull to the shop, we left the strongback in Poulsbo. So the first thing I had to do was build a new one. I decided to put castors on it so the whole thing can move around my shop as needed. I then put the male frames on it so we could then lay the hull over top.

Getting Started

I have officially started my sailboat project. The hull has been sitting in my shop all winter while I was busy building a rental house. Now that the rental is done and rented out, I can start. (Of course, the shop is a huge mess and needs to be cleaned to make room for the boat.)

Project History (and the Sours 26)

Ever since I was a little kid I've wanted to build a boat. A few years ago I started sailing and absolutely fell in love with it. I have a San Juan 24 that I sail and do some racing with. It's a great boat and I have tons of fun with it. Another thing I love is building things. Over the past 5 years, I've built 3 houses and a shop. I love working with my hands, creating things. So I've decided to combine my love for sailing and boats with my love of building things and try this project. I know that for less money, time, and effort, I could go buy myself a proven design. But that's not the point. Really for me, just like in sailing and in life, the journey is itself the destination.

So why this design? I really liked the idea of building an I550 but when it would be done, it's a bit smaller than what I'd like. I was looking for something a bit bigger than my SJ-24 but also with sportier characteristics. That's when I found David Sour's add on Craigslist. He had asked Tony Gondola of Northwest Marine Design to draw up lines for a wooden hull inspired by the T-bird but with a modern sportier shape. Unfortunately, after starting the hull, David didn't have the room to complete the project and was looking for a good home for it. So that is how I came into the project. I basically have just the hull. I'm trying to find any drawings or info that Tony may still have that can help me, otherwise, it's a pretty wide open project that will require lots of design work along the way. (Yes I know I'm probably in way over my head--but in my life I've found myself spending a lot of time in that position and have actually kind of grown to like it)