Larson Lapline All American

Drb007

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Jun 17, 2012
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Yes, epoxy. The literature from West System says it is better to use thinner glass and do more layers, so I can always order another roll of glass if the 10 yards isn't enough. Thanks Wood!
 

Woodonglass

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That's true. That's why I suggested 3 layers on the transom. I usually recommend the 8.5oz glass and 2 layers on the transom/stringers and the 6oz for the deck
 

Drb007

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I just called and increased the order to 20 yards...I have plenty of other boats that I will use any extra on:)
So if you do 8.5 oz in 2 layers for 17 oz, I'll be at 18 with three layers of 6, then I should be ok.
Pretty excited to get working with the glass, but I am spending lots of time reading the West System literature before I get in too deep.
Thanks for the guidance.
 

Drb007

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More progress. We have had a lot of fun doing this project so far. We are using West System epoxy, and decided after talking to the West rep to use the slow hardener to give ourselves extra time. We laminated the transom and cross members with no issues. Installing the transom went great. In speaking with the West rep, we avoiding "over clamping" using block wedges along the bottom and bolts through the drain and motor mount holes. We used another sheet of plywood on the outside to ensure a nice flat clamp. It worked great, and the epoxy is some strong stuff! It is rock solid now, a huge improvement from where we started. It is a real piece of mind knowing that it is really sealed up against future water intrusion. We glassed in the transom with three layers of 6 oz glass. The floor is epoxy sealed and glassed on the bottom, and installed to the stringers with lots of PB. We have burned through two gallons of epoxy so far and I am picking up another gallon tomorrow. At $200/gallon I am really hoping one more gets this done. We still have to PB the edges of the floor and seal the top, then more glass. Once that is done we will flip the boat. We are planning on two cherry pickers, one on each end and 6 guys to carefully turn it over. IMG_5579.JPG IMG_5579.JPG IMG_5581.JPG IMG_5599.JPG IMG_5600.JPG IMG_5603.JPG
 

Drb007

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I am amazed at how much epoxy we are going through. We got the transom and bilge area done, and went to glass the floor tonight. We got one layer down and realized we were going to run out of epoxy. So, it looks great, but we have just the one layer down.

So I am asking advice.

The West System rep says one layer is fine. He explained that the glass is just to keep the plywood from splitting,

The guy at my local marine store thought I was silly for glassing the floor at all, advising me to just epoxy the plywood and cover it with carpet (we are going to use marine vinyl to make it look more original).

So my question is, can I leave it as is? As I understand it, if I were to want to add the other layer I would have to sand the whole thing first since it will be dry by then.

Thoughts? IMG_5640.JPG IMG_5641.JPG
 

jbcurt00

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IMO, the deck should have been tabbed to the sides of the hull 1st, then 1 layer of glass and epoxy on the deck would be fine.

Little stress across the open deck, lots of stress along the deck/hull joint.

I'd add additional glass along that joint.
 

Woodonglass

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Oh My!!! I can see why you've run out of epoxy!!! WAY to much PB in the Deck/Hull joint. As stated all that was required was enuf to fill the crack and form a nice cove. I totally agree that the deck needs to be tied to the hull sides with a layer of 6" wide 6oz glass. When the hull sides flex, and they will, the bond will not hold with out it.
 

Drb007

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The PB filet in the area you see is not that deep, but is wide, yes. I needed to do this to make a smooth enough cove for the vinyl flooring to lay down nicely over. I used 5/8" plywood, rather then the stock 1/2", and for some reason that corner of the floor was proud compared to the other side. I did triple check that it was down solid on the stringer, but it did sit higher anyway. That did require a wide filet. The rest of the floor required much less "fill".
I really appreciate the guidance. I will go back and add more glass to reinforce as directed. Off to get more epoxy tomorrow!
 

Drb007

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I went out to check on the boat after the glass work dried over night. Man did we ever put the epoxy down thick. The areas that I feared last night were too thin I now see are what the finished product should look like. The areas I thought were good are thick with epoxy and smooth...no glass texture.
So, expensive lesson learned, to a point. My question is: how were were supposed to put the epoxy down the right way? Were tried a foam roller, and even though we had epoxied the plywood first, we seemed to just keep lifting the glass. I tried the metal West System roller and while it would help roll out bubbles, it didn't spread the epoxy. We ended up using a brush and our gloved hands. We got the glass pretty smooth, but again, way too much epoxy. I am assuming that we didn't hurt anything by using too much other than the budget, but I would certainly like to know how to do this correctly. I am going to go out tonight to sand the work we did last night and will add some strips of glass along the edge as you all advised. I am considering putting one more layer of 6oz glass down since I already have it cut to size.
Thoughts?
 

Drb007

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We went back and did a little more work. We sanded all of the uneven areas out of the epoxy. Wow, did we put it on thick. Once it was smooth, we did add 12 oz glass about 8 inches wide along the edges where the plywood meets the hull, and then another layer of 6 oz glass over the entire floor again, this time using a squeegy. That went a lot better . Used about 1/4 the epoxy. Looks very nice.

Here's my question:
We used a LOT of epoxy on this floor redo. The plywood is encased in more than enough epoxy, and the bilge is basically built out of PB as I tripled the size of the original bilge. I can't see how it isn't water tight. In stock form, the bilge area had holes to communicate with the area under the floor, between the stringers. I can't bring myself to drill those holes. I am going to install a good bilge pump.

Do I need (should I drill) those holes? Can't I leave it "water tight" until I suspect water has gotten under the floor?
 

Drb007

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Well, I have to say that went a lot easier than I thought it might. Alaina and I were able to flip the hull on our own with no issues at all. I have a very solid rolling workbench that fits perfectly under the hull and makes it super easy to roll around. It is at the perfect height to work on the hull body work. IMG_5677.JPG IMG_5678.JPG IMG_5679.JPG IMG_5680.JPG IMG_5681.JPG IMG_5682.JPG IMG_5683.JPG IMG_5684.JPG IMG_5685.JPG IMG_5686.JPG IMG_5687.JPG IMG_5688.JPG IMG_5689.JPG
 

sphelps

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Nov 16, 2011
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Nice job on the flip ! Those can be a bit nerve wracking sometimes .. :lol:
Great helper you got there .. Looks like she flipped it all by herself ..
 

Drb007

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Jun 17, 2012
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Now that the boat is flipped, we want to dig in and move along right away. I had gotten some advice from WOG long ago about fixing the keel while it was on the trailer by applying PB and reshaping. Is that the best way to do this now that it is in better positioning for repair?
I assume we need to grind out the previous repairs and fill them the same way?
I have quite a bit of experience with body work on steel and aluminum, but this is our first attempt at making a fiberglass hull look new again. I assume I can not use the same filler that I use for body work on cars. An favorites that I should look at for that kind of product?
My plan is to epoxy prime the hull once the repairs are done. Then sanding primer a few times until we are happy, and then seal with epoxy again before painting.
Sound ok?
 

Woodonglass

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Dec 29, 2009
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Post some new pics of the keel so we can get a NEW "Look See" at what you're dealing with!!
 

Drb007

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Alaina is done with school for the summer and we are going to be tearing into this project full force starting tomorrow!

The trailer is all disassembled and will be heading in to get blasted and powder coated this week. Once the hull is repaired and painted and the trailer is back together we need to spend some time rebunking it so the keel can't be damaged like this again. I really do think most of the keel damage is from the trailer. That said, what is the opinion on using a Keel Guard? I have read about them and watched their videos, and it seems like it might be a good idea. I am not in love with how they look. How many of you use them? I found one on CL for $100, so it has me thinking...
 

Woodonglass

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If your trailer is causing the damage then you need to either adjust it properly or buy a new trailer. Mine does not and should not hurt the keel in any way. Keel guards are meant to protect the keel in the case of excessive "Beaching" of the boat. If you don't intend to beach your boat a lot then you won't need one once the keel is repaired properly.
 
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