Re: Release wax on Awlgrip
Thanks BWT and OPPS for your advice. I spent a couple of hours reading just part of OPPS thread which was very interesting... My boat is a 1973 and not built that well as they used a chopper gun so as I have been sailing it I have to repair and upgrade the boat as I wear it out, My old GPS had 2080 miles on it before it died so I believe replaceing this ama (pontoon) is the right way to go. Several years ago while sailing a stay pulled a chunk of the ama deck and side out and was dismasted;lucky for us we just got a few cuts and scratches.I beefed it up with glass and epoxy and now have two stays on each side.. The deck was kind of thick but weak and the sides were very thin, the deck bond is not that great ,the inside has foam with water that was not put in by the manf. Anyway the ama weighs 74# which is way over weight , leaks, and now is showing cracks on the deck. Low weight and strength is very important on a performance sailboat as the best boats are built with glass,CF, Kevlar ,and epoxy,with infusion, vacuum bagged and heated . Check out Mark Lindsey..... To do this right I would need a lot more equiptment and time. Meanwhile I now have some health issues where I will be getting some treatment and I'm also allegric to fiberglass dust, so when I sand or grind I need to jump in the canal shortly afterwards, it's also very hot here..ha ha...As far as using biaxial I had to repair the bottom of the main hull(VACA) when I first bought it in 1993 and while sanding the bottom with a belt sander it revealed a 3 foot long hole and where someone poured tar in there as it had a double bottom.With advice of a local who was a boat builder I used two layers of 10oz biaxial and epoxy .It turned out to be very strong, was the same thickness as the orginal which I found out when cutting a small plug to install a suction bailer in the bottom.From looking at the cross section, my glass repair was better than the original since I was careful in the layup. I used two pieces ,the first was was about 4 ft long and second was 12ft long resulting in a very strong bottom. The bay has lobster traps and rocks and very shallow at times and I also sail in open water in the Florida Straights so safety is number one...That is how I came up with the two layers of 1708 and epoxy to build a new ama..The weight should be about 40 lbs when finished plus I will reinforce the area where the stays are attached with E-glass, Kevlar,& CF and where the cross beams
are bolted on...Actually I think that one layer of 1708 would be equal to the original hull which is very thin.
http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/20764796
Yes I'm duplicating a part, a pontoon(ama) on my 18' trimaran; the ama is 14' long and I using it as a male mold. the ama is coated with Awlgrip...Why I'm doing this is because the ama is old(1973) poor construction (choppergun) leaks .over weight(74#), and full of foam saturated with water. The new hull will be built with two layers of biaxial 1708 E-glass and epoxy, and them faired and AwlgrippedView attachment 107166
