Inside glass

[a Bald Cypress]

Been watching all the p-rougs being built here. Just a question. There seams to be a general opinion that glassing the inside is a PITA since you have to glass over 4 or 5 ribs.

Could you not glass the inside and then install the ribs ?. Think of how much easier that would be.

Just hold the shape with a couple of supports until the ribs are installed.

Then epoxy saturate the ribs and put them in place. No muss, no fuss.

Now I know I am missing something here so just give me a moment to don my nomex suit and flame away.

 

[oldsparkey]

I agree with your idea , there has to be a simple way.

That is almost what I was going to do this time but things worked out where I did not do it due to space restrictions. If I had the room I sure would of tried it. Actually what I wanted to do was to lay the sections out nice and flat and glass them , then put them together with the end pieces and ribs. Flat panels are real easy to glass.

The end pieces and the ribs along with the outside rub rail form the shape of the boat and to have it true in shape they need to be attached before glassing it. Anyway that is how they have looked to me when building them because without them it is a quivering ( very flexible ) mass.

Honestly I find the inside is not a real problem to do , just a slow go and a pain in the back when fitting the glass between the ribs or trimming it when it is wet. The other idea I had was if I had more room I could lay the glass out and measure each section and cut the glass to fit it. Then it is simple matter to lay it in there and wet it out.

I have found that if I put the glass in there , smooth it out and let it sit for a day or two then I can trim it and get it installed. It does form itself after a day or so to the shape of the boat.

No mater how you do it , the outside is always easier , toss the glass over the boat , smooth it out and get nut's with the epoxy.

Chuck.

 

[Jimmy W]

Been watching all the p-rougs being built here. Just a question. There seams to be a general opinion that glassing the inside is a PITA since you have to glass over 4 or 5 ribs.

I've never built a UJ type pirogue with ribs, but I think that the standard procedure is to just glass between the ribs and not over them.

 

[oldsparkey]

The accepted way is to glass between the ribs and not over them , just epoxy saturate them.

One thing I forgot to mention.... When the side panels are just wood and nothing making them stronger. Attaching the front end piece to the side panels is no problem. Attaching the one side panel to the back end piece is some sort of fun but attaching the remaining side panel is a wrestling match between you and the boat. Especially if you are doing it by your self. Between holding it in place , drilling a hole , keeping everything in uniformity ( so they match up front , top and bottom ) and putting in a screw can become a fight. But when it is done you are on your way to having a good boat for your pleasure.

If you have dry fitted t together then the battle starts all over again when you epoxy the pieces. ( Use some good screws so they can be backed out but not all the way ) so you can get the epoxy in there without taking it completely apart.

I have found some "C" clamps on the top and lower parts of the side panels and using a tie down strap things can be pulled together so it makes it a little easier. The "C" clamps keep the strap from slipping off the end of the boat due to the angle it has. Just run the strap on the backside of them. Might call them the third and forth hands. :wink:

Chuck

 

[basujanm2310]

You put the glass in there,

You will feel smooth it out and let it sit for a day or two.

Then you can trim it and get it installed. It does form itself after a day or so to the shape of the boat.

Best of luck.


saturn steering rack

 

[oldsparkey]

Got it done in one day , some cussing and fussing but that is half the fun. Now I need to fill in the glass with a little more epoxy.

 

[funbun]

Why not just glass the entire sheet of plywood or pieces before nailing everything together?