NorthWind Finally.....

[Darrells]

Got home today and a package was waiting on me. My bungee material finally arrived. The red is for this boat.

Put some temporary braces back in the boat. They tend to kinda roll up without any braces in them.

I finished sanding the deck last night and layed the fiberglass this morning before I went to work. I put the final two fill coats on the deck this evening.

And last but not least I stripped the two bulk heads. Tomorrow I will cut them out, sand and fiberglass them. I am shooting to join the hull and deck Weds. night.

I am ready for a break in the heat. It was 107* in my shop this afternoon and still 90* at 10:30.

 

[Darrells]

Did'nt get much done today. Really all I accomplished is fiberglassing the bulkheads.

I layed the deck on the boat to get it out of the way for a while. It's not centered or anything but I sure do like the way it is going to look when finished.

 

[rpecot]

I sure do like the way it is going to look when finished.

Can't argue with you. Very sweet looking profile.

 

[Kayak Jack]

One of Verlen's goals was to have only round corners on his boat, no square corners to catch either wind or water.

 

[JEM]

Worth noting: The deck radious is not as sharp as the fiberglass production hulls my design was inspired by. I'll restate that Darrel did a great job with it. I like the color contrasts!!

 

[Kayak Jack]

Worth noting: The deck radius is not as sharp as the fiberglass production hulls my design was inspired by. I'll restate that Darrel did a great job with it. I like the color contrasts!!

In my opinion, I think that both designer and builder did a great job on this boat.

 

[Darrells]

Thanks, I have not had any real problems with this build and have enjoyed it so far. I believe this will be my best so far and from Ron's reports on the S&G version may be my best paddling boat.

 

[Darrells]

We got off a little early today and decided it was time to install the deck permantely. I didn't take any pics last night, but I did tack the bulkheads in place.

Before my men left to go home I asked them to help help me get the Goopy (epoxy & wood flour) glue on the sheer strip. In this heat it does not take long for the epoxy to "go off" on you, so some help was nice. We got the goopy on and set the deck in place without any problems. There were a couple of places along the boat that did not want to cooperate but a tie-down strap fixed that. I love the look of this boat. It won't be long and it will be time to make her shinny.

Epoxy should set pretty quick today.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Darrell, along the inside of the cockpit, you may consider rolling the boat up on each edge (one at a time) and use a syringe to make sure all gaps are filled between the deck and hull. That is a place of heavy use and lifting etc., and being really secure wouldn't hurt. but, maybe you are doing that already.

 

[Darrells]

Got out to the shop this afternoon and gave the boat a light sanding and them wiped it down with acetone. It sure is ugly at this point.

I layed out a tape line on the hull so the seam will be nice and straight to make it easier to blend the layers together. I have about three inches of overlap on each side to strengthen the deck joint.

I rolled out the glass on the boat and wouldn't you know it was six feet too short. I did some trimming and have enough to finish the narrow sections of the deck. I'll have some seams to blend but it won't be too much trouble.

It looks pretty good with fiberglass on it. It is still early enough I may still get one more coat of epoxy on it later tonight.

 

[Darrells]

The boat has two fill coats on the fiberglass and is looking pretty good. I will give it a good sanding tonight to get all of the imperfections out and then one more coat of epoxy. Before I give it the final coat of the epoxy though I am going to put the coaming around the cockpit also. I set it out in the sun for the first time today and I have to say I am totally satisfied in it's appearance so far.

Bow:

Stern:

 

[Kayak Jack]

That boat looks like it's doing about 60 mph just setting there on the horses.

 

[Darrells]

I have been working on the boat, but not really a lot to update. I have been putting on the fill coats epoxy (to fill the weave of the fiberglass) and then sanding it back off and repeat to smoothe everything out. I have also been building the coaming around the cockpit which I finished earlier. I might be able to flip it over tonight and put the first coat of graphite impregnated epoxy on the bottom. Anyway here are few pics to update with.

 

[Kayak Jack]

You're doing a nice job Darrell. Send me a private message and I'll put you in contact with a couple guys who paddle the Sea Wind, so you can ask about how they rig various lines & accessories.

 

[Wannabe]

Darrell,
I see your dog is in his attack mode. It's good to have an alert guard on duty so no one steals that Good Looking boat.
Bob

 

[Darrells]

She's pretty high strung, I have a hard time keeping her out of trouble. :lol:

 

[Darrells]

Did'nt get the graphite on, ended up having to work on one of our Firetrucks until 11:00 last night.

 

[Darrells]

Well I took a deep breath and took a saw to her today. Both hatches are cut. All I need to do now is install the lip around both of them.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Kinda like making a water proof roof - and then cutting holes in it. Has to take courage.

 

[Darrells]

Graphite impregnated epoxy serves two purposes. The first is it is a visual wear indicator ,when you can see the wood thru it it is time to recoat before you have damage to the fiberglass and the second is once it is scuffed up just a little it is as slick as snot. I went back out to the shop tonight and put the first of two coats on.