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    Forum
    SEA COMANDER RE-FURB.
    Just started this re-furb 😭, I forgot about this boat, it was built in 1966 by my dadπŸ‘. Been in my sisters loft since 1975 and was only found a few weeks ago when she moved house. so hope to add to my harbour as soon as its seaworthy.πŸ‘ Biggest problem is the amount of fiberglass on the outside of the joints, old heavy duty stuff but seems to be coming away okay, will be
    coating
    hull in Ezicote and fine glass cloth. At least it makes up for the loss of dads old Sea Queen.😊
    6 years ago by Colin H
    Response
    Sports cruiser ''ALI''
    Hello, Looks good! I use PVC for all my wood. CA is not very water resistant. if you can get the waterproof type PVC, use that. if not, if it is just a white glue, make sure all glued areas are covered with a waterproof
    coating
    . Such as varnish or paint. When I glue wood, I put glue on each joint, let it sit for a few minutes while it soaks into the wood grain. Apply a bit more glue and press together. Clamp or somehow hold the joint securely while it dries. Most PVCs take at least 30 minutes to set. Depending on the joint, I usually will come back a day later and fill any gap that may appear. PVC creats a joint stronger than wood. CA is brittle and the joint can snap. Give it a try and good luck to you. Joe
    5 years ago by Joe727
    Forum
    Cleaning sails, toy yachts, etc....
    Useful to know about Vanish. it certainly worked on my Star yacht sails. Fortunately the sails on the Ailsa yacht are lovely anyway, just some new rigging cord required. I would say the sails were the same as bed sheets. I used some white spirit to clean the deck on the Ailsa. Most of the dirt being handling muck. Then I waxed it with 3M wax...twice. it's wonderful stuff which I bought for our historic narrowboat's new paintwork. it was a wooden boat and when I replaced the cabins and had painted them with Tra-mar
    coating
    s hand made enamel paint, I waxed them with 3M's wax and they went another 3 winters before I sold the boat, with the rain still rolling off in beads. The Ailsa is now waiting for some spar varnish over the repair's creamish paint. I couldn't match it perfectly, but I didn't want to repaint the whole hull. All the repairs are under the waterline so it shouldn't show. The Star...I never heard of them using aluminium for masts. How would they have kept the rigging eyes in place? Martin
    5 years ago by Westquay
    Response
    Now
    coating
    and Matting
    Thanks for the encouragement Donnieboy. Hope to move it forward today to the tissue bit in the way you are suggesting. Fittings may end up in a selection bag on Ebay! TTFN. NPJ
    6 years ago by NPJ
    Response
    Now
    coating
    and Matting
    After the application of fibreglass or matting i usually put on a second coat of EZ-Cote.After drying lightly sand.Overlaps I find easy to level up with another coat of EZ-Cote.I have been using the same bottle for 3 years.That stuff really stretches.All the wrong size fittings can always be used on other projects or modify them to suit yours.
    6 years ago by Donnieboy
    Blog
    Now
    coating
    and Matting
    On to
    coating
    and Matting. (as well as sanding!) Now have at least finished all the stripping. Then did the β€˜bright light in the hull bit’ to look for areas that needed patching. The major problem area was in the bow and that did not receive the light as it is a totally blanked off compartment. However, it was obvious from the outside anyway so, could I assume it was the only leak? Decided to put a fine matt over the whole hull, not deck, just to be sure of best chance of success. I can imagine what will be said here if it still leaks after all this! I had ordered some supplies ready for the next stage and drew up a plan view of the boat to help think through layout of electrics and other items. Made my usual mistakes about size. Some fittings purchased too small………However, never too large now that’s interesting. Some materials purchased too large. Now have a life’s worth of Resin……(when does it β€˜go off’ by?) Also have a lounge floors worth of tissue matting! Also Sandpaper. Now there is a mine field. So now I know a bit more about that and which way the numbers work! When I forgot to put the mask on, I had some of the crispest 'bogies' in years.............. No images posted! On the plus side, although I never wanted to get into this stripping sanding, filling sanding, sealing sanding, matting sanding, painting sanding, painting, sanding bit……………. I now feel I started out with someone’s boat I had bought and now it has become β€œmy boat” for real! I am at the stage now where I have put some filler in and applied the first coat of Eze-Kote from DeLuxe Materials To use Eze-kote read stuff from RNinMunich on this blog or the’ leaking boat’ thread. Washes out of the brushes very easily. There is such as this ..... Youtube link - watch?v=yP05qv3QtUk RNinMunich or Colin H. and the like have bits of extra comment and experience that is always very helpful. BTW, after that finer sanding before first coat, I did the dust down and vacuuming bit but it still felt a bit β€˜chalky’ so I gave it a wipe with Methylated Spirits. Now I realise that has water in it, so if anything goes wrong it could be blamed on that................. Having left the first coat to dry I started to cut out the light matt to apply after the next sanding. The matting I have is called Glassfibre Surface Tissue EGlass from FibreGlass Direct. A part of Tricel Composites (NI) Limited. Available internationally in lengths from a metre upwards, it is quite fine in weave so we shall see what happens. I have left quite a wide margin at the moment but may reduce that when I have tried using it! This is another first for me so plenty of room for mistakes............... Will need to cover with the matt in stages as I cannot get around all the boat without changing its position. Going for the bottom of the vessel and stern board first as I figure they are going to be easier than some of the other bits. Then will leave that to cure before moving the boat. Really worried about the joins/overlaps and how well I will cope with those, not to mention the curved bit! Started to look at electrics and layout for a bit of a change. I will post again when I have had the first battles with the matting! TTFN. NPJ
    6 years ago by NPJ
    Forum
    Leaking Boat!
    Seal off the gettable area with polythene put the hull in the domestic test tank then using a cycle pump put air into the sealed area watch for bubbles appearing (like looking for leaks in an inner tube) No bubbles no leak, move to the sealed area drill a small hole enough to get a football valve adapter in and again apply pressure and look for bubbles if there are bubbles and this is where the leak is you could enlarge the hole that the adaptor was fitted through and pour in some sealer and swirl it around .or cover the whole of the exterior of the hull with a liberal
    coating
    of clear sealer . Cheers Marky
    6 years ago by marky
    Response
    Range Safety Launch?
    Evenin' Neville, Re Leak- Where did the water collect? Anywhere near the end of the prop-shafts? Whatever; as soon as it's dried out give it a good internal
    coating
    of EzeKote from Deluxe Materials, no pong and no hardener resin. Brush it on generously and leave to dry/harden overnight. Put PLENTY down in the bilges around the keel boards. Brushes you can simply wash out in warm water. Very 'People friendly'πŸ‘ After that carefully inspect the outside of the hull for flaked paint, cracks and delamination of the skin or keel wood. Re scale for fittings- "Some of the 1/16th look better than the 1/12th and 1/24 is in with a change for some bits!" Don't quite get the last bit! Whatever πŸ˜‰ The original was LoA 43' = 516". So your model with 44" is without doubt as near as dammit 1/12. (1 to 11.727😁) Owt else for the fittings would look a bit 'Gulliver's Travels' 😲 Re Build Blogs; the most comprehensive one I've seen here on Fireboats is Robbob's outstanding build and incredibly detailed and informative blog πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘ https://model-boats.com/builds/view/23951?goto=44797 Can't wait to see what electrics you've ordered, another big white delivery van full of surprises?😁 Bon chance mom ami, Cheers, Doug 😎
    6 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    46Firefloat Mk2 paint
    I found that Chinese 5 spice powder worked fairly well, but getting an even
    coating
    is difficult, especially where it's always windy like here. I shall be making the davit and hook mechanisms in brass and getting them cast. There are none available as far as I know. Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Crash Tender davit info...
    Doug, the trick to a good even sprinkle (oy, madam) is height. A more even
    coating
    results from a good high sifting. White pepper can be good too, though might cause a sneezing fit and then the jolts would result in molehills I might pop to Halfords and have a wee look tomorrow. They're just across from Wickes. Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Crash Tender davit info...
    Martin. The 'Deck Anti-Slip Finish' bit is on page 4 near the top. Re: Colours. As there seem to be no colour photographs or film of the boats the question of colours for the decks, cabins and roofs is open to speculation but you are quite correct to point out that the plans do not specify white for anything other than the hull markings. The cabin roofs I believe would indeed have a textured
    coating
    as the crew were required to stand on them to operate the monitors etc. but I decided not to replicate the texture as is would just look like a bad paint job! I did carefully consider the colour options when painting my boat and decided to texture the deck and paint it in the colour specified β€˜BS631 RAF Light Grey’ but to leave the cabin roofs untextured and painted white as that seems to be the consensus, and to my eye it does look 'right'. It is also a great shame, as you say, that one of the most popular RAF boats were so few in numbers and not well documented or photographed during their service life. I have a suspicion that a book of drawings and specifications does exist somewhere as I have seen a few pages that appear to have 'Ministry of Supply' indexes and page references. The 'Plans & Docs' section of this site has some useful information and some 'photos and drawings but they are of very poor quality and resolution. Wouldn't it be nice if whoever has that resource were to make it generally available, I believe it's out there somewhere. We can only hope. Robbob.
    6 years ago by robbob
    Blog
    Fibreglass the hull- continued
    Now the Chine rubbing strakes are fitted, dry and filled and I have attended to the minor lumps and bumps the next job is to give another coat of resin, taking the issues of the first application into account I intend to apply a thin coat, this has the effect of filling in the pattern of the glass cloth. Another two days have passed and it’s time to do some rubbing down. I have found that the surface is very hard, more so than I recall some of the other fibre glass projects I have done but these have been using Polyester resin. it’s a first for epoxy, so is epoxy a better choice than Polyester? According to my mini research – οƒ˜ Epoxy is more versatile οƒ˜ Epoxy has fewer fumes οƒ˜ Epoxy is stronger οƒ˜ Epoxy shrinks less Conclusion Epoxy is the better choice for repairing/covering either wooden hulls or repairing fiberglass boats. it has excellent adhesive qualities, wets out fiberglass fabrics and it is tough. it has great thin film cure characteristics, cures in cool temperatures. After the first coat I wasn’t 100 % happy with the finish but I just thought that some dust had landed on the surface before the resin had dried, (this was proved not to be dust but because of the matting pattern still been visible it disguised the real problem) however this was easily sanded out with wet & dry. Now the hull and deck were looking really smooth with very little sign of the matting pattern it was time to give a final coat. I had decided to coat both the deck and the hull in one go so I mixed enough resin to do the lot. Starting with the deck I started to apply the resin but to may horror it started to pin prick all over the deck surface, panic, panic what was causing this? So was it the brush which I had previously washed out with cellulose thinners after applying the last batch of resin. I decided to remove the resin and use a new brush (I had 90 mins cure time to do this) so cleaning of with paper towel and finally with a wipe with thinners I started to apply resin again – but it happened again as I sat in despair I looked into the pot of resin wondering where to go next when I saw a film on the top of the remaining resin it was then I noticed a ridge in the cups side. it was the wax
    coating
    that had melted into the resin and subsequently appeared as pin pricks in the newly applied surface. At this realisation I removed all the resin again and took a breather hoping I had found the problem. Another day and a light rub down of the deck to make sure the surface is ready to receive its final coat. Resin weighed (in a glass container this time) and well mixed I started to apply again and fortunately it was OK and all surfaces were coated.
    6 years ago by mturpin013
    Forum
    Bristol pilot cutter mascotte
    Back to the main hull Have finally got the hull sprayed today with this heat it has been drying faster than I can spray it on πŸ˜„ Firstly the hull was sanded with a 200grit paper to sand of the shiny
    coating
    to give the paint something to key too. It has had three coats of undercoat sanded with 2500grΓ­t wet and dry paper between each coat.the undercoat used was Halfords rattle can plastic primer. Then the lower hull colour was sprayed on again three coats sanded with 2500grit paper between each coat.colour used was Halfords rattle can ford arctic blue. the top half of the hull was sprayed with two coats only with it being black plus I didn't have enough paint to give it a third coatπŸ˜‹ colour used was Halfords rattle can satin black. Finally the hull was sprayed with Halfords rattle can clear lacquer three coats sanded with 2500grit paper between each coat.
    6 years ago by kmbcsecretary
    Response
    The Saga of the Cabin Roof or - Arrrgh!
    Hi there, Patience is a virtue, of which you appear to have a lot. AS for your slight "blooming /blushing my only answer is (raining or exceptionally cold or humid weather which often occurs when rapid evaporation of solvent cools the air over the
    coating
    below the dew point.) (internet is brilliant) however you've set me thinking now as as you will have seen in my blog having got the roof mechanism working I have yet to apply the skins. I appreciate any thoughts on - 1 Using existing skins? 2 Using existing skins and then f/glass and cloth both sides? 3 I have a quantity of mahogany veneer 0.5mm from memory, three sheets cross grain and glue whilst the held in the compound curve? 4 use thicker ply?
    6 years ago by mturpin013
    Response
    K45 8 rater yacht revamp
    The first item is the deck, I was going to remove the white round hatch but the deck is so weak and flimsy without it I had to keep it 😑 Still, a wood strip deck is being laid direct to the old deck with the intention of a clear varnish
    coating
    once completed.
    6 years ago by Bryan-the-pirate
    Forum
    Water and Grease................
    Thanks for that. I have picked up one or two references elsewhere that
    coating
    all connections made in wiring and servo connections is a good precaution. Also
    coating
    exposed circuit boards would benefit them. it is extremely unlikely that I would ever wish to make alterations to such boards, so if it does no harm and may be of benefit then I will have a go. You were right on the rudder links Mark. Better now that I have given them some 'slack' so will just use 3 in 1. All the best. NPJ
    6 years ago by NPJ
    Response
    Aerokits Solent Class Lifeboat
    Hi mark, many thanks for your input. I have planked before on those "wonderful" De Agostini part works I.e Bismarck, HMS Victory etc. However planning on sheet covering the hull using the templates on 1.5mm ply I have. I also plan to use a
    coating
    of finishing resin inside and out but will not be glass clothing as I'm informed it's not necessary. This of course after any required filing gaps, will then prime, sand, prime again and finish using Halfords rattle cans. As for household warefare! Thankfully I get lots of weekdays off when "she who must be obeyed" is at work, the Hoover works overtime before my understanding wife arrives home from work lol
    7 years ago by Skydive130
    Forum
    Sea Queen refurbishment
    Just a few quickies. first of all did the drill bit hit the bone? if so it needs an x -ray as there could be bone splinters that will cause pain even after the hole has healed. Re
    coating
    boat hulls try 2 part Epoxy paint / resins which can be used with cloth like polyester resin. RN I believe Acetone and various other solvents are available in quantity off the supermarket shelf in FranceπŸ‘. Do you get over the border at all? Not sure but I think the OP that said this mentioned ether too.
    7 years ago by onetenor
    Forum
    Sea Queen refurbishment
    Back to the polyester! I have just read an item about
    coating
    wood with polyester, quoting an apparently well known Australian surf board maker, saying that there are chemicals in the wood that prevent the soaked in resin from setting. it sets on the surface and all appears well, but not deep down and it may all become detached some time in the future. Too late for me though as I have just done mine! Chris
    7 years ago by octman
    Forum
    Sea Queen refurbishment
    Hi Doug Resin is heavy and applying by
    coating
    the inside of a boat will if the wood is porous absorb lots and greatly increase the weight. The thinner it is the more it will be absorbed. Layup resin is of a similar consistency to liquid brushing paint (not the gel type). it goes more pourable as the temperature increases. it is much thinner than the isopon resin sold in many car repair packs. Adding styrene will thin the mixture allowing it to penetrate the glass cloth or matting. it is worked well into the mat to keep the weight to a minimum and any excess is mopped up with paper towels. After several coats the fibreglass will be formed and dries rock hard over a couple of days if the correct temperature is maintained. High temps will reduce the time but will be more difficult to work with as the gel stage will happen much quicker. Sorry to rabbit on a bit but I am trying to warn you that you may end up with a very heavy model if you do not use sparingly. If you can get the consistency similar to yacht varnish you can, like me, paint inside the boat including the underside of the deck. Paint out any runs and remove any excess with paper towels. You really only need a very thin
    coating
    . if you need to add strength then use some cloth or matting and work the resin well in and mop off any excess with paper towels. If you want to use your brushes and mixing pots again Acetone is the best cleaner but do keep it away from the resin. Both your alternatives would work just as well. It must be Summertime as we keep having rain showers! Cheers Dave
    7 years ago by Dave M
    Forum
    Denatured Alcohol
    Hi Chris Probably easier to apply to the hull with the deck off. You should leave the deck join area clear to allow for the glue. The bottom of the deck will also benefit and I usually use a pencil to mark where the formers join and keep the
    coating
    off this area. if you are using epoxy for the
    coating
    and the joining glue this may not be a problem. Once the deck is on apply another coat over the joints to seal. If you could a build blog would be welcome and helpful to other members, please. Dave
    7 years ago by Dave M
    Forum
    Sea Queen refurbishment
    Might have, but it was pinned with brass pins as well, so will be sealing inside with epoxy resin, then
    coating
    the hull with eezicote and extra fine glass cloth before painting and vanishing. Well at least she's stripped for action. it must have taken years off her. (Maybe I should get the wife dipped)? Don't tell her.
    7 years ago by Colin H
    Forum
    Dont throw your tins out.
    Hi Mark, yes fully nailed up with solder,the key is a long thing that goes down the funnel. this particular hull is made from go system gas cans (empty of course) but if any tins do have any form of
    coating
    I leave it on and paint over it. the only bit that needs to be sanded is the bit you are soft soldering. Theres a construction bit on my site www.mclarenclockworksubmarines.com cheers Neil
    7 years ago by mactin
    Forum
    Dont throw your tins out.
    hi Neil . A quick question or two ,is this beauty fully soldered? , if you use the large olive oil cans how do you remove the internal
    coating
    they tend to have? and where does the key go? Cheers Mark
    7 years ago by marky
    Forum
    Fiberglassing
    I have been puzzled by conflicting statements on the web, some stating that adding resin and fibreglass will strengthen wooden construction, and others stating that it will not. For my own understanding I did some tests, which others may find interesting. These are not by any means scientific, and meant only as a guide for me in model construction. The results show that
    coating
    balsa with resin and fibreglass cloth does strengthen it. For those who want to see more detail, these are the results. Three separate strips of balsa, each 18" long by 1.5" wide were cut from a single sheet 36" long by 3" wide, 3/32" (2.4mm) thick. Each strip was placed on top of two supports 10" apart. A load was applied in increments to the centre of the span. After testing each strip in its uncoated condition, each one was coated with Deluxe Materials Eze-Kote resin, according to the maker's instructions, and a layer of fibreglass cloth applied on each side. The cloth was a piece I had spare so I don't know what weight it was, but I estimate between 1 and 1.5 oz per sq yd. After
    coating
    each strip was tested again. The results are shown in the chart. The lower the deflection when loaded, the stronger the strip. Although all strips were cut from one sheet, strip 3 was clearly stiffer and stronger than the other two in its uncoated state. it benefited least from the addition of the fibreglass. Strips 1 and 2 showed a significant increase in strength.
    7 years ago by Trillium
    Forum
    Finishing
    Hi Martin, Bin round the Talisker ? πŸ˜‰ @stwdv; ignore what comes next, go to the last paragraph 😎 The scale effect (as I understand it) has nothing or little to do with shine! It refers to lightening / fading the colour to fool the brain into thinking an object is further away than it is, and therefore think it is larger. Look at any landscape photo or 'in real', hills or forests further away look lighter or more grey than the green ones in the foreground. There are pros and cons to both as Dave says. Cellulose is history, except from some nitrated cellulose solvents. in the car restoring days of my youth I remember getting crinkling if I used cellulose thinners from a different manufacturer than the paint 😑 @stwdv: if you do it veeeery carefully in very very thin misted layers (barely wet) you CAN put put a different paint on others BUT you need flat of and prime the old paint first. Pay a bit more for your primer (universal types) and ensure that the
    coating
    is absolutely complete and totally dry and hardened. Some combinations work better than others. But essentially it is better not to mix and match. it's essenentially the thinners that does the damage, less is more sometimes! Try to avoid cheap aerosols, paying a bit more avoids a lot of heartache and extra work, or throwing things in the bin 😑 They tend to have a fairly wide spread on the nozzles which wastes a lot of paint through over-spray. They also tend to be a bit thick and difficult to control the flow which can cause 'orange peeling or even runs and 'splodges' if the spray stutters. To counteract this one has to spray thinner; i.e. back off more from the object - which causes more over-spray. πŸ€” The little spray cans made for modellers are much better than this in all respects than the cheap jumbo cans from the hardware store. Get a decent air brush for the big bits, then you can control the paint viscosity, flow and size and shape of the spray cone. takes a bit of practice but is worth it if you intend to build more models. But I suspect you wanted tips on the preparation! So let's cut to the chaseπŸ˜‰ Sanding and filling are the buzz words. Checking the surface very lightly with your fingertips is much more sensitive and accurate than relying on your eyes. πŸ€“ When you think you got it right put on a THIN coat of primer (matched type to the finishing paint!) and you will soon see the spots you missed! So back to the filling and sanding. Use a very fine filler at this stage. Prime again and flat it off with 240 to 400 wet'ndry. Take off the residue with a damp sponge and dry!!! Go round this loop a few times and when eyes and finger tips agree you are ready for the finishing colour coats. Thin, let dry. Check for blemishes. Fix if necessary, flat off -> next coat. ALWAYS take note of paint can drying / hardening notes. Don't rush or you'll end up doing it again πŸ˜‰ Hope this helps, bon chance mon ami 😎Doug PS my larger model (mostly warships!) I use resin based paints in half litre cans from the DIY shops and an airbrush. They are hard wearing, come in all colours (RAL codes) and finishes and are easy to mix and thin with turps or white spirit. They take the enamel for detailing with no problems. Snags: take longer to dry, but they are hard wearing and cheaper than millions of 14ml cans πŸ‘
    7 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Finishing
    I didn't realise that! Of course, if you live near Kings Langley you could pop in to see Mark Johnson and he'll actually MAKE the paint for you like he did for our historic wooden canal boat, Heather Bell. But I don't know if he's still trading from there. His company was Tramar
    coating
    s. He advertised in Waterways World. I still have a tin of what he labelled Heather Bell Burgundy. it's on that wee Sea Urchin above. Lots of extra alkyd resins and finer pigments. He's a diamond. He used to call us on a Friday evening when his wife did arty things he had no time for and say, "Put kettle on". Half an hour later he'd turn up at the boatyard with fish and chips for three. We didn't have transport. Happy days. Martin
    7 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Thin Flat Timber
    Yep, Ikea wooden blinds are a good source of Lime wood, unfortunately they have stopped making that sort, so it is looking in skip times. Cut into strips and the
    coating
    sanded off are excellent for plank on frame boats, also good for deck planking and will take a stain. Alan
    7 years ago by AlanP
    Forum
    Fiberglassing
    Hi chugalone 100 Welcome to the site. You can fibreglass with different types of resin and cloth. if you are making and casting a fibreglass hull use fibreglass matting but to cover a hull lightweight fibreglass cloth is best. This is the type shown in the suggested video. Resin can be epoxy or polyester based but the latter is generally cheaper and in my opinion is easier to use and doesn't require thinning with alcohol. it is sold as layup resin and is supplied with hardener. Do follow the instructions re quantity of each part and mix thoroughly. If you are using epoxy iso Propyl Alcohol is the type to use and is clear. The video shows using a brush to apply the resin and whilst this is OK it will give a very thick and heavy
    coating
    . I use the brush to apply and then a credit card sized piece of plasticard to spread the resin over and into the surface of the cloth resulting in an almost opaque finish with the weave showing through. You do need to have a good surface to work with as any imperfections will show when the resin hardens. Once dry give a light sanding all over to remove any imperfections and fill any holes with car body filler and sand smooth. I then apply a very thin top coat of the resin using a brush. When dry use wet and dry to sand and if necessary apply further thin coats until you have the finish you require. I have a local supplier and if you visit the site http://www.resin-supplies.co.uk/product.htm all the resins/cloths etc are listed. Using Google should bring up a local supplier. you do need to follow the safety instructions to protect yourself and wear appropriate protection for your hands, eyes and breathing, it is also best to apply in a well ventilated area and not on a cold day. The end result will be well worth the effort to keep your tug waterproof. You could also paint the resin over thye inside of the hull to protect the wood from any water that doeos find its way inside. Dave
    7 years ago by Dave M
    Blog
    Bridge Build
    Hello all, I've been busy with the Bridge build, this has proved a little tricky as the forward structure is at a slight angle when not on the ship. I've used a combination of 1/8 ply and 0.75mm plastic sheet. I needed the ply in this section as this will be where I will have hull access for batteries and needed the strength. The walls of the upper structure are plastic sheet which I think have come out well. There is still more to add (look out wings at the rear of the bridge need walls etc) I can the start to connect this to the decking before adding finer details. Coming on slowly is the hull, I will spend a bit more time here over the coming weeks to get it ready for sanding and then fibreglass
    coating
    . Good luck with your builds. Dave
    7 years ago by Pav403
    Forum
    To resin cover or not my ulises steam tug
    Hi guys sorry if this is a newbie question but is it better to cover and epoxy my plank and frame hull or can I do as the instructions say and just seal fill and paint. Is the resin
    coating
    the only way to gets it really smooth.
    7 years ago by Rochdaleblue
    Forum
    water proofing
    All of the above suggestion should work fine, but a good idea to remove as much H2O as possible after every sail, and leave hatches etc open at least over night, to allow for any remaining dampness to dissipate that may have by-passed the waterproof
    coating
    , Have a 1/24th scale Vosper Motor Torpedo boat, constructed using balsa with tissue cover, which is some 30-40 years old, hull still sound using the above mantra. 😎
    7 years ago by Peter47
    Blog
    Covering hull
    To get the nice reverse curve in the bows, large blocks of balsa were used; luckily got given plenty of them years ago. I did use the thin ply supplied for the hull skin as replacing it is expensive, just recut to suit. After carving the bow shape and sanding everything true I covered the hull with fine woven glass cloth, after
    coating
    the hull with spray adhesive and letting it get tacky. After 2 coats of epoxy resin and lots of wet sanding, time to fit the rudder tube and prop shaft (with 3d printed oiler) and motor mounts, then the inside was sealed with epoxy.
    7 years ago by manyboats
    Blog
    Spraying the deck and superstructure.
    As the spray booth seems to be working as planned I next decided to put some primer on the deck and superstructure. Not much to say about this really, it's not a particularly creative or rewarding process but as this is the foundation of the paint process it's as important as the final coat and thus worth getting right from the outset. After masking off the various openings and the hull I put down the first coat of Halfords grey primer. I pre-warmed the can in a bucket of warm water for a short while and gave it a thorough shake for the prescribed two minutes and it seemed to go on very easily with an even
    coating
    . The booth is quite roomy and very easy to move the can around to get into the difficult areas without removing the boat from the booth to turn it around. A second was applied after about 15 minutes and the whole thing left to dry in the booth. I'll tackle the hull next but first I need to mark out the transom for some detailing and drill a hole into my precious hull for the water cooling outlet. Last picture is yours truly, first and last time you'll see me, much better looking with the mask on I've been told πŸ‘‹
    7 years ago by robbob
    Response
    Epoxy
    coating
    the hull
    Looks like an excellent job and you'll have a good base for the final finish. I wish I had known about this technique two and a half years ago when I restored a 1962 34 inch Crash Tender which was advertised in the local paper. The boat had been daubed in yellow primer with the cabin roof missing and I stripped it down to the bare wood. The only consolation was that it had never had an I.C installed and so the interior was clean. The position of the holes in the motor mount appeared to indicate that the power unit had been one of the medium sized Taycol motors. 😊 Boaty.
    7 years ago by boaty
    Response
    Epoxy
    coating
    the hull
    Hi Paul. Ah yes, I know the stuff you mean, I recall using some when I had a loft conversion done. I will Google the product and see if I can find something suitable. I'll also have a look at your build blog again to see if I can find any pictures of your rescue netting. Thanks. Rob.
    7 years ago by robbob
    Response
    Epoxy
    coating
    the hull
    Hi Rob, the salvage nets.... I used the plastic coated stuff from hardware shops that you stuff into the gaps on a roof to stop birds. The "squares" are pretty much the correct shape, then you waft a hairdryer over them once installed, being plastic, they drop (start to melt!) to a very realistic shape over the supports! and shrink a bit, also, pretty much the right colour so don't need painting. Wish you could post up pics in a blog reply, then you would see mine Paul
    7 years ago by pmdevlin
    Response
    Epoxy
    coating
    the hull
    Looks lovely, I`m really enjoying your build.
    7 years ago by vosper
    Blog
    Epoxy
    coating
    the hull
    With the rubbing strakes fitted the hull can now receive two more coats of epoxy resin. The resin was mixed to the 30:100 ratio in sufficient quantity to coat the whole hull, and the 90 minute pot life meant that this could be done at a sensible pace. I found it best to apply a thin even coat and not to over-brush the resin, that way there were no runs and the brush did not drag, 'less is more' is always the case. The strakes absorb the resin quite well so they should be harder and more resistant to knocks. The resin was left to cure and harden for a couple of days before a rub down with a 400 grit wet & dry abrasive on a sanding block. The weave of the cloth is now fully covered and the resulting surface is remarkably smooth even at this stage. A third coat of resin builds up the finish layer and when dried resulted in a very pleasing mirror finish and the glassfibre cloth is now completely invisible! As satisfying as this shiny surface is it must be rubbed down to give a good surface for the primer paint to adhere to. I used a 1200 grit wet & dry paper with plenty of water to flatten and key the surface ready for when the painting process could be started.
    7 years ago by robbob
    Blog
    Fibreglassing the hull bottom skins.
    The hull was prepared for fibreglassing, any pins are punched below the surface, filled and rubbed down with a fine grit paper. The wood does not need any sanding sealer applied as this will react with the epoxy resin. I cut the cloth roughly to size and shape and laid onto the bottom skin, the upper edge was lightly taped with masking tape to hold it in place. The resin is mixed to the correct 100:30 ratio and stirred well, the pot life is 95 minutes and will allow me to take my time to get this right. My previous test was very helpful in establishing a working sequence and I know how the materials will react when I start working them and how much time I have before the brush stops brushing and starts dragging the resin. The cloth is folded over to the other side of the keel and a thin coat of resin applied over the skin and the side of the keel and then the fabric is carefully folded back onto the wet resin. The resin immediately starts to draw the cloth to the surface and a very light brushing from the centre outwards helps to make it smooth and flat, the remaining resin can then be gently brushed onto the cloth so that there is an even
    coating
    . The cloth needed to be pushed up against the keel sides and I used a steel rule edge to get it into the junction of hull and keel. I decided to trim the cloth just at the bow along the line of the join in the skins whilst the rein was still wet so that I would have a clean butt join in the cloth in this region instead of an overlap, probably not really necessary as an overlap should sand down ok and that join will be covered by the chine stringer, but it seemed like a good idea anyway. I did a similar thing on the keel below the propshaft and around the skeg. This was done with a sharp new Stanley knife blade without disturbing the cloth and the excess cloth removed. Once the cloth is on you must resist the urge to brush on any more resin or smooth it out any more, this first resin
    coating
    only needs to be light as subsequent coats will build up and fill the cloth weave. I let it to cure overnight and the following day is still felt tacky so I erred on the side of caution and left it for a further day until it was entirely dry to the touch. The excess cloth was then trimmed back with a sharp blade. Caution, be careful because the cut edge of the cloth is itself very sharp, as I found out the hard way! Feeling quite satisfied with these initial results and a great deal more confident I repeated the process for the other bottom skin. At this rate of progress, allowing for proper curing of the resin, it will take 8 days just to cover all five faces of the hull with cloth alone, but a wise man said 'a job worth doing is a job worth doing well' πŸ˜„
    7 years ago by robbob
    Forum
    Sealing hull
    its an old technique but nappy liners ( from chemist) and good old polyester resin. Will bond to your p38 so no worries there. Leave out the filler powder. You get a clear
    coating
    of polyester. I have used it on a balsa hull and was tough enough to survive several encounters ( this was back in the day that a clockwork escapement was the in thing). One press is left let go centre then press again for right .
    8 years ago by Haverlock
    Forum
    Tiny brushless motor
    They probably are insulated but if your worried get some sleeving http://www.maplin.co.uk/search?text=sleeving&x=0&y=0 slip it over each wire prior to soldering on the plug. if you have a multi-meter you can check I suspect the wire has an insulated
    coating
    on it as its probably the same wire that was used to wind the internal coils. its commonly known as "enamelled copper wire" https://www.wires.co.uk/acatalog/cu_enam.html hope that helps
    9 years ago by Haverlock
    Forum
    Boat finish
    I just got the two answers tumarI problem. I like the idea of
    coating
    the hull from the inside. I think that would have been wise. However, I had already put on two coats of oil based poly. I added one more coat of poly and then I put it in the tank. it didnt leak. Im still thinking about adding the inside
    coating
    And will do that if it leaks again. Thanks for your help.
    9 years ago by lenzmeg
    Forum
    Boat finish
    HI lenzmeg Welcolm to the forum. First what Vickers said, seel the hull, I do this with thinned epoxy
    coating
    , I get mine from easy composites in Stoke, (they do mail order) it is runny from the bottle but I add a small amount of meths as a thinner, poar into the hull and rotate the hull
    coating
    the insides all over, (dont put to much in at one go) you can always add some more but its a sod to get excess resin out!!!! (guess how I discovered) Second. is the finnish on the hull OK? if not sand back lightly and re-paint, I use Halfords rattle cans. Acrilic. you dont usualy get a reaction!!!! if the finnish is ok, use Halfords clear coat again as a rattle can. Very light sanding 1200 grad wet and dry, just to key the surface. clean with thinners to remove any grease or finger prints, then use a tack cloth the remove dust. 2 or 3 light coats are better than 1 thick coat. need a warm dry place to spray, back garden on a calm day but move hull inside to dry, very light sanding inbetween coats will give a superb finish. Regards Mark
    9 years ago by jarvo
    Forum
    Waterproofing my wooden hull
    Just a word of warning, even after
    coating
    inside with resin there still a chance of water getting into interior and soaking into wood, it will find even the smallest gap, not matter how good your seal is, so after a sailing session check inside for any H2O and remove, then leave hatches or covers off so any small amounts can dry naturally. I have a few wooden boats balsa and ply some 30 to 40 years old still in good nick, doing the above. Have only lost one boat a Scratchbuilt Bismarck (one of my earlier attempts), to wet rot and that was after I'd store in garden shed, that over winter developed a leaky roof. Went to pick it up and bottom just fell off arrgghh!!. Rescued running gear which is now powering my brothers "Bismarck" (one of those Magazine kits, you know a bit each month, must have cost someone a fortune) he been given for nought, lucky beggar, did try to prise it from him, no chance :-)
    9 years ago by Peter47
    Forum
    Waterproofing my wooden hull
    HI Mate Several questions first. is the boat new?? if so you can coat the inside of the hull with thinned resin, use meths as a thinner, put small amount into the hull and gently roll the hull to spread the epoxy, remove any excess then allow to harden.
    coating
    the inside as well makes sure the wood is not affected by any water sepage. Glassing the outside allows for the inevitable contacts with the bank or landing stage. 2. How large is the boat? small boats about 24" you can use stocking stretched over the hull then brush epoxy through the stocking, allow to dry and recote. larger hulls use light weight glass cloth, a single layer epoxied on in sections, several coats alow to dry between coats. 3. You mention Z-poxy, this is quite expensive, have a look at easycomposites web site, they do all the bits Resin, Glass cloth etc, also mail order. Hope this helps Mark
    9 years ago by jarvo
    Blog
    HMS Diamond Build Update Five
    The last few days has seen me tidying up the superstructure (Sanding etc). I also cut out the pieces for the Gun Turrets which has been a task and half given that some of the building instructions were missing off the plan. However, I managed to finish these to a fashion and need to fill and sand a little more prior to
    coating
    with primer paint. The gun barrels were made from brass and BBQ skewers they seemed to have the shape I was looking for. Incidentally, I build all three turrets next to each other on a strip on masking tape and this worked really well for me. I also made up an alignment tool so that each gap where the gun barrels will eventually sit were the same measurement. This was useful when positioning some of the inner walls too..... Just need some 1" dowel to fix gun barrels in place now. Day off tomorrow! Roy
    9 years ago by McCluskey
    Forum
    Suitable Power Source
    Many thanks for your swift response. I had not Imagined that the "Sea Scout" was as well known in these circles and I think it is a very solid build (1950's ?) that I have yet to finish. I will investigate motors in due course but must first finish the hull. The original instructions mention
    coating
    the inside with 4 coats of "Banana Oil". is such a product still available? if not can you suggest an alternative? I intend to use an Arduino or Raspberry PI micircontroller with GPS to navigate with and will be looking for guidance in this also. Regards Neil
    9 years ago by impartit
    Forum
    milford star
    HI Grant Interesting that you use a mix of Enamel and Acrilic paints, have you had any problems of over
    coating
    reactions? Mark
    10 years ago by jarvo
    Forum
    Aerokits Crash Tender
    Try these I will type here what is stated on the document, dated 28 May 1951 By Vosper CABIN COAMINGS 1 coat cerrux under
    coating
    BSS 631 GREY 1 coat cerrux smooth deck paint DECKS AND AFT COCKPIT FLAT 1 coat cerrux under
    coating
    BS631 GREY 1
    coating
    cerrux non-slip deck paint bss631 grey CABIN TOPS 1 coat cerrux under
    coating
    bs631 grey 1 coat cerrux smooth deck paint Now, unfortunately it does not say what colour the "smooth deck paint" is for cabin tops, have we all got it wrong with the white cabin roofs! Above this, on the plan, some instruction has been crossed out, its too faint to read, but it is about the roofs, and the word yellow can be seen
    10 years ago by pmdevlin


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