Tuesday, September 8, 2015

The Starling Project - Part 30

The hull was glassed with  Dynel tape using West System 105 Resin and 206 Slow Hardener. I should have applied the fairing compound 'wet on wet' or when the resin had 'tacked' off but I only found out later that this is the usual technique. This would have saved a lot of sanding and re-application of resin.

When the Dynel Tape and resin was cured it was sanded to provide a key and a light coat of resin was applied. When this had 'tacked' off West System 407 Low Density Fairing Filler was added to a mixture of the 105 and 206 until it had the consistency of peanut butter. This mixture was then used on the hull as fairing filler.

The hull now has the appearance of having been smeared with molten chocolate.

Because of the cold temperatures I will wait about four days for the fairing mixture to fully cure before completing the last fairing sand and then the application of one final coat of resin.

On reflection and after the huge amount of work and expense involved I think what I am doing here is a bit of 'overkill'. I should have just painted the hull after the initial light wood grain fairing with the white Epi-fill fairing compound. But having said that, I haven't used West System products before and the experience I have gained will come in extremely useful for a number of small 'Stitch and Glue'  designs that I intend building in the future, so it's all good and nothings lost. The little white 7 foot P Class yacht hanging in the rafters above the starling doesn't have any Dynel tape protection on the chines and she has done well with some at times, pretty rough treatment. So I have learned two lessons here for which I am grateful and with a bit of luck and common sense I won't repeat.

While I wait for the fairing compound to set I will work on the rudder and centerboard which require a bit of attention.

I had to smile when I read the instructions on the West System Resin container which advised that the mixing and application of the resin and hardener should be done in a well ventilated space. With a cold Southerly wind howling through two sides of my carport and raindrops of a size to please Noah coursing down I had more ventilation than I knew what to do with!

5 comments:

Ben said...

Sounds complicated. Assume that there are more roads to Rome as we say.
I was already wondering how you would get rid of the unevenness of the glass tape.
Was the “overkill” the result of perfectionism or just insufficient information and experience?
I tend to be a perfectionist, resulting in overkill in my (small) projects and often cursing my lack of skill.
Can’t wait to see the shining result. It will be better than new!
Still cold and windy over there? Spring must be coming, because our summer came to an end. Already used the fireplace once.

Alden Smith said...

Hi Ben. The 'overkill' was the result of wanting to do a really good job, rather than perfectionism which is subtly different. I have used Dynel tape before but had forgotten how 'bulked up' it became when the resin is applied. 'Hindsight is a great thing' as they say. So I should have just used ordinary fiberglass tape which wouldn't have required so much fairing compound and sanding. But as I have indicated in the post it has been a good learning experience - I know that making mistakes, errors, or in this case just not getting it quite right is how learning takes place.

Officially the 1st of September is the beginning of Spring in NZ but the weather continues to be a 'mixed bag' - we are still lighting a fire every night.

Did you get to see anything of the Tall Ships Amsterdam 2015?

Ben said...

Saw the tall ships only on TV. It was my birthday weekend. And I hate massive crowds: 2.3 million visitors over 5 days.
Instead we visited the frigate Jylland in Ebeltoft Denmark last week. Three mast, length hull 71 m and total 96 m. Impressive battle ship. Took part in the Danish - German war in 1864.
Amazingly it is a full rigged frigate that could do 15 knots, but at the same time it had a steam engine hidden inside. Not for assisting power but for full speed maneuvering. The steam engine could give it 11 knots. The steam engine was confiscated later by the Germans and the metal of it was converted to arms for the Great War 1914-1918.

Alden Smith said...

Happy birthday!

2.3 million is about half the population of New Zealand! The tall ships must have been an impressive sight.

I googled the 'Jylland'. She looks as though she has only recently been repaired or restored, there are photographs of her with a large corrugated iron roof over her. She looks now as though she is now in a permanent dry dock not unlike the 'Cutty Sark' at Greenwich in England.

Ben said...

The Jylland looked well maintained, but it is a continuous battle against the elements. On the site are permanent buildings with workshops for restoration work. Among the works a longboat propelled with a steam engine. It is certainly worth a visit. Going a bit further into Denmark, Copenhagen is a very interesting city. If you like Amsterdam, you also like Copenhagen, thousands of bicycles around.
Visited the Cutty Sark a long time ago when she was still in the water.