the outside of the hull, at least. 1/4of the large glassing jobs are done. whew.
The 2nd and 3rd coats went on, of course, much easier than the 1st wet-out did. The boat looks good. I think that I *will* be able to sand/feather down those stringy glass bits so that none of those transitions will show up after the final sanding. (ugh. more sanding, and this time of epoxy. Did I mention this boat was huuuuge?)
Anyway, this was a pretty neat process. The fiberglass looked like an opaque silvery sheet over the boat. Then you mix up some resin and pour it in the middle, start spreading it around, and then you see a beautiful wet-looking wooden boat ! The glass totally disappears. Guess you could explain that with electromagnetic theory, but I'll spare you. It's pretty awesome.
Anyway, the marathon epoxy session is nearly over. I only found 3 bugs stuck in the 2nd coat when I went in to do the 3rd at 6am this morning. I got them out pretty well (they weren't totally buried). Next, I have to cut off the glass that extended down below the gunwale with a utility knife. Let it sit and cure really well for 3-4 days, and MOVE THE BOAT! ! !
I'm going to make it!
On behalf of my visually challenged companions,
and I mean by this Sachiko and Toby, I request some pictures ASAP!
Enjoy the hours and hours and hours of sanding!
Posted by: Fuzziwara no Hanako at June 19, 2005 07:05 PMWell, unfortunately ASAP is roughly..... July. ;-)
I leave for 2 conferences starting tonight; be back thursday and then leave again saturday for #2. Steve (and his camera) won't be back until after I leave Saturday, we expect. Sigh!
I should have just gone and bought a new camera as soon as mine was stolen.
In any case-- I'll have pix of the complete glassing process when I do the deck!!
Awesome! I was curious how the glassing process
was done, so I asked Andrew on Sunday. He was
excited to talk about it and how the fiberglass looks like a sheet of fabric, but your description is very different, huh? At any rate, we are glad to see you are making progress.
We can hardly wait to see The Ark in your garage.
It will be "too nice" to put in the water.
You could sleep in it, I suppose.
Posted by: Michiko at June 20, 2005 06:20 PMWow!!!! I just looked at the last set of pictures (pre-glass) and I can't wait to see the real thing in person. I am so impressed!