July

How do you pick 15 pictures out of several thousand? You finally give up on finding the 'right' ones and be done with it. Following are some pictures of our Alaska trip.

(I think it was Grant who first posted a picture from near his home and suggested others do likewise. I've expanded the idea to include some local trips in the Northwest. If you look at these, you'll see two Farrier-related ones!)

We spent 3 days going up the Inside Passage through British Columbia, Canada, and then Southeast Alaska.

Although we had a stateroom, the ferry is unique because they encourage tenting on deck! My F-22 cap helped me meet several F-boat sailers (both from California).

After debarking in southern Alaska, you have to enter Canada again to drive around Wrangell - St. Elias National Park (which contains 9 of the 16 highest peaks in US, and the largest North American non polar ice cap). The Yukon had its own unique beauty.

Valdez (the end of the Trans-Alaska pipeline) is a harbor surrounded by mountains.

We took another ferry across Prince William Sound.

We debarked at Whittier on the Kenai Peninsula. There I meet Sean, an avid F-boat sailor. It was enjoyable to talk as his family launched prior to a several day cruise. He knew of one other F-boat in Prince William Sound (Valdez).

When I had been researching this trip I investigated a glacier hike out of Seward. One of the links was to a Flicker site with pictures of a man hiking with his sons. But slipped in at the end was a picture of a boat project . . . and I knew what they were - F-22 floats! We e-mailed several times, agreeing to meet if possible. I enjoyed an afternoon talking with Dan (also of note -- a previous F-24 owner) about Alaska, sailing and boat building. (I also gave him Sean's e-mail and know they have been in touch.) Small world.

The van worked great. Before we left I fitted a bug screen that goes around the awning. This gave us room for four people to spread out. The long days were incredible.

Wildlife beyond counting.

Denali National Park was a highlight. Denali (Mt. McKinley) is 20,320 feet tall - with a prominence of over 18,000 feet, which makes it look as big as it really is. Less than a third of visitors see it because it makes its own weather. We saw it one afternoon of three days that we were there.

After Fairbanks, we started down the Alaska Highway. It's 1422 miles long, constructed between March 8, 1942 and October 28, 1942 by over 18,000 people as a military supply route during WWII. Over 8,000 planes, thousands of tanks and trucks, were all hauled up this route and flown into Russia to support the war in Europe.

The drive through Canada was spectacular.

A fantastic trip.

June

I just had a week in June to work on the boat before I had to change gears and get the van ready for a trip (Alaska).

The rudder web was finished. Given the forces it must endure, it's a multi-layer-up affair suitable for short stints after work each night.

Also, June marked an exciting event: the delivery of the beams! This is obviously well before I need them, but I have been spreading out the cash outlay.

Truth be told, it cost more to get them here than I thought. I ordered them Oct 31 with the understanding that there was no rush. They shipped April 14th (~$500) and arrived in Los Angles May 18th (~$165 to get them off the dock and into a truck to come up the coast) and then I was able to pick them up at a Seattle customs clearing area on June 4th (~$485 fees and duty). Whew.

Given the boot prints all over the box, I was glad for the excellent packaging.

And, of course, they look very svelte and wonderfully constructed.

I took another item that I had received months ago out of its box - the beam mounts. Since I ordered them early, I got the 'original' - they have since been modified in terms of how they are installed.

The originals require replicating the bolting flange onto the other side. I used the 'alternate' beam mount as a mold to make the 'mold', then bolted it onto its symmetric partner.

Then there's quite the lay-up schedule of UD and DB.

That was it for the month. One daughter was home from college and we picked up our other daughter on the last day of school, heading directly to Bellingham to catch the evening sailing of the Alaska Ferry.

May

After that initial sand, I still had some problems with several low areas: around the attachment of the foam bow, and the transition of more round/full keel towards the sharper entry area. I decided a skim coat would be easiest. I also spot-filled some bubbles.

(This is an area that has been problematic in varying degrees on all four float sides, and I've seen others comment also. I have two ideas. The reflection of extra glass at the bow entry leaves a low spot behind, and I've been too aggressive at sanding down the stripes in this transition area from full/round  to flat/vertical. Or the root problem may also be how the forward end of the float is constructed. The battens near the keel make a difficult twist in a compound curve as they approach form #1 - this may make this area shallow. A more careful investigation when attaching the foam cap and fairing the foam could alleviate this problem.)

I have a constant supply of used, but clean syringes from work. I cut off the Luer-lock to make a fine point, use a couple of reusable ergonomic modifications to save my hands, and fill them with a Ziploc bag. With these I can fill the small Dremel bur depressions left from attacking the bubbles with minimal effort or material.

I did the deck in a similar fashion as the first float. First I put on a single skim coat, working the material with significant force to work out any bubbles. I'll admit this is more successful than on the sides with the candy stripes.

I modified my sanding by trying the 'cheese grating' technique described by Wayne Hicks. Essentially you begin sanding while it's still soft - when it deforms with a thumb nail, but isn't tacky.

The idea is different enough that I was sure it wouldn't work . . . but it does.

Shortly after I finished applying the QuickFair I was able to begin sanding with 36 grit (at the bow where I had started) and slowly worked towards the stern while it continued to cure. The material came off in soft clumps that did not clog the sandpaper and were easily brushed off. Interestingly, the heat of the sanding seemed to speed the cure as I moved along. It was a great time saver to remove the majority of excess QF - and there was no dust! Unfortunately, I can't see how I could incorporate this technique to larger curved areas, as I couldn't apply it fast enough with the short cure time of QF.

Nearly finished except small detail areas.

After working with the soft QF during the 'cheese grating' I tried several other variations on this idea. One was obvious - cut off the tops of any filled Dremel divots with a wide chisel. This negated any effort trying to sand them without lowering my finished QF level.

I also found a couple of areas that were low from the edge of the trowel during the skim coat of the deck. Attempts to fill this type of area before had either left it low by trying to minimize the amount, or required extra effort to sand down without hurting the surrounding material. To fill these high, I put tape around the defect and skimmed over the top. This left the QF patch elevated by the uniform thickness of the tape. When strong enough to not tear, but soft enough to cut, I used a chisel and easily removed the excess.

Both these techniques took care of the last minute touch-ups before I began the final sanding to get it to that 'thin as possible' state.

I used the same skim coat followed by two coats of raw epoxy as required to seal the QF.

I have been working hard to get the floats to a stopping point before June. So, though they have a ways to go, this is how they'll sit.

Between steps I also continued to work on smaller parts. Here are the gudgeons as made in the mold.

My previous experience of vacuuming after wrapping carbon around an edge had not been perfect. As the excess resin is removed and as the fibers are compressed, they are not pulled tighter around the edge, but instead make a small wave or wrinkle. I decided to do a hand lay-up and let gravity pull the peel ply over the carbon. I've also found that making the part slightly larger and cutting to size makes the finished carbon uniformly thick out to the edges.

Gudgeons being fitted on rudder web.

April

The trip and getting back up to speed cut into the month, but I decided to start by using the Dremel and filling obvious bubbles before I finished sanding. I like to finish sanding, not filling, but of course if you fill too early and find some more . . .

I was pleased with the result. Hopefully the picture shows how you can see through the QF as it thins (yellow foam/glass color).

A close up with pattern from the stitched glass tow's and even a vague stripe to the right which is a seam between foam strips.

I do continue to learn about fairing and the rigid longboard (LB). I started out thinking: sand end to end, then back, then repeat. But there are a few nuances I've picked up over the last two sides.

First, there is more than one fair shape. We would like the one chosen by the designer and the one that has the least added fairing weight. I know my first side was fair, but likely not the best I could do now at achieving the other two goals.

What I've recognized is that the curved areas thin first. (I've mentioned not feathering at deck and keel till the last step.) A more subtle area is the transition from bow section to center hull. I think my impression on the first side was that this meant I needed the slightly thicker QF between two thinning areas (thinning must mean it was high, right?). After all, when I checked it was 'fair'.

I've come to a different conclusion. The LB wants to remove high areas, easy to visualize on a flat surface. But on a complicated surface, say convex changing to flat changing to convex, the game changes. Let's assume that with a given grit and force, an equal amount of material can be removed. On a flat surface, the whole LB touches (for example 1 unit force/100 sq inches). On a curved surface, the area of LB that touches significantly decreases, and with equal force the amount of removed material increases significantly (1 unit force/5 sq in).

Now what happens is that instead of creating an ultimately flat surface, the LB actually accentuates the curve! More is removed at the convex curve area, and less at the flat area since more is left behind. It's fair, it just doesn't meet our other two goals.

The floats have convex curves and lots of flat (fore and aft), but no concave. This means that you have to compensate for the above phenomena by either decreasing the force over the convex areas, or doing a 'double stroke' (or triple) and sand the flat areas for more time. Note: this phenomena is even more pronounced when you are sanding the candy stripes by themselves, so that you start at a disadvantage which only becomes more pronounced.

(Likely, someone will make the argument, "that's what a flexible board is for." I suppose. But then you have still more variables to control: stiffer for subtle curves? more flexible for tighter curves? should you still vary the force applied? . . . And I don't like flexible boards on the flat – which is really what you have a lot of.)

In retrospect, it seems so obvious. I think when I started that I was blinded by the sand, sand, sand, and the idea that "if it's fair, I must be doing it right."

There is also variable hardness in the QF depending when you get back to sanding. Although it cures enough to hand-sand at ~3 hours, it continues to cure to a harder state over the next several days. You can use this to your advantage by going after the mini-bubble fills early. But it can also be a disadvantage if you're sanding a larger fill patch where it is removed preferentially in comparison to the surrounding material with an advanced harder cure.

This is just a picture on the second side of how I try to put down the stripes. I use a Ziplock bag with the corner cut off at 45º. I've found that the sides have a seam, but the bottom doesn't. If you hold the bag with the bottom against the hull, the seam then makes the opening a triangle, giving the bead a nice wide base of attachment and a narrow top. The QuickFair is so good at keeping its shape that if you were to do it so the bead was round, it would not slough down, but cure with a narrow attachment and overhangs above. These would later just be voids, as it is very difficult to fill such small spaces.

Another time saver that gives superior results (gotta love something like that!) is to use a paint scraper or similar tool along the edge of the stripe instead of sanding. It straightens out imperfections, gives a perpendicular edge, and seems to be a perfect bonding surface. At least with my tool, I didn't notice any damage to the laminate. Remember, leaving the stripes high does not mean the final layer will be that thick!

I reread the email from Meno (posted in 'January', I recommend it). It's interesting that he went from stripes to simply troweling on material, and I've done the opposite. Of course it was his description of, "if you want to try candy-bag . . ." and listing some of the difficulties he encountered that has helped me feel that I've become successful enough with the candy-bag method. For me, an extra time investment to get the material on has been easier. Will I still think so after the main hull?

I proceeded to fill, then started making dust.

March

This is obviously my second time around for the shaping and glassing of the float, so I have just a few pictures and comments.

In the last post I forgot to mention that I had constructed the second bow slightly different. I made the central core of four sheets at the same time. But on the second bow I attached the outer pieces with contact cement, like Ian suggested. On the first one I had used QF (thinking, 'how could contact cement be strong enough?'), which worked and shaped easily, but the contact cement is lighter and was easier to construct. There was no tendency for the pieces to slip in the garbage bag vacuum clamp. I think it takes longer to cure to the same strength, but it held up great while shaping. As they say, listen to the designer.

Free-hand shaping with an electric hand planner is quick and more controllable than you would first think. You can see the desired profile penciled along the stem. Final shaping was with the longboard.

A small hand router with a guided trim bit cuts off the excess deck along the hull. After this I longboarded the upper hull to make sure I was happy with its shape since it will serve as final guide for the next step.

A 45-degree bit with roller guide starts the deck radius. This is quick and makes hand sanding faster and easier to control. I used the same radius sander made from PVC pipe to make most of the edge, but my final radius does change along the length of the boat and is finished with the longboard.

I think I learned on the first float to fair the foam more aggressively. Three-eights foam seems thin to be thinking of sanding too much, but it's the high spots that make the low spots, which will need filling. The risk seems to be that the surface can flex, specifically between the bulkheads, with only the interior layer of glass. Hence the possibility of taking off more over the bulkheads -- while in between, the material flexes away instead of being sanded off. Theoretical or real, I'm not sure.

Finished shape.

I glassed in my usual fashion without any incidents. (Both pictures with plastic still on.) I'm not sure I've mentioned it, but somewhere along the way I've started blowing off the surface with compressed air. Even after vacuuming several times it makes an enormous difference, though it does foul the air for a while.

The skirt of painter's plastic allows me work out the excess resin and not worry about messing the floor, etc. From my experience last time, I would say that the extra effort of rebating the foam for extra layers of glass is well worth it.

Trying to go another step in removing bubbles that develop while mixing the QF, I 'worked' the QF before putting it in the bag used to make my stripes. It helped, but at the cost of a smaller time window to apply. I'm not convinced I'll always do this.

The instructions say to apply multiple thin coats so you can minimize the bubbles. Of course I'm trying to avoid the multiple applications, and in particular the stripes are not 'worked' after applying. Would putting the material in a brief vacuum reduce them? In the end, fixing the few that are apparent after sanding is not really that big of a deal.

I advance guides forward to help keep them straight and the proper distance for my trowel. Quick and easy, but the real value is how this helps in later stages.

This was the real test for rigid vs. flexible longboarding. I went after the surface with the rigid board, then checked it with all my straight edge tricks. **SUCCESS!** Fast, easy, and 100% fair! None of the fiddle from before. I would strongly endorse using a rigid board.

'Working' the material seems to remove the bubbles. A 45º action decreases the chance of getting air trapped along the stripe. A word of caution – it doesn't take long for the QF to become 'dry' in how it behaves with the laminate. What I mean is that it is still workable, but if you spread it out and then remove it to examine the surface, it will not have as wet an appearance as it does when spread just after mixing. I again recommend reading Wayne Hick's treatise, part of which I will quote:

"The most frustrating part is getting the micro to spread out evenly without it tearing, lifting up, or rolling up into a ball behind the trowel. The trick is to go slow enough to give the micro time to spread out from under the trowel and stick to the surface. You'll notice that the micro doesn't want to stick at first, but give it a few seconds. The epoxy within the dry micro will migrate outward and will wet out the surface. Once this happens, the micro will adhere and will spread out easier. (This is why some builders like the epoxy wipe.)"

So, I guess by his description, I'm suggesting that the epoxy 'migration' decreases the closer you get to gel, and may happen while it still seems to be spreadable. I think his material has a much longer work time.

((DISCLAIMER: My guess is that all builders will experiment with different techniques, and likely come to different conclusions. Experience, materials, tools, personality, and goals will influence choices. The value in reading each other's experience is not to find a recipe, but to have a multitude of potential approaches and 'tricks' to springboard from (or things to avoid). This became very evident when I bought a new batch of QuickFair. I'm not sure what the reason was, but it had slight, but important differences in how it handled. For a while I felt like I was learning all over. Each builder will likely have slightly different experiences and draw different conclusions about how they want to approach similar problems -- by sharing them we all win. My own techniques are a first time builder learning from reading and doing. They will evolve as I push forward, and this commentary is on my experience and choices – which are not to be construed as the right or better way.))

I'm still marking the top of the stripes so that I can spot-sand any areas where the trowel may have floated high, as you can see here.

A reminder why the stripes have to be left high – they're the first to come off when the real fun begins.

Three long evenings after work: stripes, fair and fill, then fair. Looks like I'll make it with a single application/sand, though I won't know till later, as we leave on a trip tomorrow.

My wife and I took a trip to see our daughter in California. While last fall I drove straight down, then explored the Sierras on my way home, this time we worked our way down, then flew home and let my parents drive the rig back up the coast several weeks later.

We crossed to the central Oregon coast (reliving part of our honeymoon, this just happens to be our 24th wedding anniversary).

Then we drove diagonally across northern California. The west coast has a string of volcanoes – here is Mt. Shasta.

My goal was to see Yosemite again, this time in the spring with all the snow melt. So different than the fall! Water everywhere.

Yosemite Falls with Merced River.

Breakfast under El Capitan.

Rainbows at every falls.

Evening glow from Tunnel View, Bridal Veil Falls.

Breakfast looking across Cook Meadow. In the morning, Yosemite Creek was frozen slush, and we could hear loud crashes as large chunks of ice were carried over the falls. Above the 3000+ foot cliffs is nothing but snow and ice. Tioga Pass, which I drove last fall just before it closed, will not usually open till late May.

Hike to Upper Yosemite Falls with Half Dome in distance.

We crossed California yet again to drive the coast. The foot hills down to the San Joaquin Valley were full of poppies and red bud.

Walking against a strong wind at a beach along Big Sur.

One of the few mainland sea lion colonies. Mamas and young, but no bulls at this time of year.