Con-struction and De-struction

After laying up the fiberglass structure on my test panel, the next thing was to come up with options for the finish. The goal of this test was to come up with a nonskid treatment that utilized gel coat and not paint (most non-skid renewal options are paint-based) and be something that can be done relatively easily given my construction methods and limited resources.

The factory nonskid used on our boat is integrated into the negative mold of the outer hull and produces a nice, uniform diamond pattern.  Of course, I don't have a negative mold and I doubt the pattern material is inexpensive.  I could create a mold from the existing surface of my boat, but that fails on the "relatively easy" test.  A molded-in solution just wasn't likely to work.

Searching the internet (in addition to all the people who have used Awlgrip and Kiwigrip), I found someone who mentioned that a few production boat builders run a roller over a curing gelcoat layer to produce a nonskid pattern.  This sounded like an interesting approach and, if we could figure out how, might be an easy solution.  So we gave several variations on this theme a try.

The first attempt consisted of applying a layer of gelcoat, waiting for it to tack, and then using a fine nap roller to see what would happen. In the same coat, we also used a chip brush to stipple the gelcoat.  At first it wasn't tacky enough, and the gelcoat would flow out relatively smooth.  As it continued to cure, we were able to get a pattern from both the roller and the brush.  The roller ended up producing what I would equate to a very fine orange peel type of texture, and the brush version was a little more pronounced version of the same.  Not too bad, but we didn't think this would be nonskid enough.

Since we liked the brush stippling result better (but figured doing that by hand would prove far too tedious for a larger surface), we went back to the local big-box hardware store and looked at various brushes and rollers used for wall textures.  We found a special texture roller from Wooster that we thought would provide a more brush-like stippling effect but with the speed of a roller. The roller has small, coarse plastic loops of material that should do the trick.

With our new weapon, we tried another test.  This time I thickened some gel coat with fumed silica. It was thicker than normal but would still flow fairly well.  Once it started to set up, we used the new roller as well as a brush for two new test cases.  This time the pattern didn't flow out as much as created a more aggressive nonskid pattern.  The brush was still more aggressive of a texture compared to the roller, but not by much.  With the speed that we should be able to accomplish this texture, we think we found a winner. I sprayed a coat of PVA on the gel-coat so it would fully cure.  Once cured, we broke out the hose and bare feet and tested the options.  The thickened roller approach was the winner.  It provided good traction while not feeling uncomfortable on bare feet (the brush stippled version we found to be a bit more "pokey").

Nonskid tests.  Thickened gelcoat on left, earlier attempts on right.
(Purple hue is the PVA during cure)

The next morning, I did a little destructive testing of the test panel. We did the layups in about the worst conditions we figured we would encounter during the actual layup, and I wanted to know how well it did. After jumping up and down on the panel a bit more, I drilled and cut a hole in the panel with a jigsaw and it looked good. Since I left the raw edges of fiberglass on the panel, I then attempted to pull apart the layers with pliers. This is where things didn't go as well.  I wasn't able to completely separate the plies, but I was able to pull a significant piece of one layer of the biaxial cloth apart.  Despite the look of a pretty complete wet out, it seems that the layup was dry in the middle of one of the heavy layers of fiberglass cloth.

I know this #1708 fiberglass cloth can be difficult to wet out. I thought I had taken extra steps to help saturate it with resin, and it did look good when I laid it up (nice and clear), but I guess it wasn't good enough. I'll have to increase the amount of resin applied before I apply the cloth. Glad I found it now and not after building the whole top.

The day ended with final preparations to the mold (making sure things won't stick to anything it shouldn't) and my poking those holes in the foam. I ended up cutting down the size of the hole poking tool because the larger version was difficult to pull out of the foam panel, and then I bedded the nails in resin after finding they were pushing out the back of the board. Hopefully tomorrow we will start assembly of the actual top.

Fiberglassing in the Dark

It is kind of funny.  It seems most projects that my wife and I start, at some point along the way, result in performing work late at night in the dark. Be it planting trees in our old backyard, re-tiling our old bathroom, or a myriad of other projects, we end up misjudging the amount of time needed.  And now we can add fiberglass layup to the list.

After getting the mold built, I wanted to do a test fiberglass layup.  I've never created a large composite (foam cored) panel and have never used polyester resin, only epoxy. I've read about as much as I can on the subject and feel comfortable with performing much of the task, but I think it is prudent to try out several techniques on a small sample before I go about making a 9 foot by 12 foot mess with $2000 (U.S.) worth of materials.  This way I can practice as well as try out a few different construction ideas.

I started my test piece by cutting a one foot section off one of the 4 foot by 8 foot, 5 pound, 1 inch thick Divinycell panels. The stuff cuts with a razor knife, but at an inch thick, it isn't a single pass cut. Oh, and cutting the stuff kinda sounds like running fingernails down a chalk board to boot. I then cut my 1 foot chunk in half, so my test panel will be a 2 foot square and I can practice gluing two pieces of foam together and testing the joint.

I think it was someone who commented on a prior post on the blog who suggested I poke small holes through the panels.  I think the theory is that this will help with bonding to the foam and, since that is critical in a sandwich structure, I figured I would give it a try. So, using a scrap piece of plywood (I seem to have several to choose from) and some finishing nails, I created a board with nails on a 2 inch grid.  I then used the board to poke holes into one of the two panels.

I used 30 pound test fishing line to tie the foam panels to the mold.  This would allow them to slide just a bit along the frame and still hold the curve.  Using some fumed silica, I thickened some polyester resin (to a peanut butter consistency) so it would stay put on a vertical surface. I applied it to one edge of a panel and then the other panel was pressed up against it.  Once that cured I had my 2 foot square test panel of foam.

Next was the fiberglass layup itself.  To start, I mixed up some resin and applied a thin coat to the foam surface.The main goal of this step is to limit the amount of resin uptake when applying the fiberglass mat.  I'm told if this is not done, the foam might suck up too much resin when the glass is applied and leave the glass resin starved (not good). After letting that initial coat gel, I applied and wet out the first layer of glass.  The 17 ounce biaxial cloth with the 3/4 ounce chopped strand mat backing is thick stuff and was a bit difficult to wet out.  To resolve this issue, in subsequent layers I've put down a bed of resin and then worked the cloth into it, adding resin to complete the wet out as needed, and this seems to work better. Since I was using laminating resin and wanted to test the bonding characteristics overnight, the second layer was applied the following morning. Yeah, that's the story...it had nothing to do with the fact we finished the first layup at 9:30 P.M. using a crappy LED flashlight we happened to have in the car.  By the way, I don't recommend doing fiberglass in a tent in a boatyard at night.

The first layer wasn't my best work, but it wasn't too bad given the conditions.  I did a little destructive testing to confirm that there was a good bond with the foam and there was.  I took this chance to round the corner on part of one edge so I could try molding the mounting flange. I then thickened some resin a bit and coated the mounting flange on the mold to hold the cloth for the next layup.  After mixing up some more resin, I applied the second layer of fabric. Since it was daylight and relatively cool that day, the layup went well.

Second layer of fiberglass and practice with the mounting flange.

After the top side cured, it was time to break the test piece from the mold, flip it over, and apply glass to the other side.  The part came free of the mold (which I had previously covered with cellophane tape so the panel wouldn't stick) after cutting the fishing line holding it down to the frame and giving it a little push away from the flange part of the mold.  Flipping it over, it became pretty obvious what the next step was.  Resin had indeed seeped through the holes that were made in the core material as well as drips that ran down the edges, so they had to be sanded until the foam surface was back to flat.

Sanding the resin nubs off the bottom side.

Two more layers of resin and cloth and the test panel was complete...at least structurally.  Being a somewhat impatient person, I didn't want to wait until I had the finish applied to test the structure.  If you recall, I'm using a laminating resin so the surface doesn't fully cure (to allow for more layup layers or better bonding of the gelcoat), so I temporarily wrapped the panel in plastic and suspended it between two wood blocks.  With only an inch of the ends of the panel on the blocks, I hopped up on the panel.  It supported my weight without any problem.  I bounced up and down on it and didn't even see it flex.  Whew...glad to know the plan is working and the less-than-perfect test sample was performing well.

The composite panel seems strong.

After playing with the panel for a bit, the next step was to apply some gelcoat.  I wouldn't normally worry about this, but one of the things we are trying to figure out is an easy way to make a nonskid coating in the gelcoat.  I had read that a few boat builders wait for the gelcoat to start to gel and then run rollers over it.  The roller supposedly will pull small peaks up in the sticky gelcoat and cure with a rougher surface.  We tried that technique as well as using a brush to stipple the gelcoat as it was starting to cure.  We found that the brush seemed to work better...but rain was threatening so we had to close up the tent and will check on the success or failure in the morning. I guess the best part of the storm now raging outside is that it is giving me a chance to update the blog...if the internet at the marina will cooperate.

So work continues, and thus far the tests seem to be going well. Still a bit nervous about how I'm going to apply these techniques to a 9 foot by 12 foot panel though.

Going Topless

Whew.  Been a busy...oh my, has it been 5 days? Well, at least I've been making some progress on the hardtop in between the rains. Oh, and if you were doing an internet search and came across the title, sorry to disappoint but this has nothing to do with drunk college girls on spring break.

The frame, or mold if you want to call it that, (the recent joke around here is it and my table look like a really nice roof frame and floor for a shed) is finally done. The last bit was to come up with the mounting surface at the back where the top will bolt on to the side of the arch. Of course, this means we finally had to figure out the exact angle we wanted the new top to have as it extends from the arch forward over the cockpit and the salon roof. The old soft top was multi-faceted due to the frame and came down far enough in front that it felt closed in and restricted visibility from the helm. Since the new top is straight, we needed to figure out an angle that would: improve visibility, look good with the lines of the boat, and not interfere with the boom.

The first step was to remove the old soft bimini.  It should be a simple matter of unzipping the cover from the frame supports, undoing a couple of ties, and sliding the back edge out of the bolt rope slot. Of course, this is a boat so it wasn't quite that easy. This is the first time we've tried taking the top down and quickly realized that this may be the first time it has been down since it was installed.  The zippers worked ok, but the nylon webbing ties had become, for lack of a better word, petrified in the Florida sun. Whoever tied the top on, in addition to using the D rings to hold it, tied knots with the webbing. It took prying the knots and then the D rings apart with a screwdriver to finally get them to release their grip.

Rover Topless.  Can you see the string?

The boat does look different without the top. Almost a bit sporty...like a convertible roadster. Once the boat was topless, we tied a string to the arch and took it forward to the mast so we would get an idea of the line of the top. We tried several placements and finally settled on one. We even had a boat neighbor who was passing by come give us his opinion, and we all agreed it would be a good look for the boat. It allows for plenty of room for the boom and adds about 2~3 inches more opening to look forward from the helm, and the line seemed to work well with the various lines and angles of the boat. So I took out my recently purchased adjustable angle square and measured the angle from the face of the arc to the line (this time the Harbor Freight tool did not disappoint).  As it turned out, it was exactly 60 degrees.  Interesting that our eyeball based determination resulted in a nice round number like that but I figured it was meant to be.

So, with that information in hand, I constructed a way of holding a board in position at that angle at the back of my frame/mold.  I took two pieces of plywood and attached them together so they would cover where it looked like the arch would intersect the 60 degree angle and then scribed the arch with a 4 foot long straight edge (another handy Harbor Freight purchase) using the existing arches of the frame as a guide.  I first tried using a small laser level to project the shape of the arch, but the levels I found wouldn't sit flush against the stringers and projected lines instead of points so the intersection was not accurate (and I couldn't find a simple laser pointer anywhere in town...I thought these things were sold out of buckets at cash registers just about everywhere a few years ago). I did use the laser to mark every couple of inches on the arches so I could keep my scribe perpendicular to them. After scribing the arch onto the angled piece of wood, it was cut at the appropriate angle with the jigsaw and sanded until the contour was identical with the rest of the frame. Sanding was a time consuming process of checking the area with the 4 foot straight edge ruler, hand sanding the high spots, and repeating until correct.

The newly installed angled mounting surface board.

The reason for needing this board to be accurate is that I will be using that surface to lay up the mounting tabs for the back of the arch against it.  Since this is a rather critical area in the "lets not have the top come crashing down on our heads" concept, I want to make sure it is right. I'm probably being a bit of a perfectionist on this construction, but I figure the more accurate the mold is, the better it will look and the less "corrective" work I'll have to do later.

Finally, the frame was built.  I took some cellophane packaging tape and "laminated" the tops of the stringers and the newly finished angled mounting surface board so that fiberglass resin would not stick to it.  I'm finally ready to start work on the actual top.  Well, almost.  Since this is my first time working with polyester resin and Divinycell foam, I want to build a small test piece to practice my techniques with these materials and try a few layup concepts before I dive in with $2000 worth of materials.

More on the test next time.  But I feel I'm finally making some real progress on this project.  At least more than just building a shed anyway.

A Puzzle With All Beige Pieces

Still working on the top.  Ok, technically I'm still working on the frame on which I will build the top.  Where we left off, I had created the curved stringers on which I will attach the foam core so I can start adding fiberglass.  Of course, a stack of 5 of these stringers won't get me very far by themselves. I need them to be spaced at about 2 foot intervals so they will hold up enough foam to create a 12 foot by 9 foot top.

I thought the hard part would be cutting the arc for the stringers, but it has taken me quite a while to figure out how to connect them all together.  Just a pile of lumber...or beige puzzle pieces.  The trick is to assemble the beige pieces together to create a sturdy, yet lightweight, frame.  Ideally, I need the frame to be stiff and not flex when moved about or when tilted or stood mostly on end (I figure this might help with applying the glass...since I don't have 6 foot long arms).

Stringers all in a row

It didn't take me too long to figure out how to attach the stringers to a couple of 1 x 3 rails. Actually attaching them was a bit more complex.  Having to line everything up and keep it level and square can be a time consuming process. Fortunately I heard of a trick of using superglue to help hold things in place and it made the assembly a bit easier.

After the first two rails were installed and holding the stringers straight up and lined up, I turned my attention to attempting to straighten the warped pieces of wood.  I could rant about the quality of the lumber at the big box hardware stores again, but I won't. Another puzzle...how do you keep wood straight that really doesn't want to be straight.  When assembling things, I tried to orient various pieces so the warping would provide opposing forces that would cancel out...but that only went so far. Then I had to figure out how to keep the frame somewhat light and still be able to hold the wood where it belongs.

Bracing needed to keep the stringers straight and square.

A lot of thinking and a few cycles of trial and error and I think I have solutions to many of the issues. So, now I just need to finish the assembly and figure out the best way to transfer the complex curve where the top will mount to the arch.  I have a couple ideas to try there, so hopefully it won't take too much more thinking about the issue.

The "shop" closed for the evening.

With any luck, I can actually start fabricating the top soon.  I just hope all of this goes well and the result looks decent.

Bug Spray Update

A while ago I wrote a post about homemade bug spray.  Since that time I had a chance to test my original formula against noseeums and found that it wasn't as effective as I had hoped.  So, I continued playing with concentrations and ingredients and researching what others have tried or claimed would work.

It has taken some time, but I think I have an improved formula. The last several days at the boatyard I've been working well into the evening. And the area has plenty of mosquitoes, noseeums, and some species of horse-fly that are quite annoying. So, the past few days should have been a very good experiment. Although not 100% bite free, probably due to my application, I have to say I'm pretty impressed with its effectiveness.

My issue with application is the spray bottle I'm using. Somewhere in the move out to the boat, the old hairspray bottle I was using in Colorado was lost.  I had a small plastic spray bottle lying around the boat (I think it came with the installation kit for the boat name graphic), so I have been using it.  The problem is that it puts out a very fine mist and even in light winds I find it difficult to apply without most of it blowing away.  Since my wife isn't going through much hairspray these days, I haven't had a free replacement so I've been waiting for this bottle to die before I get another one.  Although the spray head leaks a bit (just like every bug spray bottle I've ever had), it has lasted over 6 months. Essential oils are known for eating plastics, so I didn't think the bottle would have lasted this long. I guess one of these days I'll have to just break down and buy some hairspray at the dollar store and use that bottle, hoping it has a coarse spray pattern.

Anyway, here are the changes I've made to the old formula. For the carrier, I've swapped out the witch hazel for a generic version of Listerine (original flavor). I heard someone used it in a noseeum spray. It makes a cheaper carrier than the witch hazel and is easier to find.  I've also added tea tree oil at about 1/2 the concentration of the other two oils.

So, the current recipe, using the 4oz bottle I am using is:

• 35 drops of Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus
• 35 drops of Citronella Essential Oil
• 15 drops of Tea Tree Oil
• 2 ounces of Original Listerine (or store brand equivalent)
• 2 ounces of water

Place the mix in a dark opaque container (or use something like duct tape wrapped around the bottle to "darken" it.. Shake well before applying as the water will separate.  I prefer a sprayer (just not my current one) but you can also just rub it on. I find I have to apply it every couple of hours or so when I'm working in the yard (or at least just a little before dusk if I haven't been sweating). Obviously if you go swimming it will probably wash off, so you would need to reapply.

The best part of this stuff is that it is rather pleasant smelling, unlike most bug sprays.  My wife jokes that I "smell lemony-fresh". Well, that and it is less expensive and I don't have a reaction to it like I do with the high concentration DEET stuff.

Obviously I cannot guarantee it will work for you, all I can say is a version of it has worked for me in Colorado as well as several places along the eastern U.S. coast. If you do give this a try, drop me a note and let me know if it works for you.  If it doesn't seem as effective, try higher concentrations of the oils.  All I can say is that it seems to work well for the bugs in Virginia.

Work Continues on the Top

I continue to make progress on the fiberglass replacement bimini top for the boat.  Sometimes it doesn't seem like much progress though.  It kind of feels like this: You want to build a house, so first you have to go into the forest to fell some trees, then saw them into lumber, then mine for ore to make iron to forge nails.  Ok, it isn't that bad, but it isn't too far behind.

I finally completed the table after giving the drill a chance to recharge for several hours.  With the screws in place, I then used boat stands to hold it up. Using five stands, one on each corner and one in the middle, worked out really well.  Since the height of boat stands are adjustable, I was able to level the table...at least as far as the warped lumber from Lowe's would allow.  It is now a good height for a workbench and will work fine for this project.

The work space all set up, not too bad for a boatyard.

After getting the table squared away, I turned my attention to the stringers.  When I left off, I had drawn the arc, cut it out, and did a little sanding.  I also took it over to the boat to confirm that it indeed would match the curve of the arch when standing vertical and, as best we could tell, it did (remember, the arch is at an angle so we had to guess the position while holding a board over our heads).  I did just a bit more sanding on it, and then used it as a template for creating 9 more stringer pieces.

Once the stringer sections were cut out, I clamped all of them together and started sanding them down so they were all the same shape.  This is where I ran into a problem.  I didn't get very far with the sanding before the random orbital sander I was using had a problem. (Yes, there would be better tools to use for this...but I live on a boat and don't have a full workshop of tools). The almost new sander got about 10% of the job done when the head stopped "orbiting". I turned off the power and lifted up the sander. The motor hadn't stopped spinning yet and the head of the sander went sailing across the boatyard. I know Harbor Freight tools aren't high quality (the reason I call them the cheap Chinese tool store), but this is the first time I've had one fail so quickly.  Apparently the screws that hold the head on the sander got hot and melted the plastic to which they were once attached.  The sander didn't even last through its first piece of sandpaper.

Stringers clamped together and sanded.

So, a little time was wasted going back to Newport News to return the sander (it was purchased there less than a month ago) and then going elsewhere to buy a new one. Since I was impressed with the Ryobi jigsaw I bought for this project while in Palm Coast, I decided to go with their random orbital sander (it was only about 50% more than the HF one and still a pretty good price).  The next day I resumed my sanding and was able to get each of the stringer pieces virtually identical in shape.  I had purchased some 40 grit sandpaper with this second sander and, while I can't say it made the job quick, I would probably still be sanding those things if I had gone with a less aggressive sandpaper.

Attaching the two stringer sections together.

As I previously mentioned, the stringers need to be 12 feet long, and the pieces I just finished sanding were only 8 feet wide.  This is why I needed 10 of them. I took two of the pieces, flipped one around to be the mirror image of the first, lined them up so they would overlap and result in one continuous 12 foot curve.  The next task was getting them all aligned properly and attached together. I drew lines at two and four feet at the wide end of each board, checked the level of the table, attached a stop block to work against, and lined everything up.  I then used some clamps to hold them together while I pre-drilled holes for screws and temporarily installed them.  From there I moved the clamps and half the screws, applied some glue, and reattached them.  Repeated on the other side, and the result will hopefully be a solid arched stringer for the project.

Stringers done and clamped to keep/make them a bit straight.

I'm trying to figure out how best to attach the stringers together at two foot intervals to create a straight frame for attaching the foam sheets. I thought I had a good idea for that but ran into a problem while trying to implement it yesterday. Now I am having to rethink the solution - the fun of this sort of project.

Once In A Blue Moon

Seems like a long time since I broke out the good camera.  So, after a hard days work I decided to see if I could get a couple pictures of the blue moon...

Blue Moon over the marina.

Moon still up early in the morning

And the sun rising on the Severn river.