Blog Post #8

 5/17/22

Today I began by removing the clamps from yesterdays rubrail installation. Then, using heat gun and chisel, chiseled away the squeeze out that came from the join between the hull and rubrail sections. Using a heat gun warms the epoxy, loosening its bond which allows me to scrape it away without damaging the wood. 

This saves me an incredible amount of time when compared to sanding away drips and squeeze-out. Once I had the big parts gone, I went back with a block and some 120 grit sandpaper disks, and began to sand away the parts I did not get with the chisel. Once I was happy with the finish, I proceeded to fitting the seats. 

This step required some patience, as it required me to place, mark, and repeatedly remove the seats so I could get them to fit properly. I used a rasp and a handsaw during this step, being careful not to take too much material off. 

Once I had the bow and stern seats sitting where I wanted them, I ran a pencil around the perimeter, leaving a mark on the hull where they sat. I mixed up a couple batches of wood flour epoxy, and using the pastry bag method, I laid a thick bead along my pencil marks. Once I set the seats into place, I placed weights along the top where the seats met the transoms. 

Unfortunately, weights can not be used around the perimeter because it makes the seats vulnerable to bowing under the weight. Instead, I pushed the seats down along the edges against the bead of epoxy with scrap sticks, and used C clamps to hold the sticks into place. 

This allowed me to make sure the seat was sitting flush while eliminating any worries of warping. The final step was to mix a further batch of thickened epoxy and fill the gaps where the seats meet the hull. 

I will be missing 2-1/2 days of work, so tomorrow I will remove the weights and clamps, sand the seats, run my fillets, and affix the second set of rub rails. 

This will prepare me for my return, at which point I will be looking at finish sanding and prep for painting. 

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