Pram Build

[flyfishy]

HOWS IT LOOK'IN

 

 

This unit have wheels

or how do you get it to the water!

with all your gear for 1 ...

 

 

maybe more PICS for the jealous types.

[Tungsten]

Instead of plastic sheet use wax paper under glued pieces. Nothing sticks to it and not prone to wrinkling or stretching.

 

Ya that would work better all though its hard to control the amount of squish out and still have to sand it flat and fill any dips.

[Tungsten]

Continuing on and cutting out the sides,again i changed what my plans said and reworked the arc of the sides.

 

I then faired the edges to my lines the best i could then traced out the other side and cut it just a little bigger then the line.I followed along with a flush trimming router bit so that both my sides are identical.

 

In order to help the sides line up with the bottom i ran a 45 Deg router bit to the inside edges of the sides,bottom and corners.I also pre soaked the end grain with some resin.

 

Next it was time for some fiber glass, I've never done this before so i just jumped in and its really not that hard,i put some 4" glass over all my scarphs on both sides.Other then getting resin all over the place it worked out ok.

After that all cured for a day i did a little sanding and drilled 3/32 holes along the the edges to accept the wires.

Attaching a side.

This is when you find out if the sides are the right length. The sides were ok but my bow and stern panals end up an inch to high so i removed them and cut them to the right hight.

 

The bolts really help the edges stay aligned because of the rocker of the bottom they tend to want to slide.

 

Once you get it all square and level and have matching sides,check and recheck. i tied in some wires to pull out the sides to keep things square.

 

Next i mixed up some non sagging epoxy and with a popsical stick i glued between the stitches.

After that cures I'll remove the wires and bolts,then epoxy the remainder of the seams.

[RussC]

It's looking great, good job and please keep the updates coming.

 

Russ C

[Tungsten]

I guess mother nature wants me to work on the boat instead of fish so back at it.I pulled the wires out and removed the bolts and spread some more epoxy over the seams.

I got a little messy with spreading it so after it cured i sanded off the excess.Pre soaked the seams again with some straight resin.

Next up is what they call filleting the seams, basically its resin mixed with fine saw dust to make a non sagging paste close to the consistency of peanut butter.I used a 1.75" round lid held at an angle to spread it out.This makes for a strong joint it also leaves a concave corner to help the fiber glass lay over the seams.

I could have layed the FG tape right over the fillet once it started to harden a bit.I chose not to as it could have turned into big mess if i pushed to hard distorting the fillet.So since i let it cure i had to sand it a little.

Next up is fiber glass over the seams,I'm using 2" and 4" 6oz tape.First the 2" then the 4" over top while its all still wet.It took 3 of us 2 hours with a couple of beer breaks in between.

We then spread resin all over the bottom to water proof the wood.

Next i"ll flip the boat over and work on the bottom.

 

[darrinhurst]

Nice lookin rig Mike!

[Gaffer]

Mike that is awesome. Good weather for boat building.

 

How is the baltic birch working out? All of my okume should be in next week, but I plan on using BB for my decks etc. The price compared to 1/2 marine mahogany ply cant be beat.

 

Andrew

[Tungsten]

Mike that is awesome. Good weather for boat building.

 

How is the baltic birch working out? All of my okume should be in next week, but I plan on using BB for my decks etc. The price compared to 1/2 marine mahogany ply cant be beat.

 

Andrew

 

Thanks,the BB is nice it bends easy.But i have nothing to comparte it too since this is my first build.The BB is a little heavy though for 1/4" its .84lb per sq/ft.I think i'm at about 60lbs right now with the resin in.

[Castuserraticus]

It looks like you're using a technique I arrived at after several frustrating attempts of glassing boats - painting the resin on the surface and wetting the cloth into it rather than working with wet cloth. The large curved surfaces are when laying out dry cloth makes work easier. I found a rubber lino roller works well for working the cloth into the resin, getting a good bond, and working out bubbles and small wrinkles.

 

You can save some sanding by trimming the excess glass when the resin gets rubbery but hasn't fully set.

 

The fillets you use are the best way to do seams. The wood will fail before the seam does.

 

I hope your work space is well ventilated. It's no fun getting gassed by fumes.

[Tungsten]

It looks like you're using a technique I arrived at after several frustrating attempts of glassing boats - painting the resin on the surface and wetting the cloth into it rather than working with wet cloth. The large curved surfaces are when laying out dry cloth makes work easier. I found a rubber lino roller works well for working the cloth into the resin, getting a good bond, and working out bubbles and small wrinkles.

 

You can save some sanding by trimming the excess glass when the resin gets rubbery but hasn't fully set.

 

The fillets you use are the best way to do seams. The wood will fail before the seam does.

 

I hope your work space is well ventilated. It's no fun getting gassed by fumes.

 

Ya I'm learning as i go,i was wondering about wetting the glass first before laying it.You say it doesn't work well??For the tape that is.

 

Ya cutting the edge when its green works well.

 

I really didn't notice any fumes from the resin,not like polyurethane resin.I do have a vent though.

[Tungsten]

Well the glass is dry.Got home early today so jumped on to the gunnel's,bending the wood was a bitch even with having them pre bent.They gotta bend 5" in/out and 5" down i put screws in from the outside on the inner one and I've just clamped the outer I'll let them sit for a few days see if they stay.

 

Not sure what to do about the corner blocks,

 

45

round

Don't like round,I think this may be the winner i can use different types of wood this way.

[Gaffer]

That is looking so good Mike.

 

I like the round corner myself, but with a rounded profile it should look hot. Either way things are looking great.

 

Andrew

[Brunsie]

Ya I'm learning as i go,i was wondering about wetting the glass first before laying it.You say it doesn't work well??For the tape that is.

 

If you wet the cloth before laying it you'll end up with a huge mess. It'd really hard to handle.

You can put the tape/cloth down on dry wood and put the epoxy on last.

 

 

.I really didn't notice any fumes from the resin,not like polyurethane resin. I do have a vent though.

 

I use West Systems epoxy for that reason. No smell and a minimal amount of fumes.

[Gaffer]

Mike, What about something in this shape?

 

[Tungsten]

Well after going from store to store i finally found some stainless screws, $7 for a 100 not too bad.Thought they'd be more.Did some pre drilling then glued the first one in ,not too bad since it had been clamped to the boat to help bend it.Went to do the other one and crack!! Oh *hit.Long story short, clean glue off boat arg!!My own fault i had noticed a few dings on the edge of the wood i thought if i just sanded them out and put that side on the inside you wouldn't see it.I guess i was wrong.Since then I've managed to get both inner gunnel's in, one outer and both inner stern and bow rails.I've also glued in the corners.

 

I see sanding in my future.

[darrinhurst]

I see a lot more than just sanding in your future.....

 

 

Looking good Mike! Kinda cool watching how you're progressing.

[Tungsten]

I see a lot more than just sanding in your future.....

 

 

Looking good Mike! Kinda cool watching how you're progressing.

 

Thanks Darrin,ya theres a lot more to go.

[SteveM]

She's coming along nicely, Mike; thanks for the updates.

 

[Castuserraticus]

Through trial and error on several different projects, I found painting resin on the wood, laying and stretching dry cloth onto it, and wetting the cloth into the resin (using the roller) provided best results. It helps minimize the amount of resin needed which is the major weight component. My projects were all single person craft so low weight was important (kayak, canoe, pontoon). Commercial builds do vacuum molding to suck excess resin out - not easily done on a home project.

 

A certain amount of mass in your pram may be beneficial to aid stability.

[Tungsten]

Through trial and error on several different projects, I found painting resin on the wood, laying and stretching dry cloth onto it, and wetting the cloth into the resin (using the roller) provided best results. It helps minimize the amount of resin needed which is the major weight component. My projects were all single person craft so low weight was important (kayak, canoe, pontoon). Commercial builds do vacuum molding to suck excess resin out - not easily done on a home project.

 

A certain amount of mass in your pram may be beneficial to aid stability.

 

Thanks some good tips there,just in time too.

[Tungsten]

Back at it again over the long weekend,i finished up the rails all around and plugged up the screw holes.I took some scrap plywood and clamped it to the rails to make a jig for my router to carve out my corner blocks.

Worked well, by clamping to the sides the angle was copied.

 

I got this edge jig with my router when i got it years ago and said to myself I'll never use it as i normally just use bits with bearings on them already.Turns out it was real handy as it created a stop so i would get a straight edge.

Did the same on the other side of the corner.

 

Then i made a wider jig to do the center part or the flat area.This was a little too wide for my little router so had to break out the big plunge.

 

The results.

 

I was going to start the bench and other things but I'm still unsure on there size and location so i thought i may as well get started on the bottom.

Sand grind sand grind...dremal tool is handy for this.

More fillet and some tape and she'll be water tight.

[darrinhurst]

Damn Mike! Looks good!

[Castuserraticus]

Wow - wicked skills.

[Tungsten]

Thanks guys,don't worry theres flaws in my work.

 

Back at it again,

Filled the gaps with some resin and wood flour i used two putty knifes to make a trowel to leave me a square edge that could be rounded easily with a rasp.

rounded out for the glass.

 

Next some 4" tape.

Tried my hand at fairing the edge,lets just say i wont be building any clear finish boats for awhile lol.

Next i layed out the glass for the bottom i left it there over night so it would smooth out easier.I also put some tape on the boat for a guide to cut it after i wet it out.

first coat of resin(epoxy)

After about 2 hours i cut along the tape edge and removed the excess this leaves a nice edge.

Next I'll patch in the pieces to completely cover the outside.

Since i had some left over resin i did my net.

to be continued..

[Sean84]

Wow, this is an awesome build. I do have a question, what would be the benefits/disadvantages between the different style of boats that ive seen people use on lakes and the bow.