Starboard Deck Panel

Installation of the deck continued today with the starboard side deck panel. As with the larger deck panels, this one was coated with unthickened epoxy on its under side (although it conceivably have been done later, as there is access to it after installation, in contrast to the deck over the bow and stern compartments. The sheerclamp and carlins mating surfaces were then coated with mustard thickened epoxy. The deck panel was then positioned in place, and ring nails driven every 3 inches along the planed sheerclamp. Along the carlin, clamps were placed to hold the panel tight at that joint. As the nails reached the stern, I cut the panel with a sharp utility knife, using the overlapped panel as a position guide. Several passes of the knife were required to cut through the thickness of the deck. Once cut, the overlapped segment is removed and the deck will then lay flat, producing a tight butt joint. Underneath this deck butt joint, a reinforcing butt plate is epoxied in place with cabo-sil thickened mustard epoxy. I used an arrangement of pipe clamps and bar clamps to hold the plate tightly in place. The epoxy was then allowed to cure overnight. Total time 35.00.

Aft deck

After a bit of a struggle, I finally overcame my procrastination and planed the sheerclamps, prior to deck installation. I'm not sure why I had avoided this for so long, but on the hottest day of the season so far, I used my inadequate, cheap block plane and worked the clamps into the proper angle. Two templates are provided in the kit- the angle of the sheerclamp aft of the forward hanging knee should meet a 30" radius curve. At the bow, the angle changes to a 24" radius curve. I found that little planing was needed in the forward area, but the 30" area took a good bit of planing to meet the proper contour. I won't say my planing was skillfully done, but the final result should be reasonably acceptable.

Then before dehydration set in, I installed the aft deck section. The precut part was first coated on one side with unthickened epoxy. This side then was turned to face the interior of the aft air chamber. The endpour, sheerclamps, and bulkhead surface were then coated with mustard thickened epoxy, and the deck was clamped in place. I also applied a ratchet strap to temporarily hold the deck to the proper contour. Next, bronze ring nails were driven through the deck into the sheerclamp with the aid of a gauge that allowed them to be positioned squarely in the center of the sheerclamp. I spaced the nails along the sheerclamp every three inches, driving a couple on each side, alternating sides all the way to the stern. Once the nails were all driven, I wiped up some mustard epoxy drips, and went inside for a cool drink. I now know why boat builders tend to set up shop in Maine! Total hours 32.75

End pours

I decided to do the optional step of end pours. This is simply pouring a fairly large amount of thickened epoxy into the very tip of the bow and stern hull. On some smaller kayaks, end pours are accomplished by hoisting the hull vertically on end and pouring the epoxy into the hull, then letting gravity keep it in the tip. However, in a hull the size of a Mill Creek 16.5, it is easier to use the dam method. I cut some corrugated cardboard to a shape that would fit snugly in the end of the bow and stern. I covered the cardboard with clear plastic packing tape, and also used the tape to seal the edges against the hull wall. At this point I could pour epoxy that had been thickened with wood flour --but was still pourable--into the chamber created by the dam. I ended up doing a pour at both ends in two stages, to reduce the amount of heat generated by the curing epoxy. It was an unusually cool evening, and yet the heat of the chemical reaction could be felt through the wood and fiberglass of the hull wall. These end pours will add weight to the hull, but also will add strength and impact resistance. Total Hours 30.75.

Interior epoxy

Last night was spent doing some prep work for the upcoming deck installation this weekend. That is a definite planned event, since it is one of the few times I will have a helper available...and I anticipate that an extra pair of hands will be useful while installing the deck. So in anticipation of that, I did some work that should have been done earlier, at least as called for in the construction manual. This included some sanding of fillets and rough fiberglass tape edges, as well as rounding off the edges of the hanging knees. After that, I could begin epoxy coating the interior. To be honest, I am not putting a lot of effort into nice finishes in the bow and stern compartment, as these won't be seen much after the deck is installed. However, I am trying to keep the cockpit space as neat as I can, even though it will be painted. So the first of several coats of epoxy was rolled on and allowed to cure. This must be completed by this upcoming weekend so as to be ready for the deck. My original schedule to also construct seats and hatch covers will be deferred, but I hope to also do some of that this week. Total hours 29.75.

Brackets and Cleats

Over the past couple of days, I have been adding coats of epoxy to the hull exterior to fill the weave of the glass cloth. Between the last two, I sanded the surface with 100-grit paper to knock the peaks off the texture that was printing through the epoxy. With a nice, smooth surface produced, I then flipped the hull. The next step was to install some fittings, including seat cleats and brackets for the foot brace rails. The forward set of brackets are normally through-bolted, with a bolt head visible on the hull exterior. Instead, I used some special fittings with a bolt and perforated plate which were glassed onto the hull interior. The position for the forward foot brace rails was measured and marked. The substitute bolts require the plastic rails be drilled out slightly to enlarge the existing mounting holes. These bolt brackets were then glassed on the surface of the hull with a combination of silica thickened epoxy and unthickened epoxy to wet the glass tape that had been cut in 3" x 3" squares with a hole cut in the center. Once the glass was wetted, I taped the bolt to hold it in place. The instructions call for rolling the hull on its side and allowing gravity to hold the mount in place until the epoxy cures. This would have been easier and neater.

The aft pair of foot braces will be screwed into riser blocks so as to clear the hanging knee in that location. These blocks were simply epoxied into position and held in place with tape while the epoxy cured.

Finally, simple 3/4" x 3/4" pieces of lumber were epoxied into place on the hull floor to serve as seat cleats, or guide rails for the seat assemblies. Care must be taken to use the correct pieces of wood: for each seat there are four pieces of lumber- three are longer than the fourth. Two of the long pieces are used as the seat guides, while the third is used as a structural part of the lower seat. The fourth, shorter piece is used as a structural part of the seat back. The guides were measured and aligned, then epoxied into place with silica thickened epoxy and weighted until cured. Total hours 28.25.

Fill the weave

Another coat of epoxy was rolled on the hull exterior in order to "fill the weave". This is merely the procedure to build up a layer of epoxy just sufficient to cover the texture of the fiberglass cloth and produce a smooth surface for later varnish or paint. The coat last night was very thin; I can see already another will be required.

Also, I have worked out a rough timeline to finish the Mill Creek 16.5 construction. The goal is to have major construction finished by the end of this month. That will allow about two weeks for finishing, varnishing and painting. So by the middle of June, we should be ready for water. The ultimate goal is to paddle around the harbor in Mystic CT during The WoodenBoat Show 2008. Total hours 24.50.

Hull Glass

After some prep work, including filling stitch holes and chine gaps with thickened epoxy, and a final overall sanding of the hull, the fiberglass could now be applied. A large bundle of 6 oz fiberglass cloth is supplied for this purpose. It is unfolded and draped over the hull, and the excess trimmed off to where only a small overhang remains beyond the edge of the sheerclamp. The loose weave of the cloth allows it to be arranged without wrinkles fairly easily. Then, in a technique detailed here, batches of unthickened epoxy were mixed and poured onto the flat surface of the hull. Using a rubber spatula, the epoxy is gently spread so as to wet down the cloth. The idea is to get the cloth just wet enough that it turns from white to clear, but so that some of the cloth texture remains after the epoxy is cured. This allows the cloth to adhere to the wood of the hull, providing strength, durability, and waterproof-ness. Adding excess epoxy also adds weight, and runs the risk of "floating" the cloth out of close contact with the wood, reducing strength. It is a slow and painstaking task, but after a couple of hours, the hull was glass coated. Then, after a couple hours, when the epoxy was semi-cured, I trimmed the excess cloth from the bow, stern, and sheerline. Additional cloth tape will be applied to the bow and stern, and additional thin layers of epoxy will fill the weave of the cloth, leaving a smooth surface. Total hours 23.45.

Bulkhead fillet

With the hull seams filleted and taped, I next turned to the bulkheads and hanging knees. These were filleted with peanut butter thickened epoxy, with the bulkheads being filleted on both sides. This will give great strength to the hull, and will also form watertight compartments in the bow and stern. To apply the fillets as neatly as possible, I used a gallon zip lock bag with a small hole snipped in one corner (after it had been reinforced with clear packing tape) as a sort of piping bag such that a pastry chef might use to decorate a cake. This allowed me to lay down a controlled bead of epoxy at each joint, which was then smoothed into rough shape with the rounded edge of a large tongue depressor. After allowing the epoxy to partially set up, I returned and gave it a final smoothing with a gloved finger wetted in alcohol. This gives nice smooth fillets that will require less sanding later on. Total hours: 16.00.

Bow fillet and tape

After a brief hiatus for a trip out of town, building of the Mill Creek 16.5 resumed. Today's job was the fillet and taping of the bow compartment. With a now familiar procedure, the joints were filleted with peanut butter thickened epoxy, followed by a fiberglass tape overlay. This was then wetted down with the layer of unthickened epoxy. Doing a neat, smooth job was difficult, especially in the very tip of the bow, for one such as me with less than dainty hands. But tight quarters notwithstanding, the joints were sealed and glued, thus completing the preliminary gluing of the hull. Total hours 15.25.

Cockpit tape, part II

Today I completed filleting and taping the joints on the port side of the cockpit area. Even after the practice of the starboard side, the identical job tonight went no faster. It is tedious work to get the epoxy fillets in place with reasonable neatness, overlay the tape, and wet it down with epoxy and then smooth wrinkles and remove air bubbles from under the tape. However, the job is done. While others may be able to produce neater fillets, mine should look decent under the painted finish I have in mind for the interior of this copy of the Mill Creek 16.5. Total hours: 14.25.

Fillet and Tape

The construction of Dragonfly has now progressed to the "glue" portion of "stitch and glue" boatbuilding. First, a final check of the hull's alignment showed that everything was in place. Using a technique called "winding", the hull was checked for twist by placing two straight pieces of wood across the sheerclamps, and then sighting down the centerline. With the two pieces of wood superimposed, the hull showed no twist. The point of the bow and stern were plumb, and all appeared in readiness to permanently joint the parts of the hull with epoxy and fiberglass.

The first step is to apply a fillet of wood flour thickened epoxy to the joints which will provide a smooth radius for the fiberglass tape to come. The epoxy is mixed t0 peanut butter consistency, which makes it reasonably easy to apply with a wood tongue depressor, then smooth with a rubber spatula cut to the appropriate radius. The only difficulties I ran into was the fillet on the joint between the sheer panel and the bilge panel. Near the stern, this joint had almost no angle (or a 180-degree angle), which made a clean fillet more difficult.

With the fillets in place, and before they cured, I overlayed them with strips of 3" wide fiberglass tape. The tape was then wetted down with unthickened epoxy to form an integral, strong joint. At an ambient temperature of 85 degrees, the slow-cure epoxy is setting up fairly quickly, so the boat is done in sections; today I did the stern behind the aft bulkhead. Tomorrow- the bow and center compartments. Total hours: 11.75.