A Shellback is born!!!

[Joe Dupere]

At least that's what Eric Dow says in the Shellback building guide. The hull is complete and will be flipped today. I'll be pretty much spending the day moving all of the stuff from the basement/shop back to the garage/shop, and setting the shop back to rights.

There is still a lot of work to be done, but I definitely have a boat shaped object now!! So far, there's been a great deal of satisfaction in the wood working parts of this project. Transferring the lines, cutting and planing were a pleasure. But I will be honest, I do not like working with epoxy. As careful as I tried to be, I got the stuff all over the place, and from some preliminary work, I can tell the sanding is going to be a joy.. :rolleyes:

Still, there has been real progress and hopefully by the end of the month she'll be in the water.

Joe

[ 05-28-2004, 09:32 AM: Message edited by: Joe Dupere ]

[Jack Heinlen]

Congrats. Joe. Turning a boat is a milestone, and always a source of inspiration. I like the fitting and fussing to come even better than building the hull, particularly with epoxy ply. Have fun! smile.gif

P.S. I don't know the details of fitting out a Shellback, but for inwales, breasthooks, quarter knees and such Tom Hill's, Ultralight Boatbuilding , is worth a look. The Old Town library has a copy, if you don't want to buy it.

[ 05-28-2004, 10:14 AM: Message edited by: Jack Heinlen ]

[Steve McMahon]

smile.gif
Pictures Joe... If you can.
Congrats.

[Scott Rosen]

I find that the more I work with epoxy, the neater and more careful I am in using it. It took me a while to get the feel for it. It's kind of like painting and varnishing. On a good day, I could varnish in a tuxedo and not get any on me. Although I don't remember it, I'm pretty sure that the first few thousand times I opened a can of varnish, I got as much on me as I got on the boat.

[Bill Perkins]

Ah yes, the joys of working with epoxy .I recently got some T88 on my cordless drill while scrambling to compleat an assembly in a 95 degree shop .I got everything together before the glue kicked but I later had to use a pair of pipe wrenches to break the keyless chuck free .

[Bob Perkins]

Must have pics....

Congrats! It's a ton of work

Bob

[Joe Dupere]

Scott, in a tuxedo!! Only in my dreams!! Although I'm pretty sure, that the more you do something, the easier it gets. Practice makes perfect and all that.

I'm afraid ya'll will have to use your imagination. I don't have the technology to post pictures yet. Plus, it's just not that pretty at present.

There is something very satisfying about flipping it over though. When it was on the building jig, I knew it was a boat, but it didn't feel like a boat. Now that it's sitting on the floor right side up, it's a boat!!

Joe

[Hwyl]

Originally posted by Joe Dupere:
. But I will be honest, I do not like working with epoxy. As careful as I tried to be, I got the stuff all over the place, and from some preliminary work, I can tell the sanding is going to be a joy.. :rolleyes:

JoeIn a word "vinegar" it works on uncured and even partially cured epoxy. It's been mentioned on this forum many times, but it ought to say it on the can.

Generally people say white vinegar, but I've used wine vinegar (bathroom faucet handle-- areal emergency). I've saved the malt vinegar for my chips (french fries)

[Paul Scheuer]

Too late now, but maybe the next guy can use a suggestion on epoxy control. When I have glue job to do, I stick paper towels in each of my pockets, under my belt and anywhere along the path of the work so that there's always one within reach. I still end up with my hair glued to my glasses, but I always know that it could be worse.

(Nice gesture on the forms offer in Misc.)

[Shalfleet]

Sounds like great progress...excellent! An old hair dryer or heat gun makes short work of epoxy drips......heat gently and you can scrape it off without too much damage. Working cleanly is by far the best way, I used a lot of alcohol and kitchen paper to remove excess before it cured.