Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Fairing float hull sides

My float hull sides are actually pretty fair to start with. So like Roger Bonnet I decided to fair the hull sides by applying thin skim coats of fairing putty. After a couple of coats, applied with a wide 6" trowel and fairing with the long board, the hull looked pretty smooth. I found the best way to see/identify the low areas was to look for the differences in light scattering.




I try to apply putty sparingly to minimize the amount of material I seem to sand off the boat.

Here is the hull after 5 applications. No obvious low spots. It is true that you can sand System Three Quickfair putty after 4 hours, it is quick curing. The problem is to find the strength and stamina in yourself to keep working. I find that I am sanding hard for 20 minutes, resting for 20 minutes and so on.....

At a point you say it is good enough and wipe all the dust off, and pronounce it ready for the thin sealing coat of epoxy resin.

Completely off topic, here is a link to an interesting mashup between google and nautical maps. Pretty soon our smart phones will be all we need for sea navigation.
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3 comments:

  1. Ross9:57 PM

    Hi - I've been watching your build progress closely. Great job, hope to start my own some time soon. Regarding your comments relating to looking for low spots, I have previously found spraying the surface with a thin layer of mat black paint (let dry) and then run over with the sanding board will show up high and low spots really well. I have not built a boat on this scale however I have repaired many banged up cats and have found it to be excellent. You may have already tried it. regards, Ross

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  2. GK7:04 AM

    Hello Ross,
    I've heard about this technique but I have never actually tried it. So far I have seen that there is a difference in colour (or gloss) that tells you where the long board has not abraded the fairing putty.

    I think that I am fairing the hulls adequately, but as a novice builder I'm never sure until I see the final part.

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  3. Anonymous7:15 AM

    Thanks for the NOAA link. Been "navigating" the Pacific Northwest (re: Jays link to Tony Bigras' travel photos) on my 24" screen. Just wonderful !!

    Cheers Ari

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