October 29, 2017
Finally making my way into the shop - the weather is finally gorgeous in Florida! - I moved back onto the locker lids to complete their fabrication. The day prior I had painted out the top and sides with a coat of epoxy as a sealer coat before I prime them with a two-part finish paint. Today I went straight into creating what can only be described as miniature stringers for the underside in order to further strengthen them for adult use - though the owners of Joule are in superb shape and this is probably overkill, but...
I located a large teak dowel that had been loitering in my shop for quite a while - nearly 2" in diameter - cut it in half, and then again cut the two pieces lengthwise to create four half-moon shapes of roughly 8" in length. I sanded the ends of the stringers into a taper that would allow for a layer of 1708 biaxial to more easily layover them. I then arranged the stringers in a staggered pattern, two to each locker lid as can be seen below.
These supports will ensure that the locker lids see many seasons of use! After having them arranged on the underside of the lids just as I liked, I then traced their outline to ensure I they found their proper home when time came to glue them in.
I removed the stringers and wet the underside of the locker lids out with epoxy. As the undersides were tacking up, I cut four lengths of 1708 biaxial to cover and adhere them to the lids. With the lengths of 1708 tape cut, I then mixed a batch of thickened epoxy (406 silica and 407 low-density filler) and applied a healthy amount within the boundary of the traced stringer locations. I painted epoxy on the undersides of the stringers and firmly pressed them into position, squeezing the thickened epoxy out around the edges. With a portion of a squeegee held to the underside of the lid and gently resting on the edge of the stringer, I created a fillet around the stringer. I followed this process for each stringer.
After cleaning up the thickened epoxy from around the fillets that I had just created, I then turned to wetting the cloth out with epoxy. I saturated both sides of each length of 4" 1708 biaxial tape, and then squeezed out the excess epoxy with a squeegee. I then lifted the fiberglass into place, gently pressed into position with my fingers, and lastly rolled the glass out with a fin roller.
With the fabrication of the locker lids completed, I turned my attention back to Joule's topsides. Another goal for the day was to get a coat of protective primer on her topsides - protection for the recent epoxy work from the UV rays. I sanded the spot-filled areas of yesterday after water-washing them to remove the amine blush and dried the surfaces. I then wiped the topsides thoroughly with a degreaser agent to clean up any potential contaminants that I might of missed in previous cleaning. After the surface was cleaned with the degreaser, I taped off the waterline. With the waterline taped off, I wiped the surfaces down a second time with another solvent. It was at this time that I realized painting would not be happening today despite my keen interest in it. The day's gorgeous temperature was kept company by an equally gorgeous breeze - of which I am currently enjoying as I prepare this post! I just would not have time to lay down a smooth application of primer since the wind would cause the paint to flash before the paint could be allowed to flow out to a nice smooth surface. So, I now enjoy the balance of the day, an awesome fall breeze pushing through, and Joule is ready for her first coat of primer!
Total Time Today: 2 hrs
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