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Finishing the bow and stern

Even with the utmost care, the strips at the bow and stern simply won't fit perfectly, and some form of esthetic touchup is necessary.

One of the simplest and most elegant solutions is to first sand/plane the strips down to obtain a flat surface, and then add a couple of long strips along the bow/stern to replace the removed wood. Using hardwood provides a little extra protection, and a contrasting color add a nice touch.

There are two ways to apply the hardwood. Either copy the curved form necessary exactly in the hardwood, or try to conform the wood to follow the form of the bow/stern. This is practically impossible with a thick strip (say 5 - 6 mm), so the best way is to use several 1.5 mm thick ones. Even so, some heat may be necessary to convince them to follow the form without breaking.

The pictures

Three strips, about 2 mm thick (and 15 mm wide) were glued onto the stern. The glue was epoxy, mixed with wood dust of the same wood.

A closeup. The darker color is the glue, where the resin darkened the wood dust. Once again, kitchen wrap came to the help, when I had to press the entire strip to the hull. The wrinkles are visible in the hardened glue.

First, I approximated the form with a hand plane. On this image, only one side was done. The larges part of the third strips was removed.

Then, with the sander, I got a better finish (not completely finished yet here).

Top view. The glue layers (which disappeared later, after applying the epoxy) are a good indicator for symmetrical sanding.

Here's the sanded bow. The fourth layer is still visible, but it will disappear after rounding, so it's not necessary to apply it at all. Rounding is necessary for safety and it should permit the fiberglass cloth to conform to the edge.

In little time, plaing the bow generates a lot of cuttings...

... which tend to stick to the soles of one's shoes and then get transported though the house.

Continues with applying epoxy to the hull.


(c) John Coppens ON6JC/LW3HAZ mail