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 |