New Scratch built fibreglass/carbon mono build

[minigazz]

How will you get the second mould out though? or aren't you joining them wet? Thats a pretty nice record to have! You clearly make quality boats! I have drawn a diagram to show you what I mean by the fibreglass stripes. It wouldn't be so bad if I had just the bog mix line showing. I have kitted it out too but it is very heavy at around 700grams, it barely floats so I may wait until I have made a lighter one first.

[martno1fan]

Nope not joining them wet mate ,simply remove sandwich mould trim the parts then join while everythings still at the green stage.You can wait longer its no big deal its all in the prep when joining hulls,do it right and you only do it once.

[minigazz]

Okay, a fair amount has moved on since I was last on here, sadly its not all good news! I managed to get hold of some carbon and resin for free so I figured I would have a go. Sadly the resin stuck to the moulds a lot more than the carbon and I ended up with bad delam and ruined my moulds! I think it was because i opted not to bother with PVA for some reason - stupid I know.

Now the plan is to fix my plug (as it got badly damaged during the first mould making process) and glass the deck since this was a weak spot then make new moulds. I have since bought a polishing arbour which seems to do a nice job of shining things up! I have learnt a lot through these processes and hopefully they will all be better next time round! I am kinda gutted that the carbon didnt work though.

[RandyatBBY]

Use more wax about 10 or 12 waxing's. It really makes a difference. I use two types of wax Part All and Meguiar's. I alternate back and forth from one to another as I go threw the steps of waxing.

[minigazz]

I havent been on here in a while! I have been really busy this summer with an internship and have rarely had any time to get work done as I have been away during the week.

I have however run the old 700gram boat very briefly. The lake I used it at was full of algae so I couldn't really get far before jamming the prop up and the steering was poor, but the hull itself - wow! It planed smoothly and really shifted once it was moving.

This has spurred me on to crack on with the project. As I mentioned, the moulds got destroyed and the plugs were also damaged. Because of this I am having to repair the plugs and make new moulds. The old moulds had their problems anyway!The next hull i make will probably be only one layer of either cloth or very low weight matting since this one was like a tank!

So far I have filled the massive chip on the top of the hull/plug and sprayed it with U-pol no5 high build beige primer (my durabuild went crazy!). I am finding cracks somehow in the primer surface. Im hoping if I keep building up the layers these will disappear! Once this is done I will polish it (again) and think about making more moulds. I live in Durham during my term time and so will visit ECF to get some more supplies. That way I avoid spending a fortune on delivery!

[minigazz]

Disaster! The U-pol primer turned out to be a pile of bob. It sanded just fine but wouldnt polish to a shine like the durabuild. I thought not to worry - ill just paint it with some regular spray paint, so I wiper the surface clean with some acetone and began spraying. The spray didnt sit well on the primer at all and so I tried to wipe it off. I then realised that the whole underside of the boat had gone gooey and the accetone had actually attacked the primer! Nightmare.

From here I have decided to take the whole hull back to the wood and take the top planking off all together. It was becoming so thick with primer and filler that I was no longer happy with the finish. I will re-plank it and have another go!

[larryrose11]

minigazz,
If you were going to make it out of Carbon Fiber, is there a reason you would not vaccum bag construction? I have not seen anyone doing vacuum bag construction on a negative (mold)