Ottawa Area Model Yacht Club

This is the content of an email sent to me by Nigel.  Nigel is the designer of the S-50, and has been building boats for some time.  This ifo is the result of much time spent and trial and error.  Nigel hopes it may help you with your next project...

FreemanSupply.com

QUEBEC (also known as MF Composites)

3475 Boul. Pitfield

St.Laurent, Quebec H4S 1H3

TEL 514-335-3530

FAX 514-335-3225

Source for Mia resins and glass cloth, GREAT and helpful people in the Montreal office!

I use Mia 100 resin mainly with #95 slow hardener - 30+ minutes working time @ 70f

also have #97 fast hardener - 20 minutes @70f

Cloth sold by the yard BUT minimum for glass is 5 yards (assume something around $6/yd - note lighter cloths are generally MORE expensive than heavy ones!)

have carbon, kevlar etc along with fillers additives, mold release etc etc

HL Plasto located close to the Jacques-Cartier bridge.

http://www.hl-plasto.com

HL PLASTO Industries Ltd

2180 L'Espérance, 

Montréal, Qc H2K 2N9

Phone: (514) 527-3419

Fax: (514) 527-9961

House brand resins

Part no: 14024 5 to 1 seems the better one for laminating glass hullsPart no: 14084 3 to 1 a more viscous and 'sticky'  resin better suited for gluing - probably their better resin of glassing wood hulls

Class by the running yard - no minimum, also have carbon and kevlar

Both sell OTC and accept cash or credit cards

Some notes on what has worked for me over the years...... hope it helps

Wood hull reinforcement - depending on site and weight considerations

A 1 meter type sail boat 1 layer of 2 oz (3 is ok if you can't get 2) cloth

S50 size hull (4+ ft) 2 layers of 2 oz

Better strength using 2 light layers than 1 heavy one!

sail boats -

Trick is to lay the cloth on the hull in one piece and work it out flat - it WILL conform to an amazing degree of compound curvature!

If the hull is a highly complex shape, an alternate is to lay it down with the weave 45 degrees to the keel line. It will have an even greater ability to conform to curved shapes BUT will 'waste more cloth'.

Off cuts usually find a use!

leave at least an inch hanging at the gunwale - don't try and cut it exactly - trim when the resin has set but is still 'green' ie after curing for 4 to 8 hours.

Powered boats or sailing hulls with integral keels etc - you will have cover them in more than 1 piece.

Don't try and wrap the cloth up, over and around a skeg or skinny power boat keel, it will not lay down.

If you have to cover in two or more pieces, overlap a 1/2" or so - 2 oz cloth is only about .010 thick - feather and fair the overlap and you will never see it!

Resin - trick to keeping weight down is to do a 'dry' lamination - you want to glue the cloth to the hull NOT build up a thick layer of resin ON the cloth

Just adds weight!

The weave should just be visible looking across the surface, you are not looking to have a a thick / smooth layer of resin sitting on the glass.

Squeegees made from a hard foam or plastic scrapers cut out of old food containers are the best application method - brushes have their place but not for this job!

Be gentle * Does not need a lot of pressure - you may find you are pulling and moving the cloth. 

Start from the keel line and work down to insure any working of the cloth moves and works wrinkles out towards the gunwales!

Pour a small amount of resin on, work it in and spreading it out with a scraper - it will be obvious when the cloth is fully wetted - looks almost transparent and the 'white colour' disappears

After a few passes you will quickly find the 'right' amount of resin to work a comfortable area, you can 'move' and spread the resin a lot if it was to much.

Starting from the middle, I prefer to work fore and aft down the keel first doing a band 'about'  a few inches wide then come back and work down to the gunwale

Depends a bit on hull shape and how the cloth is working to fit the hull

Keep it up till the entire hull is done - NOTE for a large slow project, mix enough resin to do one side and then a second batch to do the other

DON'T reuse the same container to mix a second batch of resin! It will shorten the pot life

Don't worry about the small ridges a scraper will tend to form in the resin or getting it 'perfect' - its is going to be a bit bumpy and uneven - sanding will take care of the imperfections

Resin mixing - using more or less hardener to change the curing time WILL NOT WORK!

try an be as accurate as possible with the mixing ratio - I do all mine by weight with a Starfrit scale! ($10 or so - Cheap when they are on sale at Canadian Tire)

Mix in shallow/flat containers - epoxy is exothermic - When the catalytic process kicks off it will generate a LOT of heat 

Less surface area in a deep container holds the heat and will reduce the pot life

Curing time  - working time (pot life) is NOT the curing time.... epoxies are slow to cure depending on temperature.

At 70f it will need to sit for 2 to 3 days to CURE OUT, would not suggest working much below 68f, higher temperatures will accelerate.

BE  PATIENT and wet sand when its cured. Major bumps and resin lumps may be easier to scrape smooth with a utility knife blade

Finishing - if you have a nice planking job to show off, a good varnish will give you a finish where the cloth is (almost) invisible

Most of the gorgeous cedar planked canoes and kayaks you see are done this way

Paint - 'couple' of coats of automotive surfacer / primer will fill the cloth weave, wet sand and paint - when the paint cures and shrinks you MAY seem some 'print through' with the weave showing.

Looks like you are sailing a glass boat! If you don't like the effect you will need multiple coats of primer and hours of wet sanding  

Finish is all about the prep work and time you put into it! Want a polished mirror finish (for a M12 to smack into and mess up:) ? make sure you have LOTS of time!

Big Red Kevin is now sailing took me over a 100 hours work to get it to the point I was happy enough to take the mold off it! 

any questions drop me an email or call!

     - Nigel

That is some good info.

Rick

see photo gallery... tips and tricks