Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Wineglass Wherry Update or What's Up With The Boat?

"Hey dude, what's up with the boat?" Who would've guessed I'd receive that question (in slightly different form) five times in one day? Three different emails came in yesterday- each wanting to know about what happened to the dory build and twice on the beach I was propositioned- "Dude, are you still working on it?". People want to know... forget the fact that there's a fun south running and that I've got at least thirty more surf shots to post. It's all about "the boat". So here's an update:


Right off the bat, I've got to say- I'm learning a lot. Here's an example, check out the reinforcing cloth I had to lay down into the transom seam. Notice there are no wrinkles even though that cloth is snaking down into the bottom of the boat, bending in at least three different ways? I learned a little trick about working with cloth and tricky angles- cut the cloth "on the bias". What you do is cut the strip so that the fibers are running at a forty-five degree angle from top to bottom. Imagine taking a bed sheet, and cutting a narrow strip out of the middle from two opposite corners- that's cutting the cloth on the bias. You end up with two large pieces of triangular waste but the strip you've cut, with its angled fibers, will bend and twist over all kinds of complex, multi-angled curves... without a wrinkle- amazing!


Check out the close up... no wrinkles- lots of bends.


Adam dropped by, sampled a beer and helped me paint in the second fill coat on the inside of the boat. He also introduced me to some nice tunes... Gotan Project... check it.

4 comments:

Capt Ron said...

John,
there is a easier way to get your bids perfect.
Get some clear plastic and mark out how you want your piece cut with a marker and put it on a table with your cloth on it pour on the resin then sandwitch the cloth resin between another piece of plastic squeegee the resin until perfect then cut with a roll knife, peel one side of the plastic off your bid and place in boat working the air then peel the top plastic off, the edges will need no sanding and will be perfect with no frizzies or sharp bumps. Also if you place your cloth at a 45 degree to your work you will get more weave and better flex over a seam and it will bend into curves and corners unbelievably well. Looking good..
Peace,
Ron

John Ashley said...

Dude! That sounds killer... never would've thought about wetting out the cloth first... sounds a little messy though?

Yeah, the 45 degree trick works unreal... almost like magic how it bends around everything.

And... I like the idea of less sanding... I'm balls deep in that right now.

Capt Ron said...

John when you wet out the cloth sandwitched between the plastic sheeting its mess free and you peel off one side after its wet out and you cut it out then put the peeled side on the place where it goes work all the air out and then peel the top plastic off. No drips no runs and a perfect seam every time. When you get good at it you will not even need gloves.

John Ashley said...

I'd like to see somebody do that... I'm going to search YouTube and see if it's up there. Interesting!