Quarantine can help with boat upgrades

[Sharon Jean]

Since most of us aren't supposed to be hanging out at the marina with our friends,
I thought it might be fun to virtually share a boating project.

Anyone (other than Dan) care to guess what I'm up to?

 

[Sharon Jean]

 

[Sadey]

Fell down a rabbit hole but finally found the source of the smell and fuel leak on Benedetto the other night. Glad I found it (fuel filler hose has a crack). The admiral had mixed thoughts. Glad I found the leak, but pissed I worked through our sunset happy hour on the fantail.

 

[Sharon Jean]

Forum member Dan (34Hatt) built this swim platform mold many years ago.
It's cleverly designed to be adaptable to different sizes and shapes of boats.
I acquired it about 15 years ago, and have hung on to it through 3 boats and 2 houses.
It's been a long time coming, but I'm finally putting it to use.

 

[Sharon Jean]

 

[Sharon Jean]

After fairing the mold, all bare areas were sprayed with Duratec primer.

Then all inside corners were eased with clay to give finished edges a nice radius.

 

[oscarvan]

What's the base you're pouring on? Laminated ply?

 

[Sharon Jean]

What's the base you're pouring on? Laminated ply?

The base is 3/4" particle board with a melamine face.
The sides are 3/4" faced plywood, scored on the back so they can be easily bent to match the transom.

 

[Sharon Jean]

After 6 coats of mold release wax and 2 coats of PVA, the mold is ready to go.

Since the finished product is going to be painted, I elected to use Duratec instead of gelcoat.
Here is the mold with several layers of Duratec sprayed in, next step is laying in the fiberglass.

I also took the time to shim the mold nice and level. My saw horses weren't 100% level, and
the last thing I wanted was a warped or twisted finished platform.

 

[Avenger]

Very cool!

Don't get any overspray on that Corvette.

 

[Sharon Jean]

Once the Duratec cured, I laid in the first layers of fiberglass.
1 layer of mat, followed by 2 layers of 1708 biaxial.

 

[Sharon Jean]

Now that the upper skin is complete, the next step is to cut 3/4" thick Nidacore
coring material to fit inside. I notched out the coring in four places to allow solid
fiberglass blocks to be installed. This will be where the diagonal support brackets
eventually mount. The coring was adhered using a fiberglass bonding putty.

 

[Sharon Jean]

As a side note, can anybody tell me how to rotate images 90° ??

This picture was taken holding the camera vertically.
On my laptop I rotate it 90° so it views correctly. Once I upload, it's still off by 90°.
I've also tried uploading the original picture without rotating it, still no good.

And yes, I've tried the search function to see if any suggestions were floating out there.

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Open them on your computer and flip them around 360 and then where you want them. I always rotate mine 360 before uploading or sometimes they arrive inverted.

Nice job on the platform and really good blow by blow. Thank you!

 

[Sharon Jean]

Thank you Robert, the 360° rotation did the trick. Must be Microsoft logic

 

[Avenger]

Ahhh, the infamous gravity clamps. I used something similar when I was repairing my deck hatch.

 

[dottieshusband]

Fell down a rabbit hole but finally found the source of the smell and fuel leak on Benedetto the other night. Glad I found it (fuel filler hose has a crack). The admiral had mixed thoughts. Glad I found the leak, but pissed I worked through our sunset happy hour on the fantail.

Don't know where your split is, but check out filler neck supply for repair parts.

 

[Boatsb]

Im sure I'll be told I'm wrong by someone here but...


1) Always try to lay up at once as many layers as possible.

I'd run the following schedule after the duratek cured.

2 x 1.5 oz. Mat.
2x 1708 bias
1 x 1.5 oz mat
Core material

Compress until cured or continue with

1 x 1.5 oz mat
2 x 1708 biax with styrene added to last coat
Waxed paper and compress until cured

If the bond is to be very strong it must be a single multiple lamination. Curing between layers is not recommended.

 

[Sharon Jean]

Ahhh, the infamous gravity clamps. I used something similar when I was repairing my deck hatch.

Looks like you were able to source out some "industrial grade" gravity clamps

 

[Sharon Jean]

Once the Nidacore was bonded in place, all gaps between the inside edge of the platform and
the coring material were filled with bonding putty.

Here is a small summary of the process so far:

- All 3 layers of fiberglass were installed without curing in between
- The biaxial was installed mat side down, this essentially gives two layers of mat against the mold
- The bonding putty provides excellent adhesion between the cloth side of the biaxial and the coring material
- Vinylester resin is being used throughout the process.
- Vinylester provides a very strong finished product with excellent bonding between layers.