Wooden Boat People
By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
Wrapped Frames
Views: 160
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on
-
Jordan: Never done it, never even considerd doing it. Fiberglassing is a messy job on flat surfaces- can't imagine what a mess it would be to do frames. Why would you want to do it?
-
Permalink Reply by Jordan Davis on
-
Why not? Something else to do I guess. I am always thinking of something new, different... I was looking at fiberglass reinforced oars and thought about it.
-
-
Jordan:
You will be spending a lot of time building your boat and i don't think you need to make the job more complicated. Why not?- 1. the FG will be difficult to apply and have look good on frames. 2. The FG will not add anything to the strength of the boat- the strenght is derrived from the "structure" of the PW and frame joint with glue/screws/nails. 3. After the frame is covered with FG and epoxy it still has to be protected with paint/varnish to keep the UV rays from degrading the epoxy to a cloudy/milky look and reducing its strength.
If your boat will be made with DF PW( don't know where to get good stuff anymore) you can cover the PW with FG to prevent checking- still has to be painted/varnished- or just oil it and let it "check". If you use Merranti, Occume, etc you don't have to FG the PW.
Reinforcing oars with FG is OK- adds to the strength of the blade/shaft when it is bending-like a flyrod.
Others on the forum might have differing thoughts on your question.
One more cup of coffee and i will start to install the final shear planks on the Peapod.
Good Luck
-
-
jigsaw just fried. after 9 boats/canoes I can't relly gripe. Back to Sears.
-
Permalink Reply by AJ DeRosa on
-
I'll second Lawrence's thoughts on fiberglass on frames. Just don't need it so why bother. Good quality wood is really all a guy needs to build a quality drift boat. Having said that, I am a big fan of a fiberglass/epoxy bottom because they work very well.
-
Permalink Reply by lhedrick on
-
It would not work very well. Fiber glass will not wrap around a sharp 90 degree bend. Everything would need to have at least a 1/4 inch radius round over. Where the frame touches the plywood a fillet would need to be laid down. Without a smooth curve, the glass will lift up and air will get pulled under the glass causing all kind of trouble.
A wood frame is also very strong so even if you could get a nice glass cover it would not rally add anything.
I have built 5 stitch and glue boats. It's a completely different build process.
-
Permalink Reply by justin nicola on
-
lhedrick, thats a good point, one im going to have to deal w/ soon. im glassing the bottom of the boat im building now, and planning on going about 4" up the sides. will the 22.5' angle be enough or will i have to use a small roundover bit too? also, since you sound like an expert, how hard will it be to make that 4" line look clean? ill be painting it and also painting a boot stripe above it, then transitioning to wood.
not trying to hijack the thread, but the man sounds like he knows his stuff...
-
Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on
-
Justin, Does the original boat that you are duplicating have a chine batten or is there no chine batten to protect the outside of the boat where the bottom meets the sides?
-
-
no chine batten. do you suggest adding one? picture?
-
-
no I'm not suggesting it. I was expecting you to say no. You are building a reproduction of a boat that you like so I suggest you stay with the original.
The chine area, where the bottom meets the side, is one of the most likely places to take a hard hit and needs to be protected from damage. The fiberglass boat builders build without a chine and protect this area by using a well rounded chine on the outside and a large fillet and extra glass reinforcement on the inside. The larger the radius of the rounded chine the better it will deflect energy which usually means less damage per hit. The disadvantage of that construction is a reduction in tracking, or being able to not control slipping sideways in the river. Your boat is long and thin enough that I don't think tracking or side slipping will be a problem.
I recommend a well rounded chine. At least 1". Then reinforce inside and out with fiberglass tape before you wrap the bottom material. You can use 20oz tri-axel for the bottom and it will wrap a radius. Two layers of 10oz will be a little easier to apply and a sandwich is always a little stronger; however it is more time consuming and a little more expensive.
-
-
When we build stitch and glue boats we build up the chine with may layers of glass. We run the bottom glass 4 inches over the chine. Then the side glass wraps 4 inches over the bottom. A second layer of bottom glass goes back up over the chine again. Now we have 3 layers. Then at least 2 layers of 6 inch tape is epoxied on. I also add 2 layers on the inside over a fillet. I now use stronger 12 Oz bi-axial tape instead of plain weave.
All these layers will make a ridge at the edge. This ridge gets filled with fillet compound. When done we sand it down smooth.
Before applying all the layers I round over the edge with a rasp or grinder. Make it the radius of about a quarter coin so the fabric and flow over the edge.
If we take a hard hit to the chine causing a soft spot we grind it out and build it back up with more glass and epoxy.
As for the above don't do any of this on a framed boat which gets a chine log on the outside. If you glass the bottom just stop at the edge and apply the cap with sealant. Also, don't try to wrap glass around, up and over the cap. It needs to be removable so it can be replaced.
Traditional framed boat are built much differently then with the stitch and glue process. The people here are experts in the process and restoration of framed boats. As I don't build framed boats I may have a bit more background working with glass, kevlar and epoxy.
© 2024 Created by Randy Dersham.
Powered by
