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Not for the Faint of Heart

rgraham

Member II
Finally getting my bottom back on. I had the bottom peeled a couple of years ago due to the previous owner's blister repair. Since I haven't found much on how to do this I thought I would explain how I am in case it helps someone else.
Tools:
• 3M PAPR Respirator (used).
• Makita soft start variable speed polisher.
• 3M 7” sticky disk pad for sanding
• 36 grit disks
• Professional Flexisander Set-A (http://www.flexisander.com)
• Vacuum pump
• 2 vacuum bag valves
Materials:
• 4 quarts of Interlux watertite fairing compound (sourced at my marina)
• 12 gallons of Adtech 880 epoxy with slow hardener (http://www.sollercomposites.com/)
• 130 yard roll (60” width) of vacuum bagging film
• Peelply
• Breather fabric
• Sealant tape
• 48 yard roll (50” wide) of 1708 biaxial fiberglass (http://www.fiberglasssite.com/)
• Foam pvc insulation tube.
Prep for glass work:
I removed the propeller shaft and rudder. I then roughed up the entire peeled area sanding it with 36 grit for a good mechanical bond. Washed the entire peeled area with soap and let dry. Next I used the Flexisander filling tools and the sanding blocks (using 40 grit) to fair out the bottom with the Interlux watertite. Let me tell you that the bottom seems to morph into a much larger vessel when you are hand block sanding the watertite during the fairing process using the Flexisanders.
Glassing:
Since I’m doing this alone I found what works best for me is to work with a 50 inch width area from the water line down to the bottom center of the boat in strips from front to rear.
I layout the vacuum bagging area by using the blue masking tape to outline to work area. I then apply the sealant tape leaving the protective cover on it. I next cut a piece of bagging film to the size of the area. Since the film is 60 inches wide I try and make the width of the working area around 56 inches between the strips of sealant tape. I then roll up the film on a piece of the pvc foam insulation tubing and temporarily tape the top of it to the boat hull. I then unroll it to make sure it will fit the work area correctly. I usually have to adjust this position at the top to get it to line up right. Once I am sure it is correct I then pull off the protective strip on the top sealant tape (that runs parallel to the waterline) and adhere the top edge of the film, leaving the rest rolled up on the foam tube and taped to the hull.
I work with 25 inch sections of actual fiberglass one at a time. I will either measure the section from the waterline down to the center of the bottom of the boat at each end and cut the angle or cut a pattern first. I then use 2 layers of the biaxial 1708 with the mat facing up. For the first 25 inch section starting at the front I cut the two pieces so that that the bottom piece is 3 inches longer at the bottom of the boat and at the side facing the rear. This way the next 25 inch section can overlap the 3 inch area with its top piece of fiberglass. Kind of like laying roofing shingles.
Rollout the work area on the boat with the epoxy first so it will be tacking up while you are preparing the glass to apply to this area.
I then use 2 mil thick plastic sheeting to a couple of inches longer and wider to lay each section of glass on. I’ll wet each section out by lifting the section up and folding it length wise in half. I use a 6 inch ¼ inch nap roller and wet the plastic sheet then the folded half of the section’s backside. I then unfold the first section of the wetted glass back onto the wet plastic sheet. Next I wet the topside of the first piece of glass up to the fold line of the top piece of glass. I then unfold the top piece of glass and wet out its top surface down to the fold line. I repeat this process for the bottom half of the folded section. I then place a top piece of the 2 mil plastic sheet on the wetted out glass section. So now you have a sandwich of two pieces of plastic sheet on the outside with wetted glass in the middle. Now I roll the whole section up from the bottom to the top using a piece of foam insulation. I do the same with the second 25 inch section.
To apply to the hull I’ll peel the backside or bottom piece of plastic sheet from the back of the wetted section of glass on the roll exposing a couple of inches along the top edge of the roll. I then press this from the top piece of plastic against the hull slowly unrolling it down the side of the hull. Working it with a plastic squeegee from the front as you peel the back piece of plastic sheet off during the unrolling. The key to this is the wetted out section of glass has to be adhering to the hull with very little air pockets as you work your way down and it has to end up completely against the wetted out hull surface at the very end well before you reach the sealant tape running across the bottom section of the work area. If you let any corner of the glass whether top or bottom start to peel loose it will start peeling off very quickly to the point where you will be wearing a section of wetted out glass in no time instead of it being on the boat hull. Now peel off the top piece of plastic sheet using a fiberglass roller to press the air out of the layup and help press it to the hull. There should now be a 25 ich section of wetted out glass stuck to the hull of the boat.
Do the same with the second section of wetted out glass overlapping the 3 inch area for our butt joint on the bottom with the 3 inch overlap.
Vacuum Bagging: True vacuum bagging uses a sheet of peelply on top of the entire surface of wetted out glass then this is covered with a sheet of breather fabric and then the vacuum ply giving the entire area a chance at equal vacuum pressure pushing against the wetted out surface while curing. I’m using a modified version of this.
Once both 25 inch sections are stuck to the hull pull off the remaining sealant tape protective cover then slowly unroll the vacuum bag ply that you hung up earlier down over the top of the wetted out glass section, which should roughly be 50 inches wide. Smooth it out as much as you can while unrolling it. When I reach the bottom area of the working section I slip between the wetted out glass and the vacuum ply a section of peelply with a wad of breather fabric and the base of the vacuum bag valve at each end of the section. I then seal the last of the vacuum ply to the sealant tape making sure I get a good seal all around the work area. I cut two small slits in the vacuum ply above the vacuum bag valve bases and insert the vacuum bag valves. I then hookup the vacuum lines from the pump and turn it on. I then spend as much time as it takes to find any vacuum leaks and fix them. Then let the pump run while I’m using a small bubble buster roller on top of the vacuum ply working out any air bubbles. Once this is done I get to sand it and fair it again. I swear owning a boat is a form of insanity.
Robert
 

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tenders

Innocent Bystander
Wow. This is an E36RH, correct? It's been out of the water since the bottom was peeled? I haven't used vacuum bagging before? You had to wait for the epoxy to cure after each section before applying the next one? How much time did all this buildup and fairing take? (Both working hours and elapsed time.)
 

rgraham

Member II
Yes it is a 36RH

Wow. This is an E36RH, correct? It's been out of the water since the bottom was peeled? I haven't used vacuum bagging before? You had to wait for the epoxy to cure after each section before applying the next one? How much time did all this buildup and fairing take? (Both working hours and elapsed time.)

Yes after it was peeled it stayed out of the water for roughly 2 yrs., not on purpose just life. There is a guy that has a boat moving rig who was able to put it next to my house so I didn't have to pay yard fees during this time. I think it probably would have been ready after 6 months. I washed it with dish soap about 40 times over the period it sat. This is supposed to help leach out the ethylene glycol like substance that forms the blisters. Ii took about 6 days of sanding with the 36 grit to prep it for the fairing process. Then I spent maybe 15 days fairing it out with the watertite. The vacuum bagging is taking 1 day per 50 inch section. I've been working on it total time for maybe 10 weeks. No I've been doing a section a day of the epoxy/glass I just rough up the 3 inch overlap area before I lay the next section. I hadn't vacuum bagged before either and it is not that difficult if you are willing to learn new things.

Things I would have done differently:
I would have hired all of this out if I could have afforded it. I also would have started laying the glass from the back forward that way all of the overlap arae's would be with the flow of water. I also would enlist a helper if I could.
Robert
 
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