Filling cracks

Juneaudave · Post by **Juneaudave** » Sun Oct 03, 2004 1:52 am

Has anyone in the board used a water based filler such as Durhams Rock Putty instead of an epoxy mix for crack sealing? What were the results? The reason I ask is that the Rice Lake is wide enough that I can't make a single layup with 60 in cloth. I'll have to do one side, let it cure (I THINK) and then the other. I'm thinking about precoatining to assure uniformity...ie...precoat..lay one side and let it cure...then lay the other side. Uniformity is the issue recognizing thatI can only lay up half the hull at a time.

Pete in the Deep South · Sun Oct 03, 2004 4:43 am

I have tried both methods, but I prefer using epoxy with wood flour. It may cure a little darker in color than the hull, but still looks better than patch material that comes out too light in color. Some builders do use Durhams in their wood flour to lighten it a bit, but I have never tried that.

Jack in Stoughton · Post by **Jack in Stoughton** » Sun Oct 03, 2004 10:09 am

Please don't do one side and let it cure before doing the second. It's much better to do all of your glass at one time. When I glassed my boats I laid down the extra layer in the football area and then the glass for the entire boat. After wetting out I can't see the edge of the football patch under the top layer of glass. Everything was wetted out at the same time. Good luck!

Dell Littlefield · Post by **Dell Littlefield** » Sun Oct 03, 2004 1:59 pm

I mixed Rockhard wood putty with sanding dust and epoxy until I got a match. I experimented by measuring teaspoons of sanding dust and the wood putty. I put the various dry mixtures in a small jar and thoroughly mixed by shaking. After mixing with epoxy and putting each mixture on a marked scrap bit of stripping, I was able to get a direct comparison with the hull. It isn't perfect but not too noticeable.

Erik, Belgium · Post by **Erik, Belgium** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 3:15 am

I too have the problem that I can't buy wide enough cloth overhere -in Europe- to cover the hull completely.

I have used both methods so far, both work fine with minor differences

1) wetted out both cloth layers at once. Indeed you won't see the edges afterwards, after you have scraped the overlaps. One problem though: I had more tiny airbubbles trapped in the cloth this way (air bubbles between hull and first layer + air between the cloth overlaps)

2) Without a precoat, wet out one cloth layer, and apply only epoxy to the remaining part of the hull (no cloth there yet, in fact this is a precoat). Some 8 to 12 hours later (still in green phase), scrape the edges of the first layer, and apply the coth on the remaining part of the hull with small overlaps. The cloth will bond to the precoated hull, because the epoxied hull is still green there as well. At the same time I already apply the first fill coat to the green phase cloth.

Both methods work fine, I prefer the second one, in my opinion it 's less hassle.

Erik, Belgium.

Juneaudave · Post by **Juneaudave** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 11:25 am

Thanks Erik...The reason I'm looking at two layups is that the 60 inch cloth is not wide enough (the Rice Lake has a wide beam) and I was concerned that I couldn't keep up with the epoxy and worry about two layers of cloth going at one time. Sounds like your Number 2 might work best for me. That would also give me time after the second layer is on to attach the skeg and keel, then follow with fill coats. I'm getting there...I cut the centerline this weekend and am just filling in the other side of the football. So it will be a while before I get the stem on and the hull filled, faired and the skeg fitted....Thanks...Juneaudave

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 7:12 pm

To JuneauDave: When are we going to see some photos of the Rice Lake Skiff? C'mon, stop holding back :!:

Juneaudave · Post by **Juneaudave** » Mon Oct 04, 2004 11:28 pm

Glen...I'm not holding out..it just takes some time around here to find the camera with teen age kids I posted some pics in the project directory., sorry about the quality

Erik, Belgium · Post by **Erik, Belgium** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 1:57 am

hi Dave,

I don't know if 'rice lakes' are popular in the US, I have never seen one here in Europe.
If I'm not mistaking, this is your second boat, and you surprise me for the second time. The quality of your work is very high, and your boats are balanced perfectly I think: colours that match the boat perfectly. Nice skills, and a very nice overall appearance.

Keep us posted !

Erik
P.S. where was that bad picture ?

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Tue Oct 05, 2004 8:53 am

Hi Dave, I get it. About the bad pictures I mean. They are all so bad in that they carry temptation with them. That's right, they make it tempting to start building one right away! Very nicely done. Don't lose that camera on launch day!

marchmyres · Post by **marchmyres** » Sun Oct 10, 2004 12:10 pm

Erik - I have a couple of questions for you regarding method 2 above - I'm faced with a similar dilemma as my cloth is 1m wide (that's all I could get in the UK).

(i) Did you overlap the two widths of cloth all along the keel, and then scrape? I was thinking about leaving a narrow gap (say 1cm) between the cloth on each side and covering both edges with a strip of 10cm wide glass tape.

(ii) Did you consider wetting out both sides, glassing one side and then the other once the wet out coat was green?

Probably glassing my Prospector in the next couple of days (if I can persuade someone to help mix epoxy) or next weekend - terrified!

charlie · Post by **charlie** » Sun Mar 21, 2010 5:07 am

hi
I have the same problem hear in france .cant get wide cloth for my prospector I was going to over lap 120 cm cloth at the keel this would give me a double layer on the bottome of the boat which might not be a bad idea ,not shure wether to wet out first or just do it all at the same time let me know how it went ..

aye charlie

Tom in MN · Post by **Tom in MN** » Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:26 pm

Raka sells 72" cloth in all different weights. Is that enough to get the job done in one piece? I use raka cloth and epoxy and love it at much lower price than all others. Dries super clear, low viscosity and works better than West in my opinion.

BWB · Post by **BWB** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 4:00 pm

Tom,
Which Raka formulation did you use? I'm probably going that way too.

chrisg · Post by **chrisg** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 7:02 am

I would have needed about 70" wide cloth on my grand laker and price was an issue, I went with the 38" wide from Noah's, bought the 60yard roll they had on sale, I will be overlapping on the keel line, and adding another layer down the center so I will have tree layers at the keel line and two layers up to just a bit past the waterline, the only thing I'm not sure is if I should do it all at once, or do the two layers first, let cure for a few hours and then add the third layer.

The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Filling cracks

Filling cracks

Filling Cracks

over laps in glass

overlaps in cloth