Didn't have a good day working on the boat.

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jeffwagnpete
Rough Carpentry Apprentice
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 6:02 pm
Boat Name: Frogman
Boat Type: Pearson Ariel

Didn't have a good day working on the boat.

Post by jeffwagnpete »

Man, I was working on the bow and peeling off the top skin so I can recore before it gets ice cold here in a month, what a disaster that was today. I was all excited to do this today and left totally bummed. It was like watching my dream crumble away. The cutting was going really smooth until I had to rip off the top skin. The bow had lots of rotted balsa core, but in some small spots it was totally dry. I accidently ripped out the bottom skin too in those dry spots. Has anyone ever did this from the inside and left the top skin alone. Now, I totally lost the shape I was trying to save, big holes now on the bow. The deck feels like it's going to collapse cause I took out the old main bulkhead. I was not thinking right today. It was a total disaster. Now, I need to do way more work from the damage I already caused, I need to now make supports where the old main bulkhead was. MAN, it was overwhelming for me today. I was so bummed, I just wanted to be by myself. You know, a tornado ripped through the area 2 weeks ago within a couple of miles where my boat is, I was so worried for her that I told my crew there was an emergency and I need to go. They asked me the next day what the emergency was and I told them I needed to go to my boat and they looked at me like I was crazy. They dont realize that she is my home, I live on the land where she is at, in a barn. hows that for someone to pursue a dream. Well, will start a new day on it tomorrow. Just thought I would record this, cause it feels good to get replies back from you guys.
s/v Faith
Rough Carpentry Apprentice
Posts: 64
Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 12:05 pm
Boat Name: s/v 'Faith'
Boat Type: 1964 Pearson Ariel (#226)
Location: Pensacola, FL

Re: Didn't have a good day working on the boat.

Post by s/v Faith »

Jeff,

Sorry you had such a tough day today. What is the hull number of the Ariel you are working on?

There is only 1 person that I know of who successfully did a deck re-core from below and he said he would NEVER do it again. Gravity sucks..... especially when that epoxy is dripping out of your repair and running down you arm... ;) I think he had posted it on the PearsonAriel.org site.

The good core is what makes the job hard, the nice thing is that it is not too hard to repair the bottom from below and proceed as you had started.

I had to re-do a core replacement that the prior owner had done. He used the proper materials and method, but in replacing the original deck skins a stress crack developed where the re-used pannels were placed back on. I removed the damage and (the core that had not been replaced because it was not bad when the rest of the job was done). I then ground off most of the original deck that had been epoxied back on, and built up a new deck.

It was a fair amount of work, but I have a solid foredeck, and it is done.

You will get through it, and be glad you did it.

Man, these little boats sail well!
1964 Pearson Ariel #226
'Faith' (the Triton's little sister)

Referred by;

www.sailfar.net

and

www.pearsonariel.org
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Rachel
Master of the Arcane
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Joined: Tue Dec 07, 2004 7:59 pm

Re: Didn't have a good day working on the boat.

Post by Rachel »

Jeff,

You've come to the right place to post this "rambling." I'm sure I speak for many of us here, when I say that I completely understand how dark today felt for you. The lows are darned low in a boat project, especially when you're working alone, and maybe not even always sure you're doing it right (erm... ask me how I know).

I wouldn't think that going through the bottom skin in a few places would be a disaster (it's usually pretty thin). You might have to prop up some thin plywood panels from below with sticks or something to give it form, then you can lay in new bottom skin glass as you recore (from above). Just make sure the ply is covered with something that won't stick it permanently to the fiberglass.

I say this not seeing your boat in person, but I might be more concerned about the bulkhead being out while you work on the deck, if it were me. Perhaps you could make some temporary bulkheads out of "junk" ply -- maybe they could even serve as the templates for your final ones?

I did some deck re-coring from below. They were relatively small areas (because it was a small boat), but still... what a royal pain! I only did it because the decks on that boat were pristine, which yours on the Ariel are probably not (it was a mid-80s boat in 1997, so only about 12 years old). I have no plans to ever re-core from the bottom again, unless maybe it was a very small area.

I hear you on the storm: Just after I bought my Alberg, but before I had even gone back to pack it up for moving to my location, there was a wicked ice storm forecast for the area. Here was my new boat, sitting on a cradle exposed to the wind, with the mast up, and a huge ice storm coming. And I was 800 miles away. I think I probably wore out Weather.com just refreshing the RADAR loop. If I had been nearby I would have done whatever I had to in order to be there checking on it (it was fine).

I know it's probably way down on your "boat bucks" list, but... camera? Then we could commiserate so much more accurately :)

It's pretty easy to feel despair as your project boat gets deconstructed, and there is that time when it looks less and less like a boat (instead of more and more as you would like it to). I hope your next work day goes better; keep us posted, okay?

Rachel
jhenson
Candidate for Boat-Obsession Medal
Posts: 393
Joined: Mon Jan 17, 2005 9:59 am
Location: Marshall, Virginia

Re: Didn't have a good day working on the boat.

Post by jhenson »

John,

I had a similar issue with the core below the cockpit sole on my current project boat. The sole was covered with teak overlay that had leaked into the core below. Someone had cut a large portion of the bottom skin away in an attempt to keep the core dry.

I did the recore much as Rachel has described. I used luan 5mm plywood covered with wax paper for forms. Framing lumber was used to push the plywood up into the curvature of the sole. The remaining bottom skin also will also spring upward and you will probably have a big gap around the perimeter of the repair. I used drywall screws around the edge of the old bottom skin to keep it down. I laid the new material right over the drywall screw. The Tartan has rather thick bottom skins, so used two layers of 17 oz. biax.. Afterward, I ground off the bumps over the screw heads. The resulting heat from the grinder was enough to melt the epoxy around the screws and they came right out. The holes left behind were filled with thickened epoxy.

I hope this helps.

Joe
jeffwagnpete
Rough Carpentry Apprentice
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 6:02 pm
Boat Name: Frogman
Boat Type: Pearson Ariel

Re: Didn't have a good day working on the boat.

Post by jeffwagnpete »

Hello all, thanks for the support, I thought I was the only one who struggled with this, but apparently not. It's hull number 286. A camera is definately on the list, I am going to borrow a friends digital camera and take photos on Monday and post them here. As a carpenter of many years, I know theres lots of ways of doing one thing, and is true when dealing with fiberglass boats. I just have to learn the hard way I guess. It's ok though, I've always had to learn the hard way.
Quetzalsailor
Master of the Arcane
Posts: 1100
Joined: Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:53 am
Boat Name: Quetzal
Boat Type: LeComte North East 38
Location: Philadelphia, PA

Re: Didn't have a good day working on the boat.

Post by Quetzalsailor »

Things will get better!

Other's posts re: temporary support are right on. I've seen it done using a hot glue gun (for small stuff) and heard about it for this sort of stiffening, shape-forming problem. Luan plywood (The Despot, under 'underlayment'), hot glue, and drywall screws. Hot glue used to wash off (great for future repair of musical instruments), not so sure the heat-gunned stuff does.

Friend of mind did a 30+ footer's deck from underneath. Successfully. I've done a cockpit floor, also successfully. Not something I leap to do again, but Quetzal's cockpit floor has problems.
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