fiberglass notes

From: "John F. Howard"
Sender: Star45@yahoogroups.com
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 14:03:24 -0500
Subject: RE: [Star45] Re: Glues and adhesives, wooden boats, fiberglass-wood

If you use epoxy resin such as West Systems (best, you can adjust the cure rate with the different hardeners) or one of the 30-minute or longer (5-15 minute never gets hard and remains rubbery) such as sold by Great Planes or Tower, stink will not be a problem. The polyester resin does STINK in a big way, it what you can smell in a new fiberglass hull. CA glues are ok for “tacking” stuff in place until the epoxy sets up, but watch the fumes. CA will fail if used in a wet location for long and also cause a problem with the wood accepting stain. Work with plenty of ventilation and or respirator and wear gloves with any of the above glues and resins, staining of the skin and sensitivity, either skin and or breathing can occur. Good Luck

fiberglass notes for S45 Yahoo Forum

Sender: Star45@yahoogroups.com
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 2006 13:35:37 -0600 (MDT)
Subject: Re: [Star45] Re: Glues and adhesives, wooden boats,
fiberglass-wood

Epoxy is not all that smelly, but I still use a resperator while working
with it. I hope I dont generate a sensetivity to it in my lifetime.

the deck can be flat or curved. the plans show both designs. Luckily the
curved deck in only curved side to side, so it could be done flat them
bent over the hull.

John

> I am trying at all costs to avoid working with glass and poly-resin. I am
> considering some small molded pieces using epoxy and glass to see how bad
> the resin stinks up the place
>
> Epoxies and such can mess up wood so it won't take stain. The striped
> decks so very nice. Could one make the deck up as a unit off the model and
> then fit it to the hull. Having a urethane glue between planks would give
> the part a fair degree of flexibility. With the new Star 45 Plans are
> the decks flat or cambered? As I recall the hull bottom could be a tad
> tricky to plank. Fiberglass hulls are so easy to put together:) But wood
> rocks!

Fiberglassing notes

From: JFisher
To: Star45@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tue, 9 Sep 2008 12:03 pm
Subject: RE: [Star45] New Member Introduction

Welcome. In regards to the bunching at the corners, I use a light coat of 3m77 to hold things in place after cutting the folds so they will lay flat. I cut the bottom glass so that it doesn’t wrap the transom, then make a patch that covers the transom and about 1� of the bottom/sides. Same with the bow. I usually do two extra layers of glass at the bow and transom. The glass turns pretty much clear when wetted out so you don’t see the extra glass unless you look really hard. It is slightly thicker and slightly more green. I think have posted a few photos showing the reinforcements. The 3m77 seems to be key to=2 0getting the glass to stay put, but it can discolor the glass is used excessively. It will also move a little when wetted out since the epoxy seems to break down the 77’s adhesive properties.

For the fin/keel, I sand to shape, then wrap with glass (2 or 3 layers of 3 oz on the fin and 1 or 2 layers on the rudder depends how much you sand) that is held in place with 3m77 (light spray or it will show up in the glass.) I then liberally cover with resin, then vac bag with my handy food saver. Vac bagging can be done with commercial peel ply and breather or wax paper and paper towels. Just make sure to poke holes in the wax paper. Sand smooth again, then paint or if going clear I used system 3 clear coat epoxy to build the finish, then sanded again, then clear coat again, then sand, then varnish. I used the clear coat on the hull as well since it fills the minor lumps and bumps without as many coats to paint/sand as varnish.

If think you need practice, I would take a pc of scrap wood and cover it with glass. Cost is minimal and you will quickly learn how the cloth moves when wet. FWIW I like to go a littl e heavy on the resin with wetting out the cloth so it doesn’t want to pull when spreading the resin. I usually use disposable paint brushes to spread the resin and then squeegee it back out with epoxy squeegee’s that I get at the fiberglass store. You want the flexible ones, not the super stiff ones. The one problem with the paint brushes is that they lose bristles, so be ready to pick some off the model while the resin sets.

John

John Fisher | finished up another star today, 842

From: "J Fisher"




I finished up another star today, 842. It has the 1" extra Fb ( free board) in the bow. It seems to sail well, it did not make as much difference as I expected. Still was able to bury the bow in a puff and the rail still gets put under when hard pressed.

Going to take it to TX this weekend and see how it compares. If it works well I will post the offsets and frames, if it doesn't work, will post the results.

You can also see the radio pot on the deck. I added this in expectation of sailing in salt water. It is a rubber maid screw top container, 4 for $3.50 at your local grocery store. Even has a flange so you can bolt it down.

another star today # 842

From: "J Fisher"




I finished up another star today, 842. It has the 1" extra Fb ( free board) in the bow. It seems to sail well, it did not make as much difference as I expected. Still was able to bury the bow in a puff and the rail still gets put under when hard pressed.

Going to take it to TX this weekend and see how it compares. If it works well I will post the offsets and frames, if it doesn't work, will post the results.

You can also see the radio pot on the deck. I added this in expectation of sailing in salt water. It is a rubber maid screw top container, 4 for $3.50 at your local grocery store. Even has a flange so you can bolt it down.

Star45 : John Fisher - Dave Mainwaring Award

Star45 : Message: John Fisher - Dave Mainwaring Award:

"I have received a wooden plaque with a half model of a Star 45 and several brass plates on it from Robert Fisher. Here is what he wrote along with the plaque:

Deed of Gift
John Fisher - Dave Mainwaring Award

The purpose of this award is to recognize the efforts of John Fisher and Dave Mainwaring to utilize 21st Century computer technology to support and facilitate the scratch building for the Star 45 Class, and to regonoize the best builder-sailor at the Star 45 National Championship Regatta. Only people who scratch - built the Star 45 they sail in the National Championship Regatta may compete for this trophy. Any person who did not personally scratch - build the boat they sail is not eligible for this award. The trophy is to be awarded, until the next National Championship, to the eligible person who has the best finish in the Star 45 National Championship. This award shall not be retired.
This award is in addition to the Julie Ayers award!
Don Keeney
Star 45
Class Secretary"

Beautiful wooden ship models

Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:58:30 +0200
From: Michael Czytko
To: mainwaring
Subject: Contribution to Blog on ship modelling
I had a look at Building Model Boats and Ships blog
I would be glad if you could add my article as a contribution.
Best regards
Michael Czytko

High resolution photographs of historic ship models

Tall ships are very impressive when you have a chance to meet one at sea. Scale models of tall sailing ships, too, can be as fascinating as the original ship. The elegance of these ships can be beautifully represented by models, and one can very much enjoy looking at the fine craftsmanship of their makers. That is why many people have made sailing ship modelling their hobby.

To make a fine and true scale model one needs plans of the original ship and books or other literature on historic details of naval technology at that time. Exact plans of many famous ships can be bought from museums like the Musee de la Marine in Paris or well known ship model builders like Jean Boudriot. Literature on ship modelling and history of naval technology by well known and recognized authors is readily available, too. But high in desire are high resolution photos of ship models, as they are a fast means to decide how to tackle a specific problem or answering detail questions on rigging and planking.

There are only few websites that show such photos. On this ship model webpage (http://www.modelships.de/eng/) one can find more than 2000 high resolution photographs of finely built ship models, like a carvel-built Hanseatic League ship of 1470, the Santa Maria of Christopher Columbus of 1492, Sir Francis Drake’s Golden Hind in 1577, the Sovereign of the Seas of 1637, the French Soleil Royal of 1669, an 18th century Arabian chebec, the frigate USS Constitution of 1797 and Admiral Nelson’s HMS Victory of 1805. Each ship model is shown in 10 – 40 photos of 600 * 450 pixels and in high resolution of 6 – 12 megapixels.

Ship model makers will love this site, whether they look for historic details or just for information and suggestions when building their own ship model.