Saturday was keel day. The temperature was supposed to be in the 30's, so I figured I could use my heaters and tarps and mount the keel into the frames. Mounting requires epoxy, screws and galvanized bolts.
I used 3 heaters and covered the frames with a tarp to see if I could get the temperature into the 50's. After a few hours I was able to read 57 degrees on my grilling thermometer. So I was good to go. Everything had been previously fit, drilled and countersunk. So, I mixed my epoxy and started the project.
Here's the long view of the keel attached to the stem and frames.
There are two long galvanized bolts that hold the front of the keel to the stem. There is a curve to the keel going from the front frame (frame 4) to the stem. As the keel is pretty stiff, you have to crank it down with the bolts. Screws would not be strong enough. The bolts have to be recessed because the keel and frames will be "faired". Fairing means cutting down and shaping the members so the plywood will sit flush on the stem, keel and all frame members.
At the rear, the knee is glued and through bolted to the keel and the transom to provide the strength need to support the motor.
As you can see, gluing with epoxy is pretty messy. To get a good joint, you must spread unthickened epoxy to seal the wood so the thickened epoxy can hold. A cheap throwaway brush is used for this. Then you thicken the epoxy with cabosil to make a thicker glue that will fill voids and provide a strong joint.
Mixing epoxy causes a chemical reaction and if the temperature is too low, the reaction doesn't happen and you don't get an epoxy that sets or holds. Gratefully, the heaters kept everything under the tarp over 50 degrees for about 6 hours and everything set properly.
Next up is mounting the chines and sheers. Weather is looking to be in the 40's, a veritable heat wave!
No comments:
Post a Comment