Progress with sanding ready for fibreglassing
I’m nearly half way through sanding back the encapsulation coats ready for fibreglassing. I am getting all of the biggest bumps and a lot of the smaller ones out, but I dont think I need to get it 100% smooth yet as there will be several more coats of epoxy over the top of the fibreglass anyway.
I used mostly the home-made (hi-tech) long board for the hull and a hand sanding block for the sides in long sweeps and swirls to avoid low spots (the long board is mostly too hard to use as there is too much curve on most the surface). I also used the mouse orbital sander where possible, but the sandpaper gets clogged up with epoxy really quickly, and the sandpaper is expensive. I found a few tricks on making it last longer, like hitting the surface with the back of a brush to unclog the paper, but it just clogs up straight away again.
It is really quite satisfying after a heavy session of sanding to feel and see how smooth the surface could be when finished, but that’s a while away yet.
I also made a decision to add chine spray rails after consulting the guys on the Glen-L boatbuilding forum, like the ones on the Zip below, when the time comes.
September 11th, 2009 Edit