My 1st Build (SLR Missile Thunderboat ZippKit)

[Rich Jones]

Once the sponson was wiped down, I was floored by the colors.
View attachment 300994

Beautiful!

 

[Chuck Mason]

Here is the port and starboard sponsons together with one coat
Next is shaping the Cowling and some waterlines...
Peace

C.A.M.

 

[DPeterson]

Very nice Chuck. I really like the look.

Doug

 

[Jarcaines]

Beautiful

 

[Mark Anderson]

That looks great. Are you going to glass it, or are you just relying on the butt joint between the planks?

 

[Chuck Mason]

That looks great. Are you going to glass it

I have some Silk Glass I ordered just for that purpose but I am on the fence with input from you all what would you do.
I sealed the inside prior to adding each piece of Teak and with 3 or 4 coats of finishing Poly-Epoxy . . .Will it be strong enough ? I have never worked with Glass so I kept the pieces I trimed off the Sponson decks and will give it a try.
can I use diferent poly mixes over the epoxy ?
Here is what I got.... (see Below)

I really like the look.

Thank you D, I have always wanted to try and build my own Vintage Hydro ever sense I was a teenager. I really enjoyed the unlimited race on the Columbia and once I saw the scale clubs running there Boats I was Hooked. It took some time 30+years but I am doin it . . . Thanks to some great builders here and an Awesome Kit.

Beautiful

Thank you JR, To be honest was wasnt sure I would ever get to this point but It is coming full circle... oh yea
The silk Glass is Very Thin and very strong, but is it needed?
I was going to use Just the Total Boat on its own. Advice is Always Welcome.
C.

 

[Rich Jones]

I have some Silk Glass I ordered just for that purpose but I am on the fence with input from you all what would you do.
I sealed the inside prior to adding each piece of Teak and with 3 or 4 coats of finishing Poly-Epoxy . . .Will it be strong enough ? I have never worked with Glass so I kept the pieces I trimed off the Sponson decks and will give it a try.
can I use diferent poly mixes over the epoxy ?
Here is what I got.... (see Below)

Thank you D, I have always wanted to try and build my own Vintage Hydro ever sense I was a teenager. I really enjoyed the unlimited race on the Columbia and once I saw the scale clubs running there Boats I was Hooked. It took some time 30+years but I am doin it . . . Thanks to some great builders here and an Awesome Kit.

Thank you JR, To be honest was wasnt sure I would ever get to this point but It is coming full circle... oh yea
View attachment 301108 View attachment 301109 The silk Glass is Very Thin and very strong, but is it needed?
I was going to use Just the Total Boat on its own. Advice is Always Welcome.
C.

I don’t glass for finishing purposes. Some like to. I’ve never been any good at it. I always wind up with a bigger mess than I started with. I’m sure it adds some strength and mitigates shrinkage and wood grain becoming visible. My 2 cents…

 

[Chuck Mason]

When I tried Glassing the center of the hull seam I cut the 2 inch by 8 inch strips and made a Huge mess myself. so I used the scrap ply, and I was cool with that.
So yea working with the glass is for me may be a risk not taken.
For what its worth cutting on the Cowling is a BEAR. Big difference between it and wood. Grrrrrr
Peace

 

[Hydro Junkie]

I would have to agree with Mark on this one. Do you trust the butt joints between the planks to hold? Since you didn't install any kind of sub deck below the planking, it may not hold. Glassing, over the top of wood is actually a common practice in the scale modeling community and, using the ultra lite glass like you have, it can be put on with epoxy and be totally invisible when the epoxy cures.
With that said, the call on do or don't is yours and I seriously doubt anyone will say anything bad either way.

 

[Mark Anderson]

The glass will be clear if the resin is clear. I would do 1.5 or 3oz glass with laminating resin to tie the strips together.

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Careful Mark, he might send it to you to do the glasswork for him

 

[Chuck Mason]

either way

You have always been real straight from the start and that is much appreciated, Yes on the higher risk with out glass.
It is why I built up the nose section of the SLR as there has been some come apart while on the water and that would be horrid...
On a GOOD NOTE: I used the glass kit I have today on some of the scrap pieces of Teak and it Looked Grate. as long as it stays FLAT...

The glass will be clear if the resin is clear. That is very good news and yes Thank you.

Careful Mark, he might send it to you to do the glasswork for him

LoL, I am having too much fun as I matriculate both the Bad and the Good (Thankfully Much more good)..
AS it has been said A BIG learning process on the building trail.
Peace C.

 

[FloridaScaleBoater]

Chuck,
West systems has a clear hardner (NO AMBER BLUSH)
Use something like that with 2oz cloth (i get it from "fiberglast.com)
Once you lay your cloth on the deck/sponsons SLOWLY work the resin into the cloth from the top with very slow, delicate strokes front to back you will be able to tell when its wet to the wood substrate.
Once you are satisfied with your glass work, take blue paper shop towels lint free on a roll, lay them flat over top of your glass work and using a dry varnish brush, brush across all of your work,
you will see the blue towels absorb all of the extra resin from the layup.
do this a few times till the blue towels are no longer absorbing resin.
yes, you are removing the blue towels and throwing away.
what you end up with is a very thin and uniform layup that is actually very dry (not alot of resin left)
There is NO strength in the resin, its just a binder for the cloth

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Chuck, I try to make comments that are fact based and, in the case of glassing or not, I just called it as I saw it. I had to agree with Mark and gave my reason why. I've also seen many scale planing and displacement hull builds, like a tug, where the hull was plank over frame and covered with a lite layer of FG and resin to prevent the hull from leaking or seams splitting. It's not so bad for a boat that is running less than 25MPH but, with a boat that will get twice that fast, the pounding will affect any unsupported seams and probably do so fairly quickly. If you end up glassing the deck, follow Rick's instructions above and you should have a nice deck with the strength to handle the pounding the boat will take

 

[Chuck Mason]

Thank you guys BIG Time
I will spend the time to do a few more practice Glassing pieces before I go for it.
I will have the cowling sides and nose finn 1st.

 

[Mark Anderson]

One thing to add to Ricks method. I like to seal the wood first with laminating resin. Brush it on then wipe down with paper towels until no more will come off. Lightly sand when dry then wipe down with a tack cloth. Mist very lightly with 3m 77 spray glue. Just a mist from about a foot away. Let it set for a couple of minutes. Carefully apply the glass cloth with a dry paint brush. the spray glue will hold the glass smooth and in place until the resin is on. The spray glue will not affect the strength or look.

 

[Rich Jones]

One thing to add to Ricks method. I like to seal the wood first with laminating resin. Brush it on then wipe down with paper towels until no more will come off. Lightly sand when dry then wipe down with a tack cloth. Mist very lightly with 3m 77 spray glue. Just a mist from about a foot away. Let it set for a couple of minutes. Carefully apply the glass cloth with a dry paint brush. the spray glue will hold the glass smooth and in place until the resin is on. The spray glue will not affect the strength or look.

Sounds like great idea! The trick is always to keep the cloth from moving and the spray adhesive trick would definitely get it done.

 

[Ray Sametz]

This is a good watch.

 

[Chuck Mason]

Ok so it is going well sept for the rain and cold weather, oh yea and work .....
Not, Really...
Anyway I was able to do some practice figer-glassing while I wait for some parts in the Mail.
I will get back to the deck and boat nose after work tomorrow.
It turned out pretty good. now dry then wet sand and polish will bring out its super shine, hope.
1st step the glass then
Mixed a sanded for 2nd coat and then
then 3rd . . . . it is thick enoughf to sand and get a nice flat glossy finnish after it cures all the way. The pictures do not do justice to how smooth and shiny it can be..
Feeling much better about the process thanks to you all.
Have a Good Night all.

 

[Hydro Junkie]

DAMM!!! That looks really good. Just a word of caution, however. Don't go too thick or you will end up with a boat that's very heavy. When you're dealing with a hydroplane, weight is more often your enemy than it is your friend.