Thanks Timbo it is a work in progress questions and encouragement are always welcome.

I am using West System Epoxy. The name system is really true you can mix and blend, as you need. To mix the epoxy I use 105 resin, then I have two different types of hardeners 205 (fast) and 209 (tropical super slow). The hardeners have different mixing ratios but with West System you buy metered pumps so the pumps meter the amount to make it a proper mix with a one to one pump. That gives you the basic glue.

Now you can add fillers (powder) I have 4 types of fillers on my shelf and I use 407 for most of the work. I use 407 for the adhesive and “bondo” qualities it’s easer to sand then the other fillers with good laminating properties. But no way does it sand like auto body putty it is much harder. The other fillers I have are for bonding qualities. The fillers are used to make a paste.

I tried different methods of gluing the strip together. One goal is keep the glue off of the side of the strip- you just want it on the edge. (It will make huge pay-off when you fare out the strips glue and foam sand at different rates) I started out with a caulking gun type of system from West worked well but was expensive. I got like 4 strip at a cost of $20 for a tube. Next I tried to putty knife and scooped a mix of epoxy paste into the cove cut of the foam took a lot of time. I read about mixing up the paste clamping strips up side-by-side and painting the paste across the surface. I did most of strips this way. It was a little messy but saved time. The last method and the method I will carry forward to the rest of the boat at this time - the turkey baster. I was in Publix and saw the baster and knew that would work great for a delivery method of un-thickened epoxy.

The foam strips are attached to the frames with drywall screws. The frames and screws are not part of the finished boat. The strips are cut on a router with a cove and bead edge and the glue is applied in this groove. The website shows cutting the grove.

Kurt’s cylinder molding method uses full sheets of plywood with scarf bevel cuts (8:1 to 12:1) to join the plywood sheets side-to-side forming basically one long continuous sheet. It is a brilliant method. His thought is why take a sheet of plywood cut it up and then glue it back together? Use very thin plywood and mold several sheets thick to form a continuous curved surface. So the original design has more angular curves and is not “free form”. Kurt’s trademark method of building is the cylinder molding that is what initially drew me to his portfolio. It would have been easier, cheaper, and faster to build the boat this way to the original plans.

Is foam better then wood? Foam has been improved. Foam is not cheaper then plywood about 4 times as much, Carbon fiber is about 6 times more then the E-glass (white), and West is about 4 times more then polyester and that is at the discount rates that I get some discounts up to 50%. But I learned many years ago in my first project you do get what you pay for and the total sum of the cost in a completed boat is small. To save a thousand or so is less then 10% of the building cost and perhaps 5% of the total value is just not worth the loss of quality not to mention the many hours of free labor.

Foam composite is lighter then wood and stiffer plus it does not rot. Foam does not need longitudinal stringers in the hull. Foam is easier to work with, make compound shapes, and more buoyant. The foam / carbon fiber glass boat will be lighter, stronger, have more room, carry more sail, and should be faster. I think my design improvements will help in the above and give it a modern look with a classic twist.