TMS-20

The decks are finally fared out. I made the final cut for the **** area with a slight taper from the bow to the stern. To finish it off I will make a molding around the opening once the rest of the hull is fared. Two people can still lift the hull and flip it on the side still not bad for the size of the hull. I took three of the original forms used on the strong back and cut them back some to account for the faring and carpet to use as a cradle in the last picture. Now for the finish faring on the sides of the hull then I’ll be ready for carbon fiber.

Last 2 pics

Good to see you back at it!

Thanks Jake good therapy.....

After being in the Mediterranean and working in the shipyard it is nice to be back at home and get going on my project again.

It’s a shame when your job gets in the way - one of life’s evils at this point.

Epoxy Spreaders - notched or straight edged?

I started using straight edge spreaders with plastic auto body filler in restoration work with cars and trucks, and with thickened resin / epoxy for boat repairs.
I’ve also used a variety of putty knifes. When I first started the TMS-20 my NA and several other written sources where not supportive of the notched spreaders (such as the spreader sold by west systems.)
On their written advice and my past experience I started with the straight edged spreaders.
I’ve always used this type of spreader and it has served me well over the years.
On this board some time ago it was suggested to use a notched spreader so I picked one up to test from my marine supply house.
I found it a very useful tool for initial faring and large areas. Some of the benefits of using a notched spreader are listed below:

1. Apply large areas of epoxy with less material.
2. Less material to sand for initial faring
3. Quick buildup of areas
4. Epoxy can be applied more evenly and depth controlled by the notches
5. Less filler needed to control sag in epoxy when applied to vertical surface
6. Sands in a “pattern” to show high and low spots

A few things to be careful of when using the notched spreader is are:

1. Amine Blush harder to clean on an irregular surface
2. Make sure the “rows” of epoxy are solid – no air bubble or roll overs.
3. Harder to scuff sand compared to a smooth surface for a recoat.
4. Care needs to be taken when filling in the finish coat to make sure there are no air bubbles.

For small jobs or finish work a straight edged spreader is great but for larger jobs and where you may want to build up an area consider a notched spreader.

Mike

OK Jake, she's lookin' good!
Now tell us what kind of hydrofoils are you going to put on her? Surface-piercing? Or the regular inverted-T foils: Scat,
Bicycle or Rave- type?

The dagger boards by design are straight and there is one in each ama, also there is a rudder on each ama. The main hull does not have any underwater appendage. That is by design, now I may mess with that some but I really want to get the boat in water before I mess with that sort of detail. Also the ama's will be canted 15 degrees inwards from the deck side which will in turn effect the boards and rudders.

Mike

Mike...good advice...One more thing you might add to your list of things to be careful about when using a notched spreader.
Make sure all batches of thickened epoxy have the exact same ratio of cabosil/glass bubbles/epoxy from batch to batch...if it changes...you will endup with soft batches and hard batches...the softer mix will sand easier and the harder batch will not. This can create some real issues when trying to get a fair hull.

Hey Mike,

I was the one that mentioned it. Epoxy does add more work.

Where I worked they used Vinyl Ester so there were no problems with stick.

Seeker good point did not think of that since I measure everything out from batch to batch.

Catman thanks for the tip even an old guy can learn, that is part of the pain and fun of building a boat. Yep epoxy adds more work, sometimes I think I’m sanding concrete, but with a thin carbon skin on foam I think it is best bet. I have not had too much problem with stick but the epoxy has time to cure for several days to a week or more before I sand.