Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Fiberglass and a trailer

I got a lot accomplished yesterday. First, I got a trailer to haul the XCR around on:


Due to the length of the XCR, I will be adding a long tongue extension which I am picking up locally. Because the trailer is bolted together, it is really easy to add the extension. I also plan on making some custom "bunks" for the boat to sit on. At this point I am planning on keeping it upright, so I will also need some sort of cover for hauling it long distances. I'm thinking a simple plywood cut-out shaped to fit around the cockpit... Any other brilliant ideas?

After the kids were in bed, I put on the first layer of bottom fiberglass. Because I got 60" wide fabric, it reached from gunwale to gunwale, so I could do it all in one big application. I ended up wetting out the cloth in "quarters." I started in the middle of one side, and worked my way to the front. Then, I completed that side working from the starting point to the back. Once that whole side was complete, I switched to the other side and did the same thing. This way, I didn't end up with any wrinkles in the cloth that needed to be pulled or cut out. I was able to work quickly and smoothly and I never had any batches of epoxy "get away" from me. It helps that it has cooled down to the high 60s / low 70s around here. Hopefully I get the same weather treatment for the second layer tonight!

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