Pulled the trigger and bought the plans. The goal is to build it in my garage with my 11 & 13 yr old sons. I’ll get around to creating a build thread when we have real progress to share.
I lurked on the boat builder central forums for years, and caught the build a boat bug. i’m finally in a place to make it happen.
this is my first attempt at building a boat but i do have some experience with fg. that experience is specifically rebuilding the front deck and filling old accessory holes on a cs j16, so still real green to this.
not going to lie, reading through the plans i’m slightly intimidated, but having them printed at the larger recommended scale and seeing everything together will ease that feeling.
immediate questions i have are
what is the general opinion on having the stations CNC’d?
is it too much to take on as a novice to try to work with the exotic fabrics like basalt?
material supplier recommendations in the greater Houston? would like to avoid shipping costs on the foam sheets
my goal is to contribute to this great community and use it to stay motivated through the sanding/fairing phase
The below is from a buddy that used basalt on his beryllium.
For first timers I think basalt is a little stiffer to use than eglass.
I also like the eglass because you can see through it and see voids when your laying up easier. Basalt leaves you lots of surprises in all the radiuses. Plus if you can see it it’s easier to just go drill a hole into the void and inject epoxy into it to fill it but if you can’t see it you can’t do that so you end up having to grind it out and relaminate
On that other site, The CNC question has been raised several times. It’s sorta of 6:1, 1/2 dzn to the other.
I haven’t personally built one so this is just my “Ai” response... I did pull stations off of my last rebuild though and jigsawed them myself. They are not perfect, but close enough.
Lofting and cutting them yourself, is hard to get perfect cuts, which can cause some wavyness or uneven foam layup. But you get that anyway even on the CNC forms.
So it seems the biggest advantage of CNC is the time aspect, and knowing it’s perfect. Cost isn’t generally much of a factor.
When I tackle one of these builds, I’ll likely go the CNC route. Good luck on it and keep us posted.
If you do not plan to alter the plans at all. Cnc stations will save a lot of time and the cost is not that much more than buying msg and cutting yourself. You will also know that all stations are correct. It is really easy to make small errors drawing out the stations. If you want to cut your stations it is really not that hard, just time consuming to check and recheck everything before you cut and sand down to final shape.
I would not use basalt. The ability to see when the fiberglass it is wet out and see air bubbles is so important. You can fix all these issues during your layup by being able to see where air bubbles are at and adding epoxy and pushing and pulling your fabric to eliminate these voids. You cannot do that with carbon or basalt because you cannot see these voids.
If you cannot find a local supplier for core . Carbon core h60 pvc is so much cheaper than divinycell that you will be significantly cheaper buying this and paying shipping. It does have a lower density than the h80 divinycell, but lots of builders have used it successfully.
My thoughts on the rounded stern. If you love the look of the new Conchfish 16 rounded stern. Keep it, but I think it adds a lot of complexity to the build minimizes the size and location trim tabs can be placed and even reduces the amount of flotation at the rear of the boat. So a flat stern may be a better option.
When I built my Conchfish I used 300 gram basalt which works out to around 9 oz. I found it easy to work with and no problems seeing voids. I used Carbon Core PE80 and would not use it again. I have several heel dents in parts of my cap, mostly my hatch lids. Go divinycell. I cut my own stations, but I would get them CNC cut the next time. Full sheets of MDF board are heavy, it is hard to keep you jigsaw cuts perfectly vertical etc. Also, the drawings have measurements like 2’-7 13/32" . Ughhhh. You’ll be doing good to cut to +/- 1/16". Not that it really matters in the big scheme of things, it is just a nightmare to measure all that out.
Welcome! You are standing on the precipice and about to jump into the unknown!
It’s a fun but stressful process. Please know that I’m no expert as I’m only 1/4 way through my build but I’ll share a few opinions based upon your current questions.
I did use CNC for the station cutouts. I started to cut things out and had planned to getting the full size stations printed out at a local UPS store. I was going to then transfer the cut lines via carbon paper to the MDF to then cut out with a jig saw. Ultimately, since I HATE jig saws, I went the CNC route. I also went CNC so I could focus on the boat and not worry about the stations (just my take and didn’t want the OCD of potential deviations in my head).
I’m using H80 divinicyll 3/4" core for everything, including the chines. You can make the chines out of pure fiberglass but only if you’re using non-epoxy resin. I’m using all epoxy due to the lack of fumes and I need my wife to not be upset with fumes.
I used basalt for the outer skin; switching to fiberglass inside. I purchased a 50 meter roll at 350 grams/square meter. This was all I needed for three layers on the outside hull for a CF-16 Mrk2.
SMARTER BUILDING SYSTEMS LLC
PO Box 4081, Middletown, RI 02842 USA | Phone: 401.846.0348 | Email: toni@basalt.email | toni@smarter-building-systems.com
PW-35-13-100
I found it to be fairly easy to wet out and it was easy to tell when the cloth was wet out. This was my first time and was able to find the bubbles when that happened most of the time. I used a bodkin, made out of a nail and dowel, to help me find any bubbles or small areas that didn’t fully laminate appropriately and deal with them before continuing on. Just be persistent to check for any potential issues as you have way more time than you think. I went one piece at a time, dealt with the amine blush accordingly and roughed with sandpaper before continuing on. I used 10 oz. glass for the lifting strakes and found both cloths somewhat similar in wet out properties.
Good luck and everyone here is very supportive! Looking forward to seeing your build take shape.
Bart
PS…Jack Burton is the man! Nothing like the Porkchop Express.
great to hear the opinions regarding cnc stations, i’ll go that route. @Redfishbum… I know id suffer the same ocd until the jig was 110% plumb,flush &square.
@Sethsawyer the round stern is calling to me. really dig that feature and will make an attempt to build it that way. its on my list of must haves and will bump the basalt fabric down to the like to have category
@WoodySweetwood if you don’t have electric shears yet, get some. I have the WBT-1s but I bought them pretty much after I was done with the build. When I saw how nice they cut, I kicked myself for not buying at the beginning.
The other completely have-to-have-tool is a mini belt sander. I’ve had two cheap WENs I think is the brand. I do not recommend. They get hot after no time and slow way down.
I’m in Angleton. If you are ever in the area , swing by and look at my Conchfish. It’s rough around the edges here in there and I would definitely do things different in some areas if I were to build another.
@Sublime Hey man…I took your advice and switched from my 10" manual shears to a cordless electric shears when working my interior glass (Fujiwara electric shears) and it was a great thing. I like having both options. If I were to do anything different when laying the outer hull, it would have been to use the shears to remove the extra cloth around the sheer. That extra cloth didn’t allow me to get a nice of a sheer as I needed and had to fair it up later. When laying the interior, I just zipped it right through the newly wet cloth over the sheer. For me, a total game changer. Thanks man!!
. I did pull stations off of my last rebuild though and jigsawed them myself. They are not perfect, but close enough.
