Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Is all of this really going to be a sailboat?

10 Sheets Okoume BS6566  6MM $459
5  Sheets Okoume BS6566  9MM
$310
1 Sheet Okoume BS6566  3MM 
$38
1 Sheet Tiama  18MM
$152
50 yds Fiberglass Cloth
$330.75
50 yds Fiberglass Tape
$54.80
10 Gallons MAS Epoxy Resin
$778
5 Gallons MAS Hardener
$645

Building your own Sailboat
PRICELESS...

At this point it is hard to believe that this 650 pounds of material is going to turn into the sailboat shown in the photo.

As soon as the plans finally arrive I'll be able to start cutting out panels. Canadian Prairie winters are not really suited to working in an uninsulated garage so epoxying is probably on hold until spring. Hopefully I can slowly move the plywood to my basement workshop and 
have all the parts ready to epoxy and start assembling in March. I am still investigating how practical it is to heat the garage with portable heaters and see if it is possible to get started in the garage sooner.



2 comments:

Mark A. Taff said...

Dave,

I would begin by throwing some R-13 insulation in that garage, and then hanging some fire-rated sheetrock and fire-taping the seams. I would also install a smoke detector.

The insulation will make it easier to heat the garage, and having it sheetrocked will help prevent any fire from spreading to the rest of the house before the fire department can arrive.

I would also insulate the garage door (1"+ polyurethane foam board, perhaps), and weatherstrip around it the best I could.

That should make it reasonable to heat the garage with electric heaters or the epoxied joints with lamps and a polyethylene tent.

Plus, the more comfortable the environment in the garage, the more you will enjoy working in it.

It seems well worth the couple hundred dollars and the weekend to do it, in my opinion, but then, I really hate working in the cold. ;-)

Regards,

--Mark

Dave C. said...

I have considered doing similar to what you have suggested but have decided against it. This is mainly because as my most recent blog entry mentions I probably will not be fully into boat building until mid-February. I plan to cut all the panels and do some work in the basement ( construct the keel, spar, mast etc.) and then move to the garage when things warm up near the end of March. Thanks for your input, the garage is suited to easily insulating it. One wall against the house is already insulated and the garage has a sheetrock ceiling with an access door that insulation could be blown into.
Maybe for the next boat :-)

Dave