The
whole boat arrived in 3 boxes; 2 long flat ones containing the hull
panels and the inner parts and sailing kit, and a square one
containing the epoxy resins used to glue the boat together. It was
somewhat surprising to see a whole boat inside 3 rather lightweight
boxes that took up very little room when you are used to seeing
whole boats all the time. We were excited to work on something new
and fresh compared to some of the old rotted and peeling boats we
usually see and looked forward to the project.
We are missing some pictures from
the very beginning of the project when we were first assembling it.
We hope to have them soon.
Each piece of the boat was precut and labeled making
it easy to follow the instructions. Small holes drilled in the wood
allowed the insertion of wires so the whole boat was literally
"twist tied" together until the hull was formed. The boards had a
slight give to them so they could form a more perfectly shaped hull.
Epoxy resin was then applied to the seams on the outside of the
boat.
The labels made
the assembly of the boat much easier and the predrilled holes made
the stitching with wires a breeze.
The epoxy is applied and smoothed along the transom
seam.
A first look at the whole shell of the pram.
Inside the pram after the inner
seams have been epoxied.
A little bump in the epoxy gets
scraped off which is no easy task. The resin sets up very hard and
has the appearance of brown glass.
Outside view of the pram.
All the necessary ingredients are
included with the kit. Here, thickener is mixed in with the resin.
The board across the center of the
pram is just temporary and helps keep the shape of the pram true.
A second layer of epoxy is applied
over the first. Putting it in a plastic bag and cutting a hole in
the corner allowed just the right amount to come out and go where we
wanted it to.
Once the epoxy was applied, a
finger makes the best smoothing tool there is.
Fiberglass mat was laid in the
bottom of the pram and resin was applied.
Meanwhile, the other parts of the
pram were epoxied together and clamped until it hardened.
Fiberglass mat was also applied to
the outside bottom of the boat. Here, the edges of the plywood skeg
are sealed with resin.
More of the precut interior pieces
are assembled.
An array of small pinch clamps
holds the handle of the dagger board in place. Pressure at all
points ensures a good bond and less chance of water ever entering
the seams.
