Just about finished fiberglassing the topside of the hull!!!

For the most part, I am finished fiberglassing the topside of the boat!!!!!! Yea!!!!!!
I still have some filler coats to do, but all the fiberglassing is done.

An oh yeah and that dreaded sanding part still needs to be done!!!! 😟 I may do some now and just wait until after I flip it over. I am sure I will have some dings to fix, so no need to make final finish until then.

Hard to believe I am talking about flipping the boat!!!!!

Companion way slide
I finished up the slide with applying fiberglass and 3 coats of epoxy. The corners turned out better on the slide than the companion way hood, so I was pleased. I still have them overlapping, but I didn't have as much on both pieces. I cut one short and then just had the other wrapping around. I think my mistake on the companion way hood corners was just too much fiberglass and it didn't want to lay right.

Fiberglass ready to be wetted out. I have it sitting on 2 - 5 gallon buckets. 

1st coat

All ready for the trim piece and sanding. 

 I still need to install the trim piece, but I will take care of that soon.

Cockpit Fiberglassing

Well this section was a royal pain in the you know what. I still have problems with doing vertical fiberglass. It turned out ok, but I had to fuss with it a lot. I used a plastic spreader on the floor part and tried to pull the epoxy up the sides. I then used a roller and cut off chip brush to apply to the corners and to use on spots. Having to work on your knees leaning down is not an ideal work position, but I survived. I planned to have both cockpit seats done and to do this part last, so I had a place to climb into the boat and work on the area.

Oh and prior to doing the fiberglass, I went over everything with a sander to make sure there were no bumps. Doing the other areas, I had some epoxy runs that needed to be removed.

Ready to be wetted out. 

All wetted out and ready for 2 more coats.

This was the last piece on the cockpit seat area. I had to be careful not to clog up the centerboard pendant hole, but I just took it slow and worked around it. I didn't have to go this wide with the fiberglass, but having 2 layers where you will be stepping into the boat will help to firm it up. 

All wetted out and ready for multiple coats.

Transom Skirt Fiberglass 

I was a little worried about how the fiberglass would lay in this area, but it actually was not too bad. I used some blue tape to hold in place and wetted out the outside of the transom skirt first. I then used a roller and rolled it from outside over the top. I then used a chip brush with the brushes cut to dab the epoxy on.

Once I flip the boat, I think I will climb under and work on that area a little. I need to run a piece all the way down the seam.

I cut a dart in the middle and then a couple on the inside. 

Below is the transom skirt all wetted out. 

I forgot to get a before picture on the piece that goes from the seats up to the bottom of the skirt trim. I used thumbtacks instead of blue tape to hold it upright. This piece of vertical was not too bad. While holding the top, I rolled from the bottom up. I also learned to take it slow. I sometimes would rush and trying to go fast just pulls the fiberglass.

All wetted out. 

Heading down to the Beaufort NC Boat Show this weekend. Looking forward to seeing all the boats and talking with other builders!