This past weekend, I had to get caught up on house chores, but did get to spend some time working on the boat. I had some odds and ends I needed to finish up first.
The fiberglass on the transom needed to have its final coat of epoxy, so I had to do some sanding first before applying it. At this point the topside is done with epoxy and fiberglass. I have a lot of sanding to do.
Rub Rails
This was my big project for the weekend. To start off, I needed to create a jig to cut the rub rails. I purchased the timber package, so the timber was mahogany. The plans call for 3 layers of rails. Each layer getting a little bit smaller with a small taper. I have decided to taper the layers with a belt sander once I get all the pieced installed on the boat. I have seen on numerous other blogs that this was the method they used.
The manual stated that the rails will be over 16 feet, so I had to do some scarfing. Each piece will be made out of 3 pieces. Two 8' and a 3' needing to be scarfed together.
The manual also states that you should use a 10:1 scope. I used a piece of plywood and another scrap piece to create a a jig on the table saw sled. I drilled holes through the table saw sled and used 2 1/4 inch nuts/bolts to attach. The 10:1 scope was measured out and a piece of scrap wood screwed to the plywood to make the scarf angle.
Below shows the 2 bolts to hold the plywood to the sled.
I only had one problem with this and had to re-adjust the small piece of scrap that created the angle. I first used the 10:1 measurement. Measure 10 inches down and 1 inch up. The only problem with this is the pieces of mahogany are only 3/4 inches. The result of this is a short scarf of about 5-6 inches. This may of worked, but I remeasured with a 10:"3/4" inch. This created a long scarf which will work fine. Once I got the scarf cut the way I wanted using scrap pieces, I cut everything.
Below are the 3 different size rub rail pieces all ready to be glued. 18 pieces to cut.
Close up of the scarf cut 10:"3/4" . Plenty of surface to epoxy together.
Now trying to find a place to glue 20 foot long pieces was a challenge in my garage. I finally decided to use my 8' plastic work table with saw horse on each end. This allowed me to glue things up and clamp.
Below is the first piece epoxied together. I think I used to many clamps! :-)
I clamped both horizontal and vertical. This way the slippery epoxy joint will stay where I want it.
I have two of the rails epoxied up and 1 of them cleaned up. I unclamped the second one tonight and will sand later this week as well as glue the 3rd 2 pieces. I will attempt to attach the first pieces this weekend. I think I am going to use the hot rags and have them soak. I need to figure how how to attach. I may need to get some help. Holding a 20 ft. piece of wood and trying to get is screwed in straight will be a challenge.
