Progress Update (Time Spent To Date ~140 hrs): Last week was productive, I was frantic about getting the last large epoxy job done before the temperatures here in Houston picked up.
Galley Hatch received its first complete coat of epoxy. You can see the window and roof hatch scraps propped up in the back. I need to figure out something fun to do with them. Any ideas?
The door stiffeners were shaped (a lot of tapering was required much more than the manual seemed to show).
Gluing the stiffeners in was easy, I opted not to use the stitching method and instead I measured and marked their position. A little weight on the top (full paint can) and pressure from the back side with a clamp propped up kept the door in the correct shape/angle.
The turtle was flipped on its back. I used a Coping saw to cut away the overhanging fiberglass which was so much easier than trying to do it with a box knife.
The block plane made quick work of leveling out the shell to the bottom surface. I wish I had routered the round over on the butt-block before gluing it to the floor. The block plane and random orbital sander was used instead.
The window sills were glued to the doors after the stiffeners received their first coat of epoxy. I used all of my clamps for this…I may need more for the door sill install.
With the final shaping of the bottom complete I opted to pre-stain and dye it just in case I decide not to paint the bottom when i’m done.
After it was dyed I filled some gaps with thickened epoxy and applied the butt-block fillet.
