Devlin bluebill build thread.

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Paul W

Well-known member
Well I decided to start a fresh thread for starting the bluebill, it looks like the plywood will be showing up from edensaw on Monday. My epoxy, cloth, filler, tape etc is already here.

There will be pictures! Haha
 
Paul,

I'm 20 minutes across the river...if you need any help flipping the hull or glassing, etc, just shoot me a note...I like messing with duckboats...as with most of us here or our problem wouldn't be that obvious..

Cheers,
Ron
 
Paul,

I'm 20 minutes across the river...if you need any help flipping the hull or glassing, etc, just shoot me a note...I like messing with duckboats...as with most of us here or our problem wouldn't be that obvious..

Cheers,
Ron
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I will shoot you a PM - I need all the help I can get. Picking my plywood up on Monday, planning on getting started RIGHT AWAY! :D

(is this weather too cold to scarf with epoxy in an unheated garage? Medium cure 635 epoxy from us composites)

Planning on starting with a powerplaner to knock the steps off, and moving to a random orbit sander/handplane... I do own a cheaper belt sander as well. any tips that are helpful in this process would be much appreciated after the 650 bucks in ply has already been spent.
 
Paul, I also could be available for the same reason (addiction). I would love to lend a hand when I can, just give a PM and I'll try. Been a while since I've built. Also I can give al the free advice you want.
 
Paul,

Yes, IMO it's too cold. You can still start though. Figure out what you are going to build it ON and get everything ready and set up. Tools, epoxy mixing stuff, etc. Get as organized as you can before you start. I don't like to do epoxy until the garage temp is above 60 - it just takes way too long to kick over if it's cold.

Pete
 
I would wait to epoxy but you could cut the scarf. You could also start laying out the bulkheads, etc.
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I would actually go against these guys and say, cut and join the scarf. They are right that the cold will make the epoxy cure very slowly, but once you get the scarf cut and the wood joined, there is a lot to keep you busy and you can get the boat cut and stitched together and ready to fillet and by then it will be warmer. So, in general it is too cold for typical epoxy work, but just to join your scarfs, you can do all kinds of stuff to get that joint warm enough to cure properly since it is a small area (light bulbs, electric heater, etc...). Cold will drive you crazy doing general epoxy work, though.
 
I would wait to epoxy but you could cut the scarf. You could also start laying out the bulkheads, etc.
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I would actually go against these guys and say, cut and join the scarf. They are right that the cold will make the epoxy cure very slowly, but once you get the scarf cut and the wood joined, there is a lot to keep you busy and you can get the boat cut and stitched together and ready to fillet and by then it will be warmer. So, in general it is too cold for typical epoxy work, but just to join your scarfs, you can do all kinds of stuff to get that joint warm enough to cure properly since it is a small area (light bulbs, electric heater, etc...). Cold will drive you crazy doing general epoxy work, though.
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I was thinking electric space heater under the ply, and a blow dryer borrowed from my wife's side of the sink on top for a few hours while listening to the game.... ;)
 
I would wait to epoxy but you could cut the scarf. You could also start laying out the bulkheads, etc.
Click to expand...


I would actually go against these guys and say, cut and join the scarf. They are right that the cold will make the epoxy cure very slowly, but once you get the scarf cut and the wood joined, there is a lot to keep you busy and you can get the boat cut and stitched together and ready to fillet and by then it will be warmer. So, in general it is too cold for typical epoxy work, but just to join your scarfs, you can do all kinds of stuff to get that joint warm enough to cure properly since it is a small area (light bulbs, electric heater, etc...). Cold will drive you crazy doing general epoxy work, though.
Click to expand...

I was thinking electric space heater under the ply, and a blow dryer borrowed from my wife's side of the sink on top for a few hours while listening to the game.... ;)
Click to expand...


You don't need neat that much heat :). Most of us do our scarfs on the floor or table, but having a way to get some hear underneath would be great.

One warning is to make sure your epoxy is warm when you make your ketchup for the joint. Epoxy really thickens when cold and if you make a mixture the appropriate thickness with cold epoxy and you heat it up either in the cup or from an external source - it will thin and run out of the joint. Having your epoxy at a nice warm temp is a real benefit in cold temps, but also nice other times too.

Managing the temperature is something people don't appreciate until they have problems... You can get away not managing it (especially if it is warm), but you have better luck with it on your side. For a scarf in cold, have warm unthickened epoxy that will be nice and thin to coat the joint. I'd heat the raw wood in the scarfs to hot to the touch and coat with raw epoxy (then add ketchup to joint and join the scarf). The warm epoxy will make sure it is thin and will penetrate, the hot wood will make sure the epoxy doesn't cool and thicken AND as the wood cools the air inside will contract and draw the epoxy in the joint. This effect is significant and it is best to epoxy with steady warm or falling temps. Coating with epoxy on falling temps draws epoxy in and on rising temps pushes it out of the wood (so putting epoxy cold and heating isn't the best). In consistantly warm temps I don't worry about it, but coat a piece that is cold and warm it up with a heater or in the sun and you will be amazed at the number of bubbles that appear as the air inside the wood expands and escapes.
 
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You don't need neat that much heat :). Most of us do our scarfs on the floor or table, but having a way to get some hear underneath would be great.

One warning is to make sure your epoxy is warm when you make your ketchup for the joint. Epoxy really thickens when cold and if you make a mixture the appropriate thickness with cold epoxy and you heat it up either in the cup or from an external source - it will thin and run out of the joint. Having your epoxy at a nice warm temp is a real benefit in cold temps, but also nice other times too.

Managing the temperature is something people don't appreciate until they have problems... You can get away not managing it (especially if it is warm), but you have better luck with it on your side. For a scarf in cold, have warm unthickened epoxy that will be nice and thin to coat the joint. I'd heat the raw wood in the scarfs to hot to the touch and coat with raw epoxy (then add ketchup to joint and join the scarf). The warm epoxy will make sure it is thin and will penetrate, the hot wood will make sure the epoxy doesn't cool and thicken AND as the wood cools the air inside will contract and draw the epoxy in the joint. This effect is significant and it is best to epoxy with steady warm or falling temps. Coating with epoxy on falling temps draws epoxy in and on rising temps pushes it out of the wood (so putting epoxy cold and heating isn't the best). In consistantly warm temps I don't worry about it, but coat a piece that is cold and warm it up with a heater or in the sun and you will be amazed at the number of bubbles that appear as the air inside the wood expands and escapes.
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Tod is spot on here. You can warm your epoxy using a tub of hot water or setting it in the bathtub for an hour then using it on warmed wood. It will kick off a little faster, but not so fast to be an issue. Just get everything set up before hand.
 
I have a couple crockpots that are now my epoxy warmers. I put the jug of resin in the crockpot, backfill to the top with water and set on warm a few hours before I plan to work. Makes a huge difference. When really cold out the straw/pump is cold, but after a pump or 2, then the thinned/warmer resin gets through it is good.
 
We use West System for construction and repairs for our iceboats. When we construct or repair wood, we apply straight mixed epoxy and heat the wood and exopy to thin it out. Brush it in and heat again, apply another coat and clamp, lightly, let the glue make the joint. If you clamp the joint too much, you loose the strength.
This has worked for me, not a scientific fact, but has had good end results...
 
Hi Paul,

As a first-time builder (I'm building a Devlin Snow Goose) I'm excited for you. I have received tremendous amounts of sage advice from the members of this forum. Sam and the guys at Devlin Boat are also extremely helpful.

I've been building all winter (in fact I'll be headed out to the garage again shortly). My garage is uninsulated but I did install a small high wattage electric heater. It brings the temp up to around 65 even when it's in the teens outside. Granted, it isn't cheap to run... But to get the West System epoxy I've been using to run better, I keep the cans inside of a plywood box inside of which is a 60 watt light bulb - essentially easy-bake oven technology : )

The heat of just one bulb warms the epoxy and pumps and it flows like water. I just open the door of the box, dispense the epoxy base and hardener into a mixing cup and close the door. Works like a charm.

An added benefit of the heated box is hand-tool storage. The cycle of heating a garage space and then allowing it to re-cool creates condensation on metal tools. I was getting rust on my planes, spoke shave, etc. that stopped once I started storing them in the nice warm heat box. I think I may have a video of it. I'll dig up the link and post.

I really look forward to reading about and seeing your progress. I'm a fellow newbie. But if I may help in any way please let me know.

Good Luck and Regards,
Kris
 
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Hi again Paul,

Here's a link to a video that shows the heated box:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_bjePBo0u8&feature=share&list=UUOV5jX0qxUtjhFs2WY_t4UA&index=9

This is one of a series of videos I've made of my build. If you're real, real bored and want to learn from my mistakes feel free to take a gander:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFHxmb91J2h4Av3Fo1uNppfIuLmLn_S48

Best,
- K
 
Completed some scarf sanding today, as soon as a little warmer weather hits, those babies will be glued up and ready to go. In the mean time, I will be cutting bulkheads, etc. I'm sure tom has a few pics to go up, as he was my mental health supervisor today!
 
some pics of the scarfing extravaganza, thanks to Tom, who helped me through the first day of my build!

the meranti is HERE
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Starting the scarf cut (belt sander)
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finishing up
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well the scarfs are done, and put away until sunday when it's 60 degrees here. plenty to do until then.
 
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