Monthly Archives: August 2014

Plywood Boat Construction

Effects of fiber reinforcement — stiffness vs. weight

By Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor

One of the most widely chosen materials for boat building projects is plywood. It is easy to work with, it is relatively inexpensive, and many kits and plans are specifically designed for plywood construction. Often times a fiberglass skin is laminated over the outside of the hull, primarily to provide some abrasion resistance, but also to add a measure of stiffness, because we all know stiffer is faster! And herein lies the downside: Fiberglass and epoxy add weight to the boat. How does one resolve this contradiction of strength versus weight? Continue reading →

Hardware Bonding

By Tom Pawlak — GBI Technical Advisor

My first experience with hardware bonding occurred shortly after starting work at Gougeon Brothers in 1980. Having just been hired into the wind turbine blade plant, I was excited to be part of this interesting company. Continue reading →

fastener load path

More on Hardware Bonding

General considerations for epoxy bonded fasteners in wood

By Robert Monroe

With epoxy bonded fasteners, the idea is to balance the three parts, (fastener, epoxy and wood/hole) to obtain optimum performance. The key information needed is the tensile strength of the fastener, the shear strength of the epoxy and the withdrawal resistance of the wood or backing block. Continue reading →

Mistral gets rolled over

Rolling the 64′ Schooner MISTRAL

Courtesy of Legendary Yachts, Inc.

Washougal, Washington — George H. McEvoy, of Boothbay Harbor, Maine, watched with keen interest as Legendary Yachts, Inc. slowly rotated his Mistral to an upright position. She was designed by L. Francis Herrshoff in 1937 and is being faithfully recreated by our team of craftsmen for a fall 1999 delivery. Mistral measures 63′-6″ x 15′ x 6′-3″ and will carry a baldheaded gaff main and foresail rig of approximately 2,000 sq. ft. Continue reading →

Sandpaper Tricks for Random Orbital Sanders

By Tom Pawlak — GBI Technical Advisor

I recently ran out of sandpaper for my 5″ diameter random orbital sander, and needed only a few more sanding disks to finish the project. While my sander is equipped for the hook-and-loop style sanding disks, I had only PSA (pressure sensitive adhesive) style sanding disks. These did not stick well to the pad on the sander, and within a minute or two they would fly off, leaving me frustrated. I finished my project by gluing the PSA disks to worn out hook-and-loop disks with contact cement. This actually worked quite well. Continue reading →

TITANIC, the Model

by Richard Barrie

Epoxyworks #12, Fall 1998

Cover Photo: A familiar view of the TITANIC. A member of the film crew on the right gives the model scale.

Many models of the RMS TITANIC were built for the 1997 blockbuster movie. Two of them were built by Western Boatworks of Reseda, California using WEST SYSTEM® products exclusively. Continue reading →

A Laminated Boat Shelter

By Captain James R. Watson

Steve Taylor of Steve Taylor-Builder, Inc. contacted us before undertaking a rather interesting project. He was about to build a boat shelter on an island in the St. Lawrence River. The design called for a row of curved laminated wooden struts, or columns supporting curved laminated tapered beams that would cantilever over the boat. The 25′ tall, 60′ wide structure would support a weatherproof fabric that would shelter both the dock and the boat. Continue reading →

Johnathan Clowes’s Mobiles

Since 1983 the Walpole, New Hampshire sculptor Jonathan Clowes (Clowes Sculpture) has been creating mobiles that hang in institutions and residences across the country. He uses WEST SYSTEM® epoxy as an adhesive and a coating for the wood laminate that form these pieces. Clowes describes his technique:

“In general, the long sinuous parts are formed from stacks of veneers that are bent over a mold to make a rough blank from which the pieces are carved. The most consistently good method for making molds is to bend strap steel or aluminum to the desired shape and support it with sufficient wood scrap bracing to form a backbone. Usually the bracing is held with screws or fillets of epoxy paste. Continue reading →

The Yazaki Ark

By Grace Ombry

Eric Goetz (Goetz Composites) completed a 165′ structure they call The Ark. This striking wooden craft will never touch the water. Instead it will hang inside the headquarters of the America Yazaki Corporation in Canton, Michigan. The Japanese company is the largest supplier of automotive parts in the world. Continue reading →