Author Archives: ewadmin

Supported in Style

Installing Shade Slats on a Carport

By John M. Davis

Above: The shade slats on John Davis’s carport create a light and airy architectural element that will last a very long time.

These pictures show a recent project in which I put WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy to good use. The shade slats shown were attached to their notched supports by ‘blind’ nails (8D hot-dipped galvanized finishing, with the heads clipped after being driven into the notches halfway) and WEST SYSTEM 105 Resin®/209 Extra Slow Hardener applied in a two-stage manner. Continue reading →

Building a Plywood Sharpie – Phase II

Designing & Building the Rudder and Motor Bracket

by Captain James R. Watson

Above: The plywood sharpie is the latest in a long line of boats that Captain James R. Watson has built over his lifetime. Here he is at age 12 with a plywood dinghy he built himself.

Building the rudder

The sharpie’s main reason for existence for over a hundred years is its fine operation in shallow water. However, the conventional sharpie rudder is notorious for causing squirrelly steering, often becoming totally ineffective when the craft heels more than 20°. Most sharpie sailors simply accept the handling aggravations of the conventional rudder in trade for its wonderful steering ability in the shallows. I decided to resolve the traditional faults in steering by installing a special rudder and steering system that has evolved and is used on some contemporary boats. This system will yield maximum control over a wide range of wind and sea conditions while retaining the sharpie’s shallow water virtues. Continue reading →

Epoxy Composite Tank Guidelines

by Patrick Ropp—GBI Technical Advisor

Epoxy composite tanks have been built for water, sewage, gray water, ballast, and diesel fuel since the early 1970’s. The regulatory environment has evolved within the few decades and has placed safety restrictions on various aspects of tank building, specifically potable water and gasoline. Continue reading →

Marine-Grade Plywood Basics

by Captain James R. Watson

Above: Marine-grade plywood basics include knowing how to select marine-grade plywood for flexibility vs. stiffness. This wing mast required plywood with some flexibility.

Since so many projects in Epoxyworks incorporate plywood, we felt it might be valuable to discuss briefly the types of marine-grade plywood and some construction methods best suited to it. It’s easy to understand why people like plywood and choose it for so many projects: it is readily available, comes in convenient sheets (typically 4’×8′), is pretty light for its stiffness and strength (1/8″ plywood weighs about 11 lb per 32 sq ft panel), and is a bargain when compared to the price of many composite panels. Continue reading →

Make Shop Tools Quickly with G/5

By Tom Pawlak — GBI Technical Advisor

Above: One example of how to make shop tools quickly with G/5: Create a positioning fixture by laminating several layers of fabric over the part to be machined. Use mold release, tape or plastic wrap to protect the part. Glue the drill bushing in position with G/5 Five-Minute Adhesive.

Gougeon Brothers’ G/5 Five Minute Adhesive can be used in an infinite number of ways to repair and build a great variety of projects. From filling stripped screw holes in drywall to repairing broken wooden furniture, its versatility is limited only by one’s imagination. I value G/5 in my workshop because its quick cure time lets me build quality jigs, fixtures, and molds that are available for use almost immediately. Continue reading →

Product Highlight: 804 Reusable Mixing Sticks

Reusable Mixing Sticks are practical mixing, application, filleting, and cleaning tools that have found many places in our workshop and toolboxes, and we believe they will be in yours, too. The squared, beveled end reaches into the square corners of the 805 and 806 Mixing Pots for thorough mixing of epoxy and blending of fillers. Continue reading →

Paul Butler’s New “Maxi-Mac”

by Paul Butler

Above: The Maxi-Mac is a 14′ river dory designed and built by Paul Butler.

This new river dory, the Maxi-Mac, is an enlarged version of the 90 lb Mini-Mac. It’s double the volume of the smaller boat but lightweight versions of the Maxi-Mac still weigh as little as 125 pounds. LIghter weigh provides capacity for additional payload and easy of handling for getting the boat on and off the water.
Continue reading →

Lake Erie Lady

Lake Erie Lady is the title of this public art installation sculpture by Erie, Pennsylvania artist Mary Pat Lynch. Lynch used WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy to apply layers of designer fabrics to the fiberglass fish. The project was sealed with epoxy and then coated with an anti-graffiti lacquer. Continue reading →

Readers’ Projects, Issue 18

Contender Class Single-Handed Racing Dinghy

This Contender class single-handed racing dinghy was built in Italy by Bonezzi in 1994. Joachim Rosler of New Canaan, Connecticut owns and races the dinghy. He finished the boat with WEST SYSTEM Epoxy and has built his own carbon fiber foils.

Continue reading →

Tenacious, a Look Back

A Wood and Epoxy 3-Masted Barque

by Kay Harley

Cover Photo: After four years of construction, TENACIOUS began sea trials in June of 2000.

Tenacious, the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s (JST) new wood/WEST SYSTEM Epoxy, 3-masted barque, underwent sea trials that began in June 2000. It offered a full schedule of tall ship voyages to Spain and the Canary Islands over the winter, with spring and summer trips to Brittany, Ireland, and Scotland. JST is a British charitable organization formed in 1978 with the aim of promoting the integration of able-bodied and physically disabled people through tall ship sailing. Tenacious now joins their other tall ship, Lord Nelson, which was built in 1986 and has carried over 6,500 disabled sailors, including 2,687 wheelchair users. Continue reading →