Cover Photo: Even at this stage of construction, the 124′ Bruce King-designed sloop is impressive.
A Bruce King-designed 124′ sloop is taking shape* at Hodgdon Yachts, Inc. in East Boothbay, Maine. It is the largest boat ever built at Hodgdon and one of the largest wood/epoxy yachts ever built. Continue reading
In Epoxyworks Number 7 I wrote The Structural Repair of Wingspread about engineering and construction involved in the structural stabilization a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house in Racine, Wisconsin. At that time, the East Wing of the house was undergoing stabilization. Now, one year later*, work on the East Wing is complete and work is progressing on the Great Hall. The cast of characters remains the same for this phase of the project as it was for the East Wing. Robert Silman Associates, Inc. is the project engineer. Bentley & Son Construction Services is the general contractor and Palmer Johnson, Inc., a yacht builder, provides the laminating crew. Continue reading
Jon Staudacher, renowned boat and airplane builder, and his wife Kathy recently designed and installed a unique floor in their house in Bay City, Michigan. Their extensive collection of house pets were more than the existing carpet could take, so they decided a wooden floor would be more wear-resistant and easier to maintain. The resulting floor is easy to keep up, while maintaining the contemporary look of their house. Continue reading
By Meade Gougeon — GBI Founder
On January 18, 1997, Gougeon Brothers Inc. co-founder and CEO Meade Gougeon, 58, became the oldest person ever to win the North American DN Iceboat Championship. He explains how he managed this feat in what is essentially a young man’s sport, in this article excerpted from the DN Newsletter. —Ed.
I was still out on the ice watching the last two races of the Silver Fleet for the North American Championships when word got to me that I had won the series. To say the least, I was shocked. I figured at best that I might have made the top five, but the fact that I was in the hunt to win never crossed my mind, even up to the last two races where I managed second-place finishes. Continue reading
Most of us use epoxy in small batches, mixing several ounces at once. This gets the job done 95% of the time. But for some projects, such as large laminating jobs, you may need large batches of epoxy. Before you begin, you should understand what’s involved in mixing big batches of epoxy. Continue reading
By Meade Gougeon — GBI Founder
The 70′ sailboat RAGE holds the record for the fastest elapsed time for a monohull from the west coast to Hawaii. In 1994, she set the record of eight days, seven hours and thirteen minutes in the West Marine Pacific Cup from San Francisco to Kanoehe, Hawaii. RAGE took another seven hours off that record this past year. Continue reading
Futurist Daniel Burrus lists Fiber-Reinforced Composites (more commonly known as Fiber-Reinforced Plastic or FRP) as one of the top twenty core technologies that will shape the future. In company with FRC are genetic engineering, superconductors, thin-film deposition and so on. Among the top twenty core technologies, FRC is the only one you can use in your own little shop, for really important things like your boat or similar hobbies. Continue reading
When replacing planking, often you have to drill a new hole through the wood and “hit” the existing hole on the frame (so as not to riddle the frame with new holes). This tool will help you properly locate the new hole. You can either modify a set of barbecue tongs to make this tool, or fashion one from strips of aluminum. Drill a hole in the blades. Attach a pointed stud to the lower blade. Continue reading
Corners that require fiberglassing need to be rounded to allow the fiberglass cloth to conform to the corner. If the fabric you are working with won’t conform to a rounded corner, here’s a tip that may help. When draping fiberglass around a corner, orient it so the fibers are at a 45° angle to the corner. The fibers will conform much better than if oriented at 90°, because they are not bending nearly as much. Continue reading
Maine has always been a great place for boat lovers and boat builders. The two converge every year at the Maine Boat Builders Show in Portland. Despite Maine’s late winter snows, large crowds attend the show. Here are some of the boats exhibited at one show—coincidentally, their builders used WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy. Continue reading