Glen-L Hot Rod

1. Took Friday off to feather the overlaps and sand the hull with 40 grit sandpaper. Straight-line and orbital air files saved a lot of time on this job. We splurged on a DeWalt commercial duty 6" variable speed orbital sander for feathering the overlaps. The hull was rinsed with water, scuffed with a 3M scotch pad and allowed to dry overnight. Three rounds of epoxy spaced about two hours apart were applied on Saturday.

2. Filling and fairing is next !

Over the long weekend, we laminated three strips of fiberglass cloth on the chine and transom edges and ground them to a crisp profile.

1. A strut pad was laminated from 3 layers of 1-1/2 ounce fiberglass mat. The idea is to build up the pad and grind it level so the strut can be bolted to a solid base.

2. A 4-foot level was laid on the pad and leveled with two hardwood strips laid on the hull. Duck tape was used to hold the strips in place.

3. A 4-foot long sanding board was used to level the pad.

4. Detail shot.

1. The shaft tube was epoxied and trimmed. Click here to review how the strut and tube were fitted when the keel was installed.

2. View from inside the hull. The plan is to fiberglass the keel before installing the shaft log.

3–4. Strut and shaft installed.

5. Viewed from the top.

1. An extra layer of cloth was applied to the keel and the bow area. If the keel is nicked or abraded, the extra lamination will take the abuse instead of the underlying layer.

2–3. Since this is a 'wear' layer, sanding will be restricted to feathering the sides.

4–5. A test batch of white pigmented epoxy was mixed and applied. It would take quite a bit of pigment or several coats of epoxy to produce a truly opaque finish.