Mill Creek hybrid cooper wires

Just starting a Mill Creek hybrid.  Any reason not to tack expoxy between the cooper wires, remove them and then complete the filets and fiberglass rather than entombing the wires as described?  Thanks to all for your thoughts.   Kendall Jones


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RE: Mill Creek hybrid cooper wires

No, from what I've read here (my first CLC kit's supposed to ship with the new year) that's a valid technique. Epoxy works well as does cyanoacrylic glue, which may offer advantages in easy of application as well as less chance of build-up.

RE: Mill Creek hybrid cooper wires

   I'm at that stage now. For the ends I am leaving the wires in since it will be mostly out of sight, but between the bulkheads I tacked the panels with CA adhesive. It seems to be working well and should look a lot better.

RE: Mill Creek hybrid cooper wires

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VXyN6Y3TkA

This video by Nick Schade includes him using CA adhesive to tack together a hull. The CA glue I used was a special order from Home Depot (Instabond) that was cheaper than the Satellite City stuff that Nick uses in this video. It worked ok for me but did not come out of the bottle as easily as it does in the video.

RE: Mill Creek hybrid cooper wires

   In the manual for the latest generation S&G kayaks (Petrel/Petrel Play) Nich Schade calls for the boat to be tack welded together with CA glue and wires removed prior to fillets.  CA glue would be much better choice than epoxy because it sets instantly when hit with a spritz of accelerant.  There are really two advantages to this approach.  First, you can get the wood joints very flush by using your fingers to accurately hold the wood joint flush while adding a couple of dots of glue (followed by a spritz of accelerant).  Secondly, the filets can be much smaller/lighter because you do not have to cover the wire.   Below is a picture of the underside of the PP deck with wires removed.  If youlook closely, you can see the dots of CA spaced about every inch or so.

RE: Mill Creek hybrid cooper wires

I heated up the copper wires one at a time with a 100watt soldering iron and pulled them out once the fillets were done. The holes left behind are filled in when you glass the hull.   

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