Re: Why would the fillets

Posted by Ken Leffert on Feb 5, 2005

Not talking from personal experience here (obviously ..... I've only built one boat, and that without wires for the most part) but the reason that I say that leaving the wires in promotes large fillets is that you have to use a filleting tool that will press the epoxy mix down into the seam smoothly, a filleting tool that doesn't do a "speed bump" thing each time it crosses a wire location. Not just talking about the design of the filleting tool, the angle at which the tool is used has just as much effect on the outcome as the design of the tool, but in any case, it seems to me atleast, you have to be able to make a dry run with your fillet tool remaining in contact with wood on both sides of the joint and not coming into contact with any wires.

If you weren't going to lay glass tape (or glass of any kind, for that matter) over the fillet, you could tolerate some thickness of fillet material at the edge of the fillet, but any thickness at the edge will cause headaches when you lay glass over it, hence, the fillet needs to taper off to virtually no thickness at the edge. The only way that I know to do that with the wires left in place is to have a fillet large enough to span substantially more than just the distance between the holes.

In Response to: Why would the fillets by Charlie Jones on Feb 4, 2005

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