NE Dory “Tack-welds” + Stitching question

 

Hello all, first time builder here.  I'm sure this has been asked before, but I can't find the right search terms to get what I needed, so here I am...

We've wired up our NED and have done the "tack-welds", but I'm worried we left too much space between the welds and the copper wires, (we left space in order to avoid trouble pulling the stitches out).  Maybe I need to go back through and get the welds closer, or should I just take the wires out and fill the whole gap in in-between the laps?


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RE: NE Dory “Tack-welds” + Stitching question

   https://imgur.com/a/wSLyKmF

RE: NE Dory “Tack-welds” + Stitching question

That's plenty of epoxy in the seams, cut the wires! It'll be fine. 

George K

RE: NE Dory “Tack-welds” + Stitching question

   Ditto, plenty of epoxy, cut and pull the wires. 

Just FYI, I did my NE Dory (first build) just like in your picture and per the manual, but on subsequent boats I've now shifted to using cy...(I can't spell it, so I'll type it as... ) superglue for most tack-welding.  Saves a little time by hardening almost instantly, and also makes filets / seam fills easier to do, as your fileting tool doesn't tend to create any lumpiness when you draw it over the various thinknesses of each tack weld or non-welded area.

And if you haven't already figured it out, a rubber glove and alcohol are highly recommended for smoothing the seam filet when the epoxy plasticity is "just right."  ("Just right" is time and temperature and filet size dependent, but the time window for good work will usually last 15-45 minutes, and occur 15 minutes to several hours after you put in the filet.) With just a bit of experience you'll get super-smooth, good-looking, (almost) no sanding required filets.

When you go to fill the seams with the continuous bead of epoxy, watch for places that any small gaps between planks might allow any drip-through on to the inside of the hull. Very much easier to crawl under there and wipe up than to get rid drips after they harden. 

Also, while not a step in the manual, I was very happy with the result of doing this: After completing the seams on the exterior, with the boat right side up, I ran a bead of cellofill thickened (but still pretty runny) epoxy along the top edge of each of the interior seams, with just enough epoxy to not only fill the groove but to actually cover the top edge of the plank.  A mini-version of what is done on the exterior. These small seams don't take nearly as much epoxy as the outer-hull seams. I used syringes, but a small-tipped turkey baster might also work.  I enlisted the assistance of my wife to fill one while I emptied the other.  I can't remember if I did one side all at once, or rolled the boat so that each seam (or maybe two seams at a time) had the "perfect" fill angle to create a nice filet, and let that firm up before doing others - and of course the angle is different amidships than near either end, so just get a good average angle.  Then when one side is complete, roll the boat towards its other side to do the opposite side seams.  This created a very strong, smooth, almost no sanding required "top edge" on each interior plank.  In the end made for a very nice interior finish.

My NE Dory is now 4 years old and going strong, and I've enjoyed almost every minute of use.  Maybe not that itme when it was 100 degrees and the wind decided to quit with me a couple of miles form home - but at least it is also a pleasure to row, when not 100 degrees out. :)

 

RE: NE Dory “Tack-welds” + Stitching question

   Previous post by Bubblehead, once again spent too much time typing and doing other things and got logged out.

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