“Tack Welds” on MC 16.5

I'm a first time builder with fiberglass experience and am about to start stitching my Mill Creek 16.5 together. I've heard about tacking the boat together then removing the copper stitching. Should the tacks be between the stitches? How long should they be? 


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RE: “Tack Welds” on MC 16.5

Here's what I did on my WD12 (click to enlarge):

Tack bonds were just smears between the wires, pressed hard so they would get squeezed into the cracks.

This is what it looked like with the wires out before the fillets. It was solid enough to pick up.

Laszlo

 

RE: “Tack Welds” on MC 16.5

   Great photos Lazslo! Pretty much sums up what I had in mind. Per one of your other posts I will also coat all of the end grain in the joints with unthickend epoxy. The ideas and suggestions in this forum really help fill in some of the gaps in the manual. Wish CLC would incorporate these techniques in their instructions.

 

RE: “Tack Welds” on MC 16.5

   I just realized I misspelled your name in the previous post, I'm sorry, I hadn't finished my coffee before I realized it. 

SB

RE: “Tack Welds” on MC 16.5

   

'' Should the tacks be between the stitches? "

If it is over the stitches they will be difficult to remove. A lot of this is plain thinking. You'll do ok.

RE: “Tack Welds” on MC 16.5

Is that tacking done with thickened epoxy as one would use in gluing up the seams with the wires still in?  Maybe CA glue?

.....Michael

RE: “Tack Welds” on MC 16.5

   I'm now a big fan of using CA glue for tack "welds," after having done a couple of boats with epoxy welds and then one with CA.  So long as gaps aren't big, the CA tacks work wonders.  It is a very fast process, holds well enough except in areas of very great stress, no mess, no mixing, and doesn't interfere with making nice smooth filets. Also a bit easier to "undo" by cutting through or breaking a tack if necessary - I've only ever needed to undo just a couple, and that was to look for more "perfection" in alignment that was probably already good enough.  Bottom line is that you can tack in minutes what otherwise might have taken an hour or more (mixing, etc. included).

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