Hello,

I am not to this point yet but am also working on a Chesse 16.  I read about how regular epoxy heats up too much to do end pours and did see that first hand when I mixed too much in a small container.  Did you use the slow drying epoxy as I believe they recommend or did use get away with just using the regular expoxy?  I don't think you had to have to epoxy rounded off on the ends because the deck will be very stiff in that area, but I could be mistaken, this is my first one.  Let me know and good luck!

Leave it as is until the boat is done, then turn it upside down with one end propped on a stepladder and pour in a couple of ounces of slightly thickened epoxy. I used West G-Flex, which is pre-thickened and designed to stick to everything, for my end pours. You can see photos of this technique at www.twofootartist.com
-Wes

SJS,

Don't worry about those flat end pours... the plywood at each end (last 12 inches or so) is basically flat anyway.  The deck curve disappears about 18 inches from each end.  This will become blindingly obvious as you nail towards the front and back (I was amazed at how well that curve mellows and then simply vanishes).

When you glue the deck on you'll find the epoxy is thick enough to fill any remaining voids on top of your end pours... if it's not that thick it isn't thick enough!  Just use a spatula and spread/fill whatever voids are there (mine were only about 1/4" deep and hence took very little epoxy).

Using wood pieces in the end pours was a good idea!  Saves epoxy AND weight.

Good luck,

Larry

Thanks for all of the comments/suggestions.  One thing - the sheer clamps are 1/4" above the sides of the boat and go to within about 4-5" of the bow point.  How do I make that transition?  Do I need to?  Is nailing in the sheer clamps 4-5" away enought to keep the point down?

Wes - you've got a great blog/website - I'm strongly considering your method to finish the top of my end pour.

Kiz - For the end pours, I used both fast and slow WEST hardener and resin that I had left over from another project.  Both got hot, but it was manageable.  I did feel the need to stay in the shop until they had cooled off.

SJS

As you plane the shear clamps down the edge of the clamp will meet the plywood (especially at the cockpit area; I planed down into the sides by almost 1/4" to get the desired angle)... so as you plane towards the ends just turn the angle inword, thus eliminating all the solid wood rising above the plywood. 

As to holding the ends down, the natural upswing of the tips/ends produces enough downward pressure on the top that the last nails (4-5 inches from the end) give enough pressure to hold the last inches down firm against the hull/end pours.  That was my experience.

I had the same heat issue when I poured mine (mixed with a quart of microballoons), it got so hot you didn't want your hand touching the wood for more than a second.  An earlier incident happened when I mixed 1 1/2 cups of resin and couldn't finish the last 1/2 cup... it got so hot the bristles of my brush turned black and started smoking!  Even still, I never worried about a fire issue with the plywood... everything cooled down in an hour or so.

Post pics as you go (or at least take them - comes in handy for your next build!).

Larry

I have completed 1/2 my end pour and left some room at the shear to allow a second pour once the deck is complete.  I wanted to have a little more control over where the epoxy went on my pour, especially in the front.  I had no problem grinding off the epoxy, a dremel tool works great for some of the hard to reach drips.