Newbie Q... Wood Duck Double

Builder's Forum
1

Disclaimer: very first boat kit and only marginal woodworking experience to date...

Hesitating at the very first blessed step.  Geez.

Joining the panels with puzzle joints seemed straight forward per the manual; fit the pieces together, make sure there is plastic under the joint area, brush on epoxy w/silica, place fiberglass tape on top of the joint, and epoxy the tape to saturation.  No clamping of the joint required beyond securing the panels so they don't move.

However, some searching online suggests all sorts of approaches including using blue tape under the joint, stacking weights onto the wetted fiberglass over the joints (with a piece of waxpaper in-between), putting fiberglass on both sides of the joint, and even clicking your heels and whispering something over and over.

What's the scoop?

Can I take the manual literally and keep this simple, or is the manual just a suggestion (like traffic lights in Italy)?

Thanks!

2

The scoop is that a lot of builders are rugged individualists who know better than anyone else; or a lot of builders like to express creativity that is suppressed at work in their builds. Either way, the manual is a starting point for innovation.

A bit more seriously, the manual is a compilation of techniques that work for the average person. It keeps getting refined based on builder feedback. CLC's goal is to have builders of any skill level succeed on the first try without having to call for help. You won't go wrong following the manual.

Laszlo

PS - if you don't like the way Italians drive, stay off the sidewalks

 

 

3

Thanks for the quick reply.  First step completed without using the sidewalks.  Sure hope it all works!