- Yesterday, AYC WNR cancelled again.
- Yesterday, received the molds for the forward winch pedestals from Charles Pleisse.
- Yesterday, purchased WestSystem 209 extra slow hardener
, Evercoat PVA mold release
, and a corner laminating roller for fiberglass work. Practical Sailor's top rated mold release was not available at Fawcett's.
- Applied a heavy coat of Evercoat PVA Mold Release to the molds. 8 fluid ounces should cover 20 square feet. Used ~1.75 fluid ounces for the two molds which have a surface area of ~2.7 square feet. About 60% heavier than listed on the bottle. (24" around, 6" tall, top surface bounding triangle 15" by 7".)
- Cut fiberglass, both 6oz and 1708
26oz pieces to fabricate the pedestals. Should produce a lay up 0.116" thick, each piece of 6oz providing 0.010" and each piece of 1708 providing 0.048".
- Put into the port mold two layers of 6oz cloth. There are two pieces in each layer, one piece for the top of the pedestal and the flat facing the coaming, and one piece for the vertical sides of the pedestal. Cut darts into the vertical pieces to allow them to fold and lay flat on the outward flange, and other places as needed.
- Added two layers of 1708 26oz cloth. Again, two pieces in each layer. In each case, the pieces overlap somewhat. Would have preferred a single piece for each layer, but the shape of the forms is too complex to allow a for a single piece.
- Added a final layer of 6oz cloth to the port pedestal mold.
- Repeated the above for the starboard pedestal, skipping the last layer of 6oz cloth as the inside was already smoother an better formed than the port side had been. Plus, ran out of 105 resin and had to use the bit that remained from doing the bilge sump to make enough mix to be able to lay up the last layer of 1708.
- The glass resists conforming to the outward flange, at the base of the pedestal, part of the mold. Found that an epoxy rich mix will hold the shape better than a lean mix, but still the glass pulls away from the mold. Cut a yardstick to create a couple pieces to lay over the glass that forms the flange. Covered the pieces with plastic wrap, laid them in place, and placed weights on top to force the glass to remain in the desired position.
- The 209 was a very good choice. Needed the extra working time to position, smooth, and saturate the layers of glass.
- Did not track the amount of resin used. 1708 sucks up a lot of resin. Mixed five pump strokes of resin and hardener at a time. Per the WestSystem User Manual & Product Guide that's 0.9 fluid ounces per stroke or 4.5oz per batch. Each square foot of 6oz cloth takes 1.6 fluid ounces and 3.6 fluid ounces for the 1708 to wet-out and apply two "fill coats". Could require 4.7 ounces per square foot (ref). A total of 5.2 fluid ounces per square foot. Estimating that the pedestals required 18 to 23 ounces of used ... four or five batches.
- Next morning, took less than an hour to break the part free from the molds. Removing the wood that partial closes the mold to provide for the top mounting flange and a bit of turn-in on the vertical surfaces fore and aft, followed by driving a spatula between the part and the mold, caused the piece to gradually break free from the mold. Might be very good that the lay-up was not thicker and the extra slow hardener, as the pieces are still a little flexible.
Molded:
Freed from the Molds:
Trimmed:
Washed: