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#1 14 May 2020 11:10 am

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

What better project than a boat build during lock down!  First build for me and very much looking forward to it!  Bit nervous of making mistakes but help on hand from Fyne.

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#2 14 May 2020 8:15 pm

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

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#3 14 May 2020 11:31 pm

spclark
Member
From: "Driftless" Wisconsin USA
Registered: 19 Mar 2020
Posts: 464

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

Yah, and a BUNCH of us over here across the pond enduring a variety of unusual circumstances affecting what had been our daily lives before this virus thing showed up.

Good luck! Feel free to post questions here that you may have. This forum is a vastly more practical place to air your concerns than the one CLC hosts in the US as it's so much easier to post image files here than there... and we all know how a picture can be worth 1,000 words, don't we?

Carry on!

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#4 15 May 2020 9:04 am

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

Thanks for reply.  Few lives unaffected by the virus and no end in sight.  Scary times. 

So far, not too many problems and good to know the forum can help.  Will post more pics later today as hull now complete and tacked.  You are so right, pics so much easier than words.

Keep well and best. J

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#5 15 May 2020 5:46 pm

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

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#6 15 May 2020 5:47 pm

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

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#7 25 May 2020 10:40 am

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

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#8 25 May 2020 10:45 am

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

I decided to firstly apply one epoxy coat to the cockpit and interior then 24 hours later, fully rub down then apply second coat with
a roller.  Also good to get some practise using fibreglass before starting on the hull! Sanded the hull by hand with 240 grit sandpaper and filled the copper wire holes with wood epoxy.

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#9 25 May 2020 10:49 am

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

Waiting for the boat name transfers to arrive before I fibreglass the hull...she is called Winifred!

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#10 30 May 2020 11:03 am

Curlew
Member
From: nr Skipton, N Yorks
Registered: 8 May 2020
Posts: 51

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

Great stuff. I wish I had masked around my fillet joints on mine and kept them a lot neater as a result. Yours look really tidy.

I am building a Shearwater 16 Hybrid. First coat of varnish to the deck today. I started just as we had lockdown.

When I glassed the hull my build manual suggested laying the three pieces of glass all at once. This comprised first layer whole hull, second trimmed to the chine and third a keel strip for the bow and stern last metre or so. I would guess yours has a similar set up?

I found this tricky. it is not easy to glass 3 layers at once and get it right especially as it is the first major glass job you do. Also the cut edges of the smaller panels tend to fray and pull out threads with the spreader/brush which are hard to sand later. You also get a more obvious edge to feather this way around anyway. Finally the keel strips are quite hard to keep in place as you coat them with epoxy and tend to slide about.

If I did it again I would either lay them down in the opposite sequence and avoid having the cut edges uppermost or better still I think I'd do it in either two or three stages, applying them within 24hrs so there is still a good chemical bond with the epoxy uncured. You do it this way for the deck underside where a second layer patch is added around the cockpit so i am not sure why the hull has to be done in one go.

One last tip. When you lay out the fibre over the hull I found leaving it overnight really helped it to sort of 'flow' into position and stretch around the contours etc. A large soft dry brush like a wallpaper brush is also good for smoothing i had no issue with wrinkles.

I am writing a post of tips/tricks I have learned like this and I hope it be something people can comment on and add to or edit as needed. Let me know if what I have suggested is useful!

Pic attached is before final sanding. I am not going to post a pic of my messy fillet joints!

boat.jpeg

Bruce

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#11 2 Jun 2020 10:34 am

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

Hi Bruce.  Thanks for the post and congratulations on a fab build...stunning.  Thanks also for the tips.  All gratefully received.  It took me quite a while to put on the first coat whilst mixing epoxy, trying to get a neat fix of fibreglass on the bow and stern and managing drips (I used two old sheets which are now stuck to the garage floor!).   I then waited an hour or so and applied another coat with a roller which sort of worked but has left the surface uneven (i.e. some smooth bits and nibs in various places.  I am going to leave it now, start work on the deck and then rub down and apply another coat when the deck etc is complete.   The wood duck manual is a bit thin on instructions for the number of epoxy coats to the hull -  it simply says the surface should be 'consistently wet looking without shiny, over saturated areas or dry areas'.  Not easy when you have never done it before!

I have also found the forms for the deck difficult to fit particularly at the bow/stern - ended up using blue tac and then a hot glue gun.  Pics below - think its right...

Best. James

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#12 2 Jun 2020 11:01 am

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

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#13 2 Jun 2020 6:36 pm

Curlew
Member
From: nr Skipton, N Yorks
Registered: 8 May 2020
Posts: 51

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

I think it is impossible to get totally smooth glass/epoxy so don't panic. On the outer visible surfaces you just need to do skim coats until all the weave is filled. Too much=weight. Sanding makes it all sound for varnishing and in my experience however scrappy you think the epoxy looks it does all eventually sand back to a nice even grey haze.

Varnishing makes it all worthwhile!

Bruce

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#14 9 Jun 2020 5:52 pm

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

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#15 9 Jun 2020 5:57 pm

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

Rather slow progress.  Trying to work out the design and how to cut a scarf joint!  Made a simple saw guide which seems to have worked OK.  Decided to follow the shearwater hybrid pattern by beaker - your photos have been a great help!  Thanks.

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#16 11 Jun 2020 12:22 pm

Curlew
Member
From: nr Skipton, N Yorks
Registered: 8 May 2020
Posts: 51

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

Does your design not have a sheerclamp? It looks rather different to how I started my strip deck with the outermost strip laid (and the only one I pinned) to the sheerclamp with some overhang.

Bruce

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#17 15 Jun 2020 12:00 pm

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

Hi Bruce.  No, the kit does not come with a sheerclamp.  The manual says you tack the strips to the forms and glue a small piece of wood to the bow to hold the first strip. In my opinion, this does not work!  A tack is not sufficient to hold the outer strips in place with all the bend and twist particularly at the bow and stern.  I had to re-glue the form nearest the bow as the pressure was so great it kept breaking away when clamped.  I ended up making my own clamps on each form as trying to build the deck without pins/staples.  Finding it challenging but no doubt predictable for a first build!  Best. J

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#18 15 Jun 2020 12:07 pm

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

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#19 16 Jun 2020 10:26 am

Curlew
Member
From: nr Skipton, N Yorks
Registered: 8 May 2020
Posts: 51

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

That does seem tough but the second picture looks great. The tension should lessen as you proceed making it easy to get things done without pins hopefully.

What is the darker wood?

Bruce

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#20 18 Jun 2020 3:30 pm

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

Thanks Bruce.  Yes, tension much less.  I assume the darker wood is also cedar - I received a good mixture from Fyne.  Not sure what the protocol is gluing strips but I'm doing 4 together making sure they are all clamped to the forms and tight with one another?  Certainly saves time! Best. J

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#21 18 Jun 2020 3:31 pm

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

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#22 23 Jun 2020 3:52 pm

Curlew
Member
From: nr Skipton, N Yorks
Registered: 8 May 2020
Posts: 51

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

The cedar looks to have a nice grain and variation. It all looks great in the picture. I ordered two mahogany rubrails for my boat but when they came I realised they were the same thickness as the deck strips so they have ended up providing a nice mahogany centre line feature rather than rubbing strips.

When you get slightly miserable or tired wipe the surface with a clean damp cloth. Gives you a taster of how it is going to look later. It is also useful to do it when you are fairing the deck as any PVA or other smudges show better-as do any small defects that are hard to spot when you have planed and sanded.

Launching my boat tomorrow on Coniston Water.

Hope you are enjoying your build. I note your MGB GT. I sold my 1972 Stag to make room for the kayak project.

Bruce

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#23 26 Jun 2020 6:46 pm

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

Hi Bruce....well done finishing your boat...enjoy the launch and would be great to see a pic sometime.  Finding the deck quite challenging particularly around the cockpit.  Slow progress and lots of hours in the garage (with spotify and radio 4!)

Its actually a University Motors MGC GT (with an original Downton stage 2 conversion)...had it 35 years!  Will post another pic shortly.  Thanks for the advice and best. J

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#24 29 Jun 2020 6:32 pm

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

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#25 29 Jun 2020 6:37 pm

Jmac58
Member
Registered: 7 May 2020
Posts: 77

Re: Wood Duck 12 Hybrid Build Diary

Have found the strips alongside the canopy quite difficult to fit.  Also, the gap on both sides are not the same...not sure if this is normal but I am going to need an extra half strip on one side? Must have got the centre line slightly wrong.  Anyway, probably wont notice when all said and done!

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