DaveH6
Installing longitudinal bulkheads
The first bulkhead I installed was the one on the keel line. Its height had to be sufficient so its top edge would be in the same plane as a wood ledger strip to be installed at the hull bottom panel to topside seams. After the keel bulkhead was installed I planed it to the proper height and level in the fore and aft direction. This bulkhead became the controlling plane for all other bulkheads.
I installed the bulkheads in pairs using a filet and 10 oz fberglass tape on each side of a bulkhead. One bulkhead on the starboard side and its cousin on the port. Had I installed adjacent bulkheads at the same time, I would haved stomped on one of them before the epoxy had cured. I used a hot glue gun to attach a temporary wood strip between the top edge of an installed bulkhead and the new one to hold things in alignment until the epoxy set. Blocks of wood hot glued to the bottom panel wedged the bulkhead into proper vertical position. I left the bulkhead being installed a tad tall. After the epoxy cured I then used the level to mark the proper height and then planed the newly installed bulkhead.
Prior to installation, the bottom of each bulkhead had to be shaped to the curvature of the hull. This wasn't difficult as I didn't have to fuss much with the fit especially in the flat portions of the bottom panels.
After the bulkhead was held in proper position with temporary hot glued in supports, I tabbed the bulkhead bottom in place with thickened fast setting epoxy. After the tabs sufficiently hardened, I remove the hot glued in temporary wood blocks attached to the bottom panel and then wet out the bulkhead and hull attachment points with unthickened epoxy and let it soak in for a brief period of time. Next, I installed a filet using a fast hardener and let it harden sufficiently so it would hold it's shape. Finally, I wetted out the fiberglass tape with a squeegee on a plank covered with plastic wrap and install the tape. I find that this approach works best for me rather than putting the tape on dry and using a brush to wet it out. Especially on these bulkheads where I had to kneel to tape them, the faster I got the tape down the better for my knees and back.
On one side of a bulkhead I forgot to first wet out the raw wood. After the tape hardened, there were some dreaded opaque white spots depicting resin starved fiberglass. I chiseled these spots out, wetted out the area and put new tape down.
Some would say it is not neccessary to wet out the wood first and the dry spots were the result of bad practices on my part. I believe it is best to use too much epoxy (as long as the fiberglass doesn't float) on seams than have something fail from epoxy starvation. Also, the bilge area will receive three coats of epoxy for waterproofing so if I used too much epoxy on taping the longitudinal bulkheads, I was getting a head start on the waterproofing.
How does one clean up uncured epoxy off hands (yes I wear gloves...but) and tools. I use alcohol and white vinegar. Acetone works great but too much health risk. Be careful with the alcohol as a friend of mine was severely injured when an open one gallon can was unknowingly placed near a source of ignition. Some say to use alcohol to clean tools if they were previously cleaned with vinegar since some types of vinegar can attack cured epoxy. I have heard that 9% vinegar can soften cured epoxy and one day I will try an experiment to prove or dismiss this assertion. Some forum posters say to avoid using a solvent such as alcohol to clean hands as this smears the epoxy further into the skin and vinegar is preferred. I had a rash develop after cleaning hands with vinegar.
Edit 03/04/2016: A while back I had stained hands from a previous day's epoxy work. Based on experience, I assumed that after a couple of days the stains would be gone. I put on my latex gloves to prevent additional epoxy stains and in the heat of the day sweat was running out of my gloves. Completing my epoxy work, I removed the gloves and was amazed to find that my hands were stain free. I wonder if stain removal can be accomplished by sweating it out.
Installing longitudinal bulkheads
The first bulkhead I installed was the one on the keel line. Its height had to be sufficient so its top edge would be in the same plane as a wood ledger strip to be installed at the hull bottom panel to topside seams. After the keel bulkhead was installed I planed it to the proper height and level in the fore and aft direction. This bulkhead became the controlling plane for all other bulkheads.
I installed the bulkheads in pairs using a filet and 10 oz fberglass tape on each side of a bulkhead. One bulkhead on the starboard side and its cousin on the port. Had I installed adjacent bulkheads at the same time, I would haved stomped on one of them before the epoxy had cured. I used a hot glue gun to attach a temporary wood strip between the top edge of an installed bulkhead and the new one to hold things in alignment until the epoxy set. Blocks of wood hot glued to the bottom panel wedged the bulkhead into proper vertical position. I left the bulkhead being installed a tad tall. After the epoxy cured I then used the level to mark the proper height and then planed the newly installed bulkhead.
Prior to installation, the bottom of each bulkhead had to be shaped to the curvature of the hull. This wasn't difficult as I didn't have to fuss much with the fit especially in the flat portions of the bottom panels.
After the bulkhead was held in proper position with temporary hot glued in supports, I tabbed the bulkhead bottom in place with thickened fast setting epoxy. After the tabs sufficiently hardened, I remove the hot glued in temporary wood blocks attached to the bottom panel and then wet out the bulkhead and hull attachment points with unthickened epoxy and let it soak in for a brief period of time. Next, I installed a filet using a fast hardener and let it harden sufficiently so it would hold it's shape. Finally, I wetted out the fiberglass tape with a squeegee on a plank covered with plastic wrap and install the tape. I find that this approach works best for me rather than putting the tape on dry and using a brush to wet it out. Especially on these bulkheads where I had to kneel to tape them, the faster I got the tape down the better for my knees and back.
On one side of a bulkhead I forgot to first wet out the raw wood. After the tape hardened, there were some dreaded opaque white spots depicting resin starved fiberglass. I chiseled these spots out, wetted out the area and put new tape down.
Some would say it is not neccessary to wet out the wood first and the dry spots were the result of bad practices on my part. I believe it is best to use too much epoxy (as long as the fiberglass doesn't float) on seams than have something fail from epoxy starvation. Also, the bilge area will receive three coats of epoxy for waterproofing so if I used too much epoxy on taping the longitudinal bulkheads, I was getting a head start on the waterproofing.
How does one clean up uncured epoxy off hands (yes I wear gloves...but) and tools. I use alcohol and white vinegar. Acetone works great but too much health risk. Be careful with the alcohol as a friend of mine was severely injured when an open one gallon can was unknowingly placed near a source of ignition. Some say to use alcohol to clean tools if they were previously cleaned with vinegar since some types of vinegar can attack cured epoxy. I have heard that 9% vinegar can soften cured epoxy and one day I will try an experiment to prove or dismiss this assertion. Some forum posters say to avoid using a solvent such as alcohol to clean hands as this smears the epoxy further into the skin and vinegar is preferred. I had a rash develop after cleaning hands with vinegar.
Edit 03/04/2016: A while back I had stained hands from a previous day's epoxy work. Based on experience, I assumed that after a couple of days the stains would be gone. I put on my latex gloves to prevent additional epoxy stains and in the heat of the day sweat was running out of my gloves. Completing my epoxy work, I removed the gloves and was amazed to find that my hands were stain free. I wonder if stain removal can be accomplished by sweating it out.