DaveH6
Bottom panel Xynole fairing
Bottom panel on the left has second coat of fairing compound applied. The other bottom panel shows a sanded first coat. I used a 7" disk sander with 60 grit to sand the first coat. I spent about 90 minutes applying the compound on each bottom panel and about two hours sanding each one. When I kneel the back of my legs start to cramp so I spent much time sitting while sanding the bottom with the 7" disk until the brain kicked in and I discovered that I could reach most of a bottom panel while standing on a step ladder. All things considered, the sanding wasn't as dreadful as I feared.
When pondering the question... do I install the keel before or after the fairing process, the decision seemed to be a coin toss. Subsequently, I found that when moving around on the bottom as I sanded the fairing compound the dust made the footing a tad slippery especially when approaching the bow area. With the keel installed before fairing begun I had something to grab onto when I started slipping. So my recommendation is to install the keel before fairing. I also don't like to bond important structures to a surface covered by fairing compound.
I found that the best way to apply fairing compound on the bottom panels is to draw the squeegee from the keel to the chine. I experimented with using a 10" wide drywall trowel which speeded the application up and worked OK. But, I prefer the squeegee as I had better control with it and lower ridges at the squeegee edges.
I added no silica to the second coat of compound and only had some minor sagging issues near the stem. The second coat of compound was applied thin and I hope that after sanding this second coat, only some touch up here and there will be required. With the careful effort I put into fairing the plywood hull before the Xynole lamination, I blissfully continue to believe that all I need to do is cover the weave of the Xynole cloth.
After each batch of thinkened epoxy was used up, I cleaned the squeegee in alcohol and tried to keep all involved items clean as a small morsel of grit or unmixed faring compound would leave its mark. After too much contamination in applying a second coat on one of the bottom panels, I became much more careful in mixing the fairing compound to eliminate small lumps and keeping my tools clean.
Bottom panel Xynole fairing
Bottom panel on the left has second coat of fairing compound applied. The other bottom panel shows a sanded first coat. I used a 7" disk sander with 60 grit to sand the first coat. I spent about 90 minutes applying the compound on each bottom panel and about two hours sanding each one. When I kneel the back of my legs start to cramp so I spent much time sitting while sanding the bottom with the 7" disk until the brain kicked in and I discovered that I could reach most of a bottom panel while standing on a step ladder. All things considered, the sanding wasn't as dreadful as I feared.
When pondering the question... do I install the keel before or after the fairing process, the decision seemed to be a coin toss. Subsequently, I found that when moving around on the bottom as I sanded the fairing compound the dust made the footing a tad slippery especially when approaching the bow area. With the keel installed before fairing begun I had something to grab onto when I started slipping. So my recommendation is to install the keel before fairing. I also don't like to bond important structures to a surface covered by fairing compound.
I found that the best way to apply fairing compound on the bottom panels is to draw the squeegee from the keel to the chine. I experimented with using a 10" wide drywall trowel which speeded the application up and worked OK. But, I prefer the squeegee as I had better control with it and lower ridges at the squeegee edges.
I added no silica to the second coat of compound and only had some minor sagging issues near the stem. The second coat of compound was applied thin and I hope that after sanding this second coat, only some touch up here and there will be required. With the careful effort I put into fairing the plywood hull before the Xynole lamination, I blissfully continue to believe that all I need to do is cover the weave of the Xynole cloth.
After each batch of thinkened epoxy was used up, I cleaned the squeegee in alcohol and tried to keep all involved items clean as a small morsel of grit or unmixed faring compound would leave its mark. After too much contamination in applying a second coat on one of the bottom panels, I became much more careful in mixing the fairing compound to eliminate small lumps and keeping my tools clean.