Scarfing post mortem

Ok.  I admit defeat on scarfing the panels.  After fairing and filling the first two panels on for the bottom, I have decided to just do the fiberglass scarf joints as outlined on the plans.  I did my Michalak skiff this way, and the seam is not noticeable to the uneducated eye.  I figure that if I need to sand and fair, I might as well make it easy.  Hope to get the foward panels on the bottom this weekend and build the sides as well.  the switch to standard stitch and glue should speed things up.

Also was slowed down by work, weather, and some damage to the transom on the Bolger 18 workskiff.  (nothing serious, just a hairline crack in the glass where it had not adhered well.  No water present!)

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Bottom panels complete

Here are the two bottom panels taped and cut to shape.  I feel as if I am in the groove now and can get the side panels out a little quicker now. 

 

I did experiment with a number of release films for the fiberglass epoxy tape joints.

1.  6 mm plastic - was hard to get flat and fair.  wrinkles developed easily

2.  packing tape - harder to apply, but left a relatively smooth controllable surface.

3.  wax paper - best looking joint, but waxy residue must be cleaned.  I was warned by a more experienced builder that the wax could separate out of the paper, leaving a ghastly mess to clean up.  I did experience a little of this in the top joint, when I tried to remove the paper prior to full cure.  

Bottom line - will stick with the 6 mm plastic.  a little extra filling and sanding is part of the project.   

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Post Apocalyptic Boat Skin

I periodically visit my friend and neighbor Tim Anderson at the Control Tower of the former Alameda Naval Air Station where he both lives and works.  Most recently, I delivered some sawdust to him for use in his composting toilet and as is usually the case, Tim offers me something in return, in this case, a vinyl banner.  I am not exactly sure where these large sheets of plastic are used, but they have the look of something that hangs up in an exhibition hall at a trade show.  Once the trade show is over, the banners get tossed or at least recycled and that is how Tim got them.  And then I got one.  
So far, this is all very boring, but wait, the plot thickens. 
One of the challenges of skin boat building is to use opportunistically gotten materials to build them.  Old wood or even new wood that does not come from a lumber yard is fairly easy to come by.  So is string.  The only thing I typically have to buy and cant easily get in a pre-used form is the skin.  So enter Tim Anderson with the vinyl banners.  I havent tried them yet as a skin boat cover but imagine that they will work, even if the are a little heavy. 
So this is the tie in with the post apocalyptic theme.  In a world where industrial manufacturing has collapsed
where does one get materials from?  If the manufacturing system has just collapsed, the most obvious way to get materials is to scavenge.  All the stuff that was manufactured will still be available, only not necessarily in stores.  One may have to re-purpose goods made for other applications.
And if you havent been following the blog for long and you are wondering where the post apocalyptic theme intersects with skin boat building, let me explain.  Skin boat building is a technology developed in a pre-industrial environment.  No manufactured goods were available.  All materials had to be scavenged.  In the current state of our society, skin boats can and typically are constructed out of materials that are the output of an industrial manufacturing stream.  But occasionally, I try to build boats that could conceivably be built in an environment where the industrial manufacturing stream has ceased to flow.

I havent tried the vinyl banners as a boat skin yet, but am currently using one to keep the UV off my skin boats.  I am also thinking of the vinyl as a potential yurt cover.  More on that later.

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Treasure Island Art Walk San Francisco Post Militaristic Minimalism

In the wake of Soviet collapse,the US closed a number of military bases including Treasure Island in SF bay.  The following pictures are mostly of graffiti eradication efforts at Treasure Island, that is the painting out of graffiti on the sides of buildings in assorted mismatched colors.  The net effect  tends to look like a rather ambitious minimalist public arts project. My opinion is that this graffiti eradication effort has created a more interesting body of work than the stuff that tends to get funded by official public arts projects.

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