10 dollars for some 5 minute epoxy to glue the sheets together once they were scarfed.

7 dollars for 2 8ft 2x2s that I screwed the plyto on the scarfs to hold them together and keep them tight while the glue set.

I used about 15 dollars worth of CPES penetrating epoxy on the top surface of the wood on the dodger to seal it. The two gallon kit was about 130 dollars or something like that.

The supplies from Raka were in the neighboorhood of 260 or so? enough 9 oz fiberglass to cover top and bottom and a 3 gallon epoxy kit. Also mixing cups, stirring sticks and plastic expoxy spreaders to squeegee the epoxy into the fiberglass.

so far that puts me at about about 360..

the new solar panels I just ordered will be 350 more for 350 watts of thin film panels that will be glued to the top of the dodger and then laminated over with glass and optically clear resin.  This will turn the top of the dodger into a solar panel. The resin and fiberglass for that will run about 150 dollars more for a new total of about 860 dollars for the top of the dodger. 🙂 I got a hell of a deal to get thin film panels for 1 dollar a watt. I actually ordered 500 watts of them. I am thinking about imbedding some into the foredeck when I redo the nonskid.

I'm sure it is more. I used 30 1/4 inch stainless bolts and nuts to secure the top to the frame for another 34 dollars. Misc sand paper, brushes, etc... I still have to paint it white after all else is done and still have to fiberglass in a raised lip all around with drains at the corners. Not to mention the wire, soldering wire, and buss bars to tie 9 25 watt thin film solar panels together and run the current to the charge controller under the pilot berth.

This dodger has become much more expensive than I initially thought it would. 🙁 Not that it is particuallarly expensive. It is actually a very good deal for what I am getting.) mostly because I sucked at estimating what it would cost to do what I wanted. I will have probably 3500 in everything by the time its done. Frame/top/solar/ etc... I still have to wire in some led lights both red and white, as well as sirius/xm antenna, usb gps antenna that runs to computer at chart table and other enhancements. mounts at forward end for redundant oil running lights and mount for brass ships bell if needed.

lol I also forgot we plan on running isinglass/bug screen all the way around it.

If you could post pics of your receipts showing all the supplies you used it would be great.

live and learn.

Here is a picture of the last corner of the bottom to be glassed and you can see the wind catching the cloth and flipping it up. 🙂 inspite of the not ideal conditions I think it came out great. I'm very happy with it, especially as it is the first fiberglassing project I have undertaken like this. I have done real small repairs before but no large scale construction projects.

the finished bottom. you can see the slightly wavy line down the length of the roof that is where the two pieces of cloth overlap. I did my best to keep a straight line there but on a single piece of fiberglass 9 feet long that proved much more difficult than I anticipated. I used a squeegee to work the epoxy into the cloth and it would pull at the fabric as I did so. The whole top so far, both top and bottom has consumed about 1.7 gallons of epoxy I think. I have a 3 gallon kit of 2:1 epoxy and have used a little more than half so far. Where the bottom is so glossy is where I went pack and used a paint brush to fill in the weave of the already applied cloth and epoxy. The initial application of epoxy to the cloth was just enough to wet it out and leave no dry spots while using no extra. It left the weave of the cloth visible on the surface. After it tacked up and wasn't going anywhere I went back and filled in the weave to give a smooth surface. I haven't done this on the top yet as I still need to epoxy in solar panel mount rails and a lip around the whole top. After that is all done I will go back and paint it all with a layer of epoxy to fill the weave and then paint it all white.

we waited about 4 hours for the resin to dry enough that it was no longer tacky and then flipped the roof right side up and put it back in position.

You will notice just behind the dodger a small bimini. This as last weeks project. We recycled the old dodger framework into a small bimini. I think it is going to work out very well. We made the fabric part out of a solution dyed polyester fabric called Top Notch.

The stuff hanging out between the front of the top and the framework is just some wax paper. Once we flipped it over we found out that there was a section just in the center that was still tacky and we wanted it to not stick to the framework.

The top at this point is starting to stiffen up significantly. I think that it will be strong enough to walk on for sure. If not I have some more glass and the rails for mounting the solar panels should make it much stronger also.

Don't mind the mess 🙂 I have tools everywhere, sanders, chisels, drills, extension cords, etc... Ah the joys of doing major projects on a boat. Did I mention that we have been living on the boat while all this has been going on. 🙂 at least it is an outside project and hasn't bled into the interior of the boat. Other than a few drips of epoxy it has been a very clean project with little waste.  I think I have wasted about a cup and a half of epoxy if you add up all the remanents of resin that have hardened in the mixing containers and maybe two square feet of cloth that has been the overhanging part we trimmed off.

Oh I found the secret to trimming the cloth is to take a sharp knife and just trim it off against the edge of the plywood once the resin gets hard but still a little pliable. don't let it get totally hard as it is almost impossible to trim off then unless you sand it down. So far I have totally avoided sanding epoxy or the fiberglass. 🙂 I know it can't continue but I have been really patient and meticulous trying to get it right the first time and not have to redo any of it.

I have to go get the solar panels tomorrow so that I can figure out where on the roof they will go so I can fabricate mounting rails out of wood and fiberglass.

Until next time 🙂

 We are planning on taking the old stainless dodger  frame and mounting it to the aft pulpit at teh sides so that it goes over the pilots seat. All we need then is to put a canvas cover on it and connect that to the aft end of the dodger 🙂 sorta pilothouse.

Scott

Now if you'd just lengthen it by about 4 feet you'd have an excellent pilot house project 😀

scott

All is well, Amatheia had a fun summer and fall last, sailing north from the Columbia River and cruising around the San Juan Islands and the Puget Sound. She is berthed in Olympia, right at the southernmost part of the Sound and just 2 hours north from Portland by car. I'm up there a lot and with spring coming on will do some exploring in that area.

And just as soon as I complained about the rain, presto, it stopped! We have a rare sunny weekend forecast and I took the opportunity to play hooky and take her out for a sail today, just gorgeous with Mt Rainier and the Olympic Mtns all white with snow and gleaming in the sun.

I'm glad that fatherhood is going well for you AND you get to work on the boat too!

Scott M.

Last  year this time we had average temps in the 20's and 30's during the day and now in january we have had just a few cold days. Most days it seems it gets into the 60's and 70's. Makes you worry about when the other shoe will drop.

I think that your part of the country is absolutely beautiful, but im not sure I would survive constant rain. I would love to visit for a while up on the northern coastline there though. I was looking at the cost of getting valkyr there the other day. Ouch.. the panama canal fee now for small boats is almost 2000 dollars.

So how is Amatheia coming along? I have been so busy with my daughter and life in general that I really haven't been keeping up with members websites and their boats. One day soon I plan on a whole day of scraping up new stories and getting a schedule of posts for the front page going again. I feel kinda bad that the site has been sitting static for so long.

Oh and I'm a bit jealous when I think about boats in places where it doesn't rain every day 🙂

Scott Maxwell

First I covered the base of the mounting pad with the butyl. I comes on a roll about 3/4 inches wide and just less than 1/8th inch thick. Then I used on of the mounting bolt/screws and punched out the butyl over the holes.

Then I took and rolled a small piece into a thin tube and wrapped it around the bolt just under the head. When inserted into the hole in the pad this will seal the screw head from water in the hole.

You get the idea here. 🙂

Then you take larger pieces of the butyl and create a cone shape on the base. These pieces will go into the countersunk portion of the holes through the deck. As you tighten it all down it will force this material into the threads of the bolt and form a sort of o-ring of butyl around the bolt to totally make it water proof.

You can see here after tightening it a bit that the excess butyl is oozing out. The secret is to tighten all the bolts, wait a bit, tighten a little more and then wait a day or two and tighten it a little more as needed. You also need to have someone keeping the bolt from turning as you tighten. If the bolt turns it can tear the seal of butyl material you have created and create a leak.

Another close up of a pad after the initial tightening. After I had all of them tightened up I went around with a knife and cut the butyl around them neatly and peeled up the excess. The next morning it had oozed more out around the edge of the pad. I will give it a few more days and then give another small tightening.  The butyl should stay flexible for in excess of 20 years. I can still work some of the original butyl on factory fittings in my hand and it will with a bit of heat from my hands become pliable again.

The hard dodger feels incredibly strong and solid with it all bolted in.