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The “bitter end” on Virgin Gorda was our original destination in the summer of 1980. My father was captain, and the crew consisted of me, my mother, and my sister, along with 3 family friends.
We arrived a few days before Hurricane Allen. Over the next two days, I remember seeing the harbor fill up with boats also seeking shelter to ride out the approaching storm. Arriving when we did, we had our choice of moorings and we were able to secure a good location in the harbor.
I learned from my father to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. So even with the mooring, my father decided to also use the anchor as an added precaution. Jacque Cousteau’s son happened to be in the area and my dad took our dingy over to see if they would rent him some scuba gear so he could set the anchor. They kindly let my dad borrow two tanks. He and the other father on board dove to inspect the anchor and be sure it was set properly. We spent a beautiful day securing our vessel.
That evening, the wind started picking up and rain started pounding. I don’t think my father slept a wink all night as he peered out between the hatchboards in the companionway, watching the weather and keeping an eye on the other boats in case any came free from their anchors.
It was definitely a different culture being in the islands - a little more laidback about hurricanes than the news tends to be these days. We tried to get updates on the storm by radio. Over the crackling static, we were surprised to hear the broadcast of an island beauty pageant took priority over the hurricane. Although every now and then, they’d release the new coordinates to track.
I remember lying in my bunk that night, hearing the hard rain beating on the deck and the whistling wind clanging the halyards, as the mooring and anchor held our boat against the storm...
I took Dan Newland’s approach and wired the bow together. To do this, I clamped the two pieces together and used a couple of extra sticks to support the bow. Using my Dremel and the drill bit that came with the kit, I put three holes about 1/4” in from the bow and secured the two side hull pieces together with wire.
This photo shows the three holes and the wire I picked up from the craft store.
The wire trick seems pretty good for keeping it together and making it easier to work with.
I taped around the edges of the deck since it needs to be in place (but not permanently glued) when gluing the hull.
Before using any epoxy, I did a test fit of the bottom and deck and inadvertently broke some of the balsa wood cleats. (Next time I may opt for the harder wood.)
Since I was working in August in Florida, I liked the idea of tacking the hull and bottom together first and then going back to do the epoxy fillet process. Never having worked with epoxy, I wanted to buy as much time as possible.
Will’s instructions and videos have great details about mixing and working with epoxy.
I put just a little epoxy on the edges and at the cleats. This is the point where I called in my kids to help (and take the photos) since I needed an extra pair of hands.
The epoxy got quite messy quite quickly (good thing I’m planning on painting) and I shimmied the bottom hull in place after a couple failed attempts.
My daughter taped as I held it together in place. (The tape was very unforgiving when it stuck to my latex gloves.)
I had forgotten about the transom and that gave me a little trouble since I wasn’t prepared to put that in place, but I was able to put it into place.
I noticed the sides were bit proud, but I will just sand those down when I come to finishing it. After taping everything, I set 3 brick pavers on it for weight to let it sit overnight.
The next morning, the hull had its shape and the deck dry-fit in like a glove. The hull seemed pretty sturdy and easy to handle.
As suspected, the transom wasn’t a perfect fit, but close enough that I think a little epoxy and sanding could fix.
The bow could have been a bit tighter, so I twisted to the wire together more, and it was easy to bring the pieces together.
Time to epoxy fillets along the hull!
But first, I removed as much as I could of the of the balsa wood cleats. This was very easy with an x-acto blade.
Following the instructions, I began the epoxy process with the clear coat first and then the fillets. After mixing the clear coat, I brushed it on along the inside joints, careful to stay away from where the deck would rest.
The next step of preparing the thickened epoxy is where I learned from my first epoxy “oops.” I was concerned about getting it to the right consistency, so spent a little too much time tweaking it by adding silica. As soon as I began the fillets, the epoxy solidified in the mixing container. I was surprised how one minute it was workable, and the next it was rock-solid with my brush stuck in it!
I proceeded to try again, mixing a smaller batch in another container. This time it worked a lot better, and I was able to get the fillets in. I’m not sure if the clear coat had set up before I was able apply the thickened epoxy, I suspect it may have since I had to mix that second batch. Although I think it would have been stronger if the two epoxy coats set up together, I believe this will still have a very good bond.
I found that craft sticks (i.e. popsicle stick, tongue depressor) worked great for the fillets. I broke a smaller piece that I could slide along the bottom inside the hull to help scrape off the extra epoxy. Next time, I think I’ll prepare a second craft stick with a smaller radius to get in the bow and transom.
Here is a close-up photoa of the fillets inside the hull.
Here is a close-up photo of t the bow. I was careful not to go to high so the epoxy wouldn't get to the deck.
You can see where the wire is pulling the two side close together.
With the deck taped back in place, I flipped it over, added the brick pavers as weights, and left it to set up.
All-in-all not bad for my first time working with epoxy. It's exciting to see the boat take shape!
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