- This topic has 13 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 1 month ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Cameron is to the stitching phase of the construction. What was discovered is that the copper stitching wire is to soft in some applications and breaks easily. If you need to pull a warped panel around for proper fit and alignment or to pin parts to eliminate movement ; .032 Stainless safety wire works great.
That is a good point about the copper stitches. We had trouble with breakage too, and wound up drilling more holes and putting in more stitches in the “high-tension” areas. Your solution is more elegant and less sloppy!
If I had to do it again, I would use a heavier-gauge copper wire in those areas, maybe #14 or #16. I’d stay with copper because it should sand smooth easier than steel, which is probably the reason that these kits are supplied with copper wire.
The manual build leaves all stitches in. Apply fillets and glass cloth. When cured and boat is flipped, cut off as much of remaining stitch and sand smooth. I opted Lee’s build notes and only used copper in keel under front webbing where stitches can’t be removed until boat is flipped. The rest I tack welded between stitches. Once cured I removed then laid fillets and glass cloth. No stainless to sand and less metal/copper in boat. Cameron Walker
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.