Parallax says:

I liked mountain biking but found that arthritis in my wrists and
elbows (aggravated by years of caving) made it difficult to hold the
handlebars through more than 15 minutes of rough trails. 48 yrs isnt
really not THAT old.

Yeah, the wrists can be a pain (pun intended). And 48 definitely ISN'T that
old, I'm 49 and still manage to ride a fair amount.

Unfortunately, the old Golden Retriever had to be "put down"

Condolences.

Fortunately, my
wife had been released from the hospital so we sorta managed to have
her hobble into the vets office to say goodbye.

Dang! If I had known you had so much going on I would never have tried to wax
funny about the mountain-biking thing.

FINALLY, am at the point of sealing the inside and
painting the inside.

There you go! Grats.

Steve

ospam (Stephen Baker) wrote in message ...
Parallax says:

I liked mountain biking but found that arthritis in my wrists and
elbows (aggravated by years of caving) made it difficult to hold the
handlebars through more than 15 minutes of rough trails. 48 yrs isnt
really not THAT old.

Yeah, the wrists can be a pain (pun intended). And 48 definitely ISN'T that
old, I'm 49 and still manage to ride a fair amount.

Unfortunately, the old Golden Retriever had to be "put down"

Condolences.

Fortunately, my
wife had been released from the hospital so we sorta managed to have
her hobble into the vets office to say goodbye.

Dang! If I had known you had so much going on I would never have tried to wax
funny about the mountain-biking thing.

FINALLY, am at the point of sealing the inside and
painting the inside.

There you go! Grats.

Steve

Finally ready to put the decks on #2. Had to do some last minute
changes to the inside first. Added a center support to the rear deck
running from transom to aft bulkhead. Added an extra thickness to
stringers at bow and stern to allow bigger grab handles to be used.
Also remembered that failure to properly countersink some screws on
the hull caused substantial delays in the finishing of #1 so I spent
several hours removing most screws countersinking more and replacing
to make sure they were really below the surface on #2.

Parallax says:

snip

Also remembered that failure to properly countersink some screws on
the hull caused substantial delays in the finishing of #1 so I spent
several hours removing most screws countersinking more and replacing
to make sure they were really below the surface on #2.

ahhhhhh..... my favourite problem (as in the one I do most often) I don't
feel alone any more ;-)
I do find, however, that it is only really a problem in hardwoods, since I
usually underdrill the holes at the same time, making it inevitable that the
head shears off when I try to back it out to increase the 'sink.

Steve "now you know why I design 'em, not build 'em..."

ospam (Stephen Baker) wrote in message ...
Parallax says:

snip

Also remembered that failure to properly countersink some screws on
the hull caused substantial delays in the finishing of #1 so I spent
several hours removing most screws countersinking more and replacing
to make sure they were really below the surface on #2.

ahhhhhh..... my favourite problem (as in the one I do most often) I don't
feel alone any more ;-)
I do find, however, that it is only really a problem in hardwoods, since I
usually underdrill the holes at the same time, making it inevitable that the
head shears off when I try to back it out to increase the 'sink.

Steve "now you know why I design 'em, not build 'em..."

More progress on #2. Got rear deck glued and screwed on. Forward
deck was screwed on for fitting purposes. I found that wet ply (it
has been raining every day) bends FAR easier than dry. I dont seem to
have enough floatation peanuts and milk jugs and soft drink containers
to fill the bow. Hmmmm...
More progress on trailer but the dimensions given on the internet for
the Northern Tool site are wrong. It is NOT 4' wide but is only about
3.5' wide, serious modification needed but I got an idea.

(Parallax) wrote in message . com...
ospam (Stephen Baker) wrote in message ...
Parallax says:

snip

Also remembered that failure to properly countersink some screws on
the hull caused substantial delays in the finishing of #1 so I spent
several hours removing most screws countersinking more and replacing
to make sure they were really below the surface on #2.

ahhhhhh..... my favourite problem (as in the one I do most often) I don't
feel alone any more ;-)
I do find, however, that it is only really a problem in hardwoods, since I
usually underdrill the holes at the same time, making it inevitable that the
head shears off when I try to back it out to increase the 'sink.

Steve "now you know why I design 'em, not build 'em..."

More progress on #2. Got rear deck glued and screwed on. Forward
deck was screwed on for fitting purposes. I found that wet ply (it
has been raining every day) bends FAR easier than dry. I dont seem to
have enough floatation peanuts and milk jugs and soft drink containers
to fill the bow. Hmmmm...
More progress on trailer but the dimensions given on the internet for
the Northern Tool site are wrong. It is NOT 4' wide but is only about
3.5' wide, serious modification needed but I got an idea.


Finally got the forward deck glued on #2.


By now, I have used several of the West System epoxy thickeners and
here is my opinion.

The expensive colloidal silica works well, spreads well but is too
expensive.
The brown higher density thickener works very well, spreads well and
is far less expensive than the colloidal silica.
The micro-fibers do NOT spread well and leave a layer that is fairly
rough. They are almost as cheap as the brown filler but I do not like
them.