Skagit 20 - Alaskan Bulkhead

[Skagit Hideaway]

Lying on my back sanding the bottom.....ugggh. Any tips for sanding the Air-O-Glide grooves? Form-fitting attachment?

[TheBronze]

Patience is the best tool.... I had to do the same thing on the 404 to remove all the nappy red paint. It sucked. And there weren't even any fancy chines or grooves like you have. Just take it a few square feet at a time and eventually you will be done.

[Bflaherty]

You could try making a block of wood that fits into the groove then secure sandpaper over it so that you can evenly sand all three faces in one motion but not sure that would be better than using power sanded on accessible faces...

John is absolutely correct! Patience is the most important. If you rush sanding then paint will never lay on smooth. Just do small sections that way you don't get discouraged.

[McSkagit Tim Jones]

Get one of those soft sanding blocks. They come in a variety of sizes. Get the 1" X 3/4" X 6" long. Run it over a belt sander until the profile matches the Air-O-Glide grooves. Wrap your sandpaper around it and go.......

[Helmar]

Get one of those soft sanding blocks. They come in a variety of sizes. Get the 1" X 3/4" X 6" long. Run it over a belt sander until the profile matches the Air-O-Glide grooves. Wrap your sandpaper around it and go.......

I did almost the same thing but went a little farther.
My shoulders are not young any longer so I want out and bought a cheap jutterbug type sander. Made up a block of wood to fit the groves, counter sunk and attached it to the sander base.
I put two strips of the sticky sand paper on it sideways and it fit the grove just fine.
I did a 16 foot hull with it and the sander still lives...

This is the stuff I used. Same stuff you use on a Air board and block sanders.
Sandpaperrollsm.jpg

[Skagit Hideaway]

Thanks guys. The anti-fouling paint has already been scraped off, so the white/red stuff sands off without too much trouble. I worked at the Edmonds Yacht Club (Madison Marine) out of high school, scraping/sanding/painting boats, so I know about the patience. Never ran accross any Skagits during that time though. I'm thinking similarly to Helmar on this one - fasten a form block to the sander.

[Skagit Hideaway]

I'm about 3/4 way finished with the first sanding of the hull bottom. As it turned out, hand sanding with 40 grit over a block of industrial felt has been the best way for me to sand the air-o-glide grooves. There are quite a few surface flaws in them that need patching up/sanding.....and some scrape/gash repairs that need redoing.......and, oh, you'll notice there is no bottom hull surface on the newly added transom extension, as yet. I plan to make a hull mold, the same way I molded the extension sides (see earlier posting), gluing thin plastic sheeting over select hull sections, laminating over that thick enough to be stable, pulling the sections off and fitting them together as needed.

Notice the sanding supervisor hard at work in the background.

[Helmar]

I'm about 3/4 way finished with the first sanding of the hull bottom. As it turned out, hand sanding with 40 grit over a block of industrial felt has been the best way for me to sand the air-o-glide grooves. There are quite a few surface flaws in them that need patching up/sanding.....and some scrape/gash repairs that need redoing.......and, oh, you'll notice there is no bottom hull surface on the newly added transom extension, as yet. I plan to make a hull mold, the same way I molded the extension sides (see earlier posting), gluing thin plastic sheeting over select hull sections, laminating over that thick enough to be stable, pulling the sections off and fitting them together as needed.

Notice the sanding supervisor hard at work in the background.

Yes, I see the boss

Your at the most hardest part of the job right now. Getting sanded down and prepped for paint.
Boy, she is sure going to look nice for sure !!!!
Great job by the way..

[Skagit Hideaway]

Anyone consider or have experience using the 8lb foam for coring the hull? Hard as wood. I see that numerous modern boat builders (incl. flat bottom) use it. I was thinking of putting it under the fuel tanks and foreward, where the pounding happens. The added weight would balance that of the roof. As Chuck once posted, he didn't mind the pounding so much after foaming his Skagit hull with the 4lb stuff. BM (below) stresses the importance of making the impact zone as solid/sturdy/heavy as possible.

Brad Mongeau - http://lovesthesea.com/category.asp?category=Skiff - has some interesting insights on hull design and using flat hulled boats offshore. If you plan to ever spend more than an afternoon in your boat (like try to sleep in it overnight) you need a flat hull to have any chance of getting any rest...he says. Makes sense.

....progress.....almost finished sanding.

[John Nelson]

My uniflite got cored at impact areas, submerged type. should have done a bigger area. I replaced bulkhead, floor and stringers with it too. I think a flat transom boat can go back together with all synthetic material= no more rot. I used 5 lb It was popular then.

[Skagit Hideaway]

This Skagit had impact damage, port side, in the area of the 3 mile head poop hole. Multiple cracks, 6 inches long, and the respective stringer broken in two. Must have hit a log or deadhead. I plan on increasing the foamed area in the cuddy cabin, perhaps angling the deck up the side of the hull, under the bunks/sink/cabinet.

[TheBronze]

Looking good!

I'm pretty happy with the 4 pound I used in the 404. It still pounds, but I don't think that any weight of foam will prevent that! Flat bottom boats are, well, flat bottom boats!

Have you considered using pour foam to fill your extension? Seems like that would be a great way to add some rigidity to the structure once you are done with the bottom.

I looked at the link you provided but it was just pictures without a lot of write up. Is there a particular sub page you can reference?

[Skagit Hideaway]

Sorry. Here's some text - ID: Brad - http://forum.woodenboat.com/archive/...p/t-11445.html

I plan to foam the extension. Once finished with sanding, I'm going to make a detailed plot of the hull/cabin for modeling/analysis purposes. It will be neat to see simulations of it's handling/ride characteristics in different seas, with various weight/power distributions, before making further commitments.

[TheBronze]

Interesting read. Thanks for the link.
I'd say that guy is nuts taking a skiff with a single engine 50-100 miles off shore. Quite the adventure though!

[Skagit Hideaway]

Aviation guys are super mechanics. Two strokes are like rubber bands to them. Just the same, I'd like a backup motor.