60s Sea Hawk

by Eddie Gregory
(Ireland)

Hi,

What a great site you have, a treasure to any budding boatbuilder, thanks.




I have just started building a 21-foot Sea Hawk cabin cruiser from plans freely available on the web.

So far I have built the 5 frames in oak and am just finishing off the transom.

Will not get excited until I see it laid out.

Check out my wee site at floatyourboat.info

The plans specify 3/8 ext ply but i'm using 3/8 marine ply and fibreglassing over.

How many layers do you think I should use?

I am also going to glass the bilge area inside.

I'm having trouble using soft brass screws.

Seeing I'm glassing her do you think I should use plated steel star-head screws instead?

Thanks again.

Eddie

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60s Sea Hawk

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Oct 29, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		Sea Hawk
by: Mike

I've just been checking your wee website, she is certainly coming on.

I can see why you are pleased with your weeks work.
Sep 12, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		Thanks
by: Eddie

Wow! Thanks Bill & Mike. I will take your advice on board and have found your tips useful already. Thanks Again.
Ed
Sep 11, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		Brass Screws
by: Bill

If you’re having trouble with the screws sticking and the heads wringing off try lubricating the threads.

Dip them in some old paint or varnish but don’t use anything greasy that will affect the epoxy.

Bill
Sep 10, 2009
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starstarstarstarstar 		60s Sea Hawk
by: Mike

Hi Eddie,

She looks like she will be a smart boat when she is finished.

And judging by your 'Wee Website' you are doing a great job so far.


I'm glad to see that you are using ?Marine? plywood.

Using anything less than marine grade ply is, in my opinion a false economy, especially when you weigh it against all the time and effort you are putting in to the building.

As for how many layers of fiberglass cloth to use I guess that all depends on the weight of cloth you intend to use, how much wear and tear she is going to be subject to and how much you are prepared to spend.

The cloth is used to mainly add abrasion and impact protection though it will also add strength.

As you are using marine grade ply a couple of layers will probably be fine, with perhaps an extra layer on the underwater sections.

But it might be worth adding some extra tape along the chines and other vulnerable joints such as the stem and around the transom.

Remember that it is the glass that provides the strength and abrasion resistance, so the greater proportion of glass to resin the better.

?6oz? fiberglass cloth is the one most commonly used, the plain weave with the twisted yarns tends to wet out easier especially when doing multiple layers and its less inclined to fray than the cheaper stuff.

Apply a seal coat to your bare wood before glassing.

And add subsequent layers of glass as soon as the lower layer has become tack free.

Wetting-out the layers of glass together will allow them to swell more with resin and allow excess resin to be spread to make the lightest lay up.

And keep an eye on the temperature and humidity when glassing.

You say that you are having trouble using soft brass screws.

Could that be because the pilot holes are not the correct size?

As you are glassing her, you could use stainless steel screws but not the plated type.

And I would avoid those ?star-head? screws, just in case you should need to remove them for any reason.

I'm looking forward to seeing how she progresses.

Mike

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