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  1. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Update . . . I laid out the core material and secured it (with resin) to the platform. Next step was to embed the 'J' Bolts in the platform. Here are a few pictures . . . Core material laid out. . . I have about 1/2 gallon of resin left, so not really enough to do anything meaningful. So...
  2. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Lamination Update . . . I had Friday off and also took a vacation day today (Monday) to make for a 4-day weekend :) An early start today, working on the lamination of the glass layers and core material. I figured if I could get the large flat area done up to enclosing the core, that would be a...
  3. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Thanks guys for the well wishes. The Admiral is learning to do things with one arm while the other heels. I got the platform de-bagged and did some grinding to clean things up. Here are a few pictures. . . Tomorrow, I plan on adding a layer of glass to the flat areas and laying-up the core pieces.
  4. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    I did a 'secondary infusion on the 'wings' this morning by adding resin under vacuum. Hopefully, they wetted out OK. :noidea: . It seems that I am short 1 gallon of resin . . . I thought that I bought 7 gallons, but maybe it was 6 :noidea: Anyway, I have a little under 2 gallons left...
  5. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Evening update. . . The Admiral's arm is not broken :) She'll be wearing a sling for a week or so, but at least no cast. I did the infusion . . . I had trouble getting a good vacuum, but managed to get it done Here are the first few moments . . . . . I had to coax the resin a bit with the...
  6. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Quick update . . . The stretcy bagging material did not work out so well. I think I may have been stretching it too much in some areas and not enough in others :rolleyes: It ended up puncturing. So . . . It's standard bagging material with pleats. I'll probably infuse later this evening...
  7. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Quick update. . . Today was all about 1 step forward, 2 steps back . . . :( :rolleyes: I got the runners laid out and then secured the bagging material over the mold. Unfortunately, I had a bag malfunction and was not able to pull much of a vacuum. I ended up pulling off the bagging...
  8. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    I realized something later in the day, yesterday . . . I need to put some flow media (green stuff) between the runner and the peel ply. Otherwise, the resin will be mostly trapped within the runner and not disperse well. . So maybe it is good that I had a break in the action :)
  9. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    I spent about 5 hours laying out the glass and the infusion materials today. I put the second coat of gelcoat on the platform mold today and let it cure for about 2 hours, then began the cloth layup. I didn't quite finish with the infusion materials, as I ran out of time. Here are some pictures...
  10. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Schedule update . . . It looks like I am not going to be able to do the platform infusion this weekend, as we have plans for Easter. So, that puts me a little bit behind my 'schedule', but I think I can make up some ground next week. Today, I'll get everything ready for the infusion so that...
  11. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Quick Update - Non-skid surface repair . . . A few areas of the non-skid surface of the hatches got beat up during the 'de-molding' process. Fortunately, I still have the original hatch plugs. So, to repair these areas, I am using the plugs to make an impression of the corresponding damaged...
  12. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Speaking of doing it right the second time . . . I pulled (more like pried) the hatches from their molds. The second one that I did came out better than the first. The first one (right side in picture) had some dry spots in the corners, so that will be some re-work. . . For some reason...
  13. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Gelcoat Update . . . Gelcoat is now applied to the platform mold. . . This was only 40 oz. of gelcoat, which I thought would not be enough, . . . but it went a long way. I still have plenty of gelcoat left to do another coat, and/or do the underside of the finished platform. I applied it...
  14. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    I ran the infusion test last night, doing 3 samples of laminate, peel ply, and flow media combinations as previously mentioned. Resin flow was from the lower part of the picture towards the top (samples were infused laying flat). . The best result was sample #2, which had 1 layer of CSM and 1...
  15. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Hopefully, I'm not getting ahead of myself . . . but out of perhaps boredom this morning, I made a rendering of what the swim platform will look like on my boat once it is all done and installed. Here is what I came up with . . . not sure the scaling is 100% accurate, but it is a free-hand...
  16. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    Ladder Hatches . . . Today was the day to make the ladder hatches. I got the glass set up in the molds . . . . . So as not to add insult to injury, I decided to hold off on gelcoating the swim platform until next time, which will be Wednesday evening.
  17. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    I also cut the vinyl trim boards which will go inside the perimeter to serve as a stiffener and a rubrail backing. .
  18. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    The PVA is on the platform mold. I'll probably apply the gelcoat tomorrow. . . I set the mold upright so that the PVA would not pool in the non-skid pattern.
  19. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    I got the gelcoat on the hatch molds. I'll be making the hatches tomorrow. . . Today will be finishing touches on the platform mold and then apply PVA 'release' coating. Tomorrow will be gelcoat on the platform mold. Wednesday of next week will be setting up for the platform ' infusion #1'...
  20. tpenfield

    Custom Fiberglass Extended Swim Platform

    I did some resin calculations for laminating the core. It looks like the core material will cover about 28 sq. ft. If I put down a thin (0.05") layer of resin to bond the core to the first set of laminations, then it will be about 1 gallon of resin. So, I can plan on 2.5 - 3 gallons for each...
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