Learned im not invincible today

[Fingernip]

So I decided to glue in my new transom today with the help of my girlfriend mixing the batches of poly resin for me. I fumbled my way through wetting out the csm and getting the transom ready for bonding. Everything to that point was uneventful other than some drips on my jeans and some globs of cobwebs. When the time came to lift the 100lb transom into place i realized that with resin applyed i had no place to hold it, forcing me to struggle quite a bit more than in the test runs. As i got it nearly into position i suddenly felt like my stomach was on fire! I looked and saw my shirt coated in resin and as i stood up it would cling to me and cause a nasty chemical burn. I hustled to get the transom in place while squirming in pain trying to keep the shirt off my skin. In my haste I decided to use 2x2s and 2x4s outside the skin with long wood screws through the many holes left from accessories to pull the transom to the inner skin. I originally planned to sandwich it with angle iron and self tapping metal screws through predrilled holes. Still a bit sore and now with tight hardened skin all around my belly button, im still afraid to go back out and see the mess I made of things.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Learned im not invincible today

Sounds about right, same stuff happens here,
the bigger the batch of resin the more my plans go awry.

 

[Fingernip]

Re: Learned im not invincible today

LOL im glad im not the only one. I have had everything from battery acid to aircraft remover on my skin... yet nothing has made me move so fast. I guess around the belly button is a very sensitive area. It actually looks like it may come out well. I just hope the CSM didnt clump all up and leave huge voids back there. The original had massive voids near the bottom where it looked like the plywood hadnt been clamped tight enough. It held up since 85 so if its at least that good im happy.

 

[JAFO1]

Re: Learned im not invincible today

Not a good story for you, but a good story for everyone to learn from.

 

[dbkerley]

Re: Learned im not invincible today

Without pics it is difficult for me to imagine what you must have been doing exactly. In the interest of future searches or the chance that you may someday take on a similar project, may I suggest an a frame hoist and some cheap lifting lugs or handles bolted in the repair portion before attempting to place it.

I used tothink that using a dead man to hang wall cabinets was for old men until I had hernia surgery. Now, the rule is if I can't lift it one handed then some form of assistance is required.

I wouldn't know if I hadn't done similar things myself. One of my worse, was thinking I could move an empty sbc400 block from the bench to the stand by just picking it up and walking it over. Things get heavier the longer you hold them.

 

[Fingernip]

Re: Learned im not invincible today

Without pics it is difficult for me to imagine what you must have been doing exactly. In the interest of future searches or the chance that you may someday take on a similar project, may I suggest an a frame hoist and some cheap lifting lugs or handles bolted in the repair portion before attempting to place it.

I used tothink that using a dead man to hang wall cabinets was for old men until I had hernia surgery. Now, the rule is if I can't lift it one handed then some form of assistance is required.

I wouldn't know if I hadn't done similar things myself. One of my worse, was thinking I could move an empty sbc400 block from the bench to the stand by just picking it up and walking it over. Things get heavier the longer you hold them.

Yeah ill definetly do it differently next time. I have a 2 ton gantry being built right now for lifting the boat on and off the trailer. Unfortunately i decided to do it all with the cap on so it would be a struggle no matter what. A crane would have still made it a bit better though.

 

[redfury]

Re: Learned im not invincible today

Sometimes you can plan the work, and not be able to work the plan because the plan was flawed. Unfortunately, the presence of resin was the factor not put into the equation....a good lesson for others to learn and consider when making their transom placement plans.

The size of the transom in this case is what really created the difficulty...

I'd like to know though, what did you actually transfer the resin off of and onto your stomach? ( another good reason to think about proper protection when working with glass and resin ).

 

[Fingernip]

Re: Learned im not invincible today

Sometimes you can plan the work, and not be able to work the plan because the plan was flawed. Unfortunately, the presence of resin was the factor not put into the equation....a good lesson for others to learn and consider when making their transom placement plans.

The size of the transom in this case is what really created the difficulty...

I'd like to know though, what did you actually transfer the resin off of and onto your stomach? ( another good reason to think about proper protection when working with glass and resin ).

I had to lean over the wood to get a grip on the bottom end to manuver it into position. I was careful not to let my body come to close but i hadnt noticed that my once tucked shirt had become untucked while crouching. Also i had become snagged on something while climbing around in the boat and my jeans were tore pretty bad... likely assisting my shirt comming loose. I will definetly be wearing my blue tyvek chemical suit next time... even if it means i fill the bootys with sweat.

 

[badkins50]

Re: Learned im not invincible today

Glad you are ok and you can laugh about it now. You know there are other ways to get picture perfect abs though. To early? Sorry. Good luck getting that boat done.