We motored over to the fuel dock at 8:00am this morning, and after getting the dinghy carcass onto the dock, socializing with other boaters, dry-fitting the transom, re-reading all the instructions, and spilling glue on the cockpit floor, we finally got the first coat of glue on at 10:20. Argh.....
The whole glue thing is very confusing yet exacting. Our pontoons are PVC, so we have to use the PVC glue on them, but it won't stick to wood or rubber so we have to "prime" those items first with the Hypalon glue. However, the two glues will stick to each other.
Add to all this the fact that you have to mix the glue at a 25:1 ratio, which is very hard to measure, and the curing agent bottle is SO tiny; it is just very difficult. About now I'm thinking buying a new dinghy mught have been a better option, but in for a penny, in for a pound, so on we go.
Above you see the transom brackets after priming with the Hypalon adhesive, and applying the PVC adhesive.
Below you see the pontoons after applying the PVC adhesive. Notice that we carefully masked the pontoons so we wouldn't get the adhesive everywhere. Also notice the skewers taped into place to keep the parts from touching before we got it aligned.
At that point I failed to take any more photos, but we basically slipped the transom assembly into place and pulled the skewers out when it was properly positioned. Then we pushed the surfaces firmly together and used a rope as a clamp to hold it tightly together.
At this point we were ready to set the dinghy aside for a while so the Captain pedaled to West Marine for more glue, and I did laundry. We will glue the bottom onto to the transom tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment