Arctic Tern Build

May 16, 2017

Epoxy Scarf Joints on Garboard Planks

After cleaning off my work surfaces I aligned both sets of Garboard Planks for applying epoxy to the scarf joints.  I used nails to keep the boards aligned and square to each other.  On the bottom board I nailed its position to the table so that it would not move.  I aligned the scarf on the boards and then I put a nail through the board and then cut the head of the nail off. I then pulled the board up and turned it over for epoxy. 

 

 

 

Once epoxy was applied, I turned the board over and used the nail to reposition the board so that the scarf joints mated precisely with each other.  Placed some plastic over the joints and clamped down with some wood strips and screws.  I let everything cure and dry for a couple of days prior to taking off the clamps.

 

 

I am not particularly satisfied with how the scarf joint turned out.  The top was not too bad as there was just a bit of squeeze out of the epoxy and it appears that I can sand that smooth.  But the bottom left a glob of epoxy, which of course is rock solid.  I plan to sand on that as well.  I would like to have both sides smooth and level so that I don’t have to do additional filling/sanding once in place on the boat.

 

 

Any suggestions on the issue of excess epoxy and how to minimize it while still insuring that there is enough epoxy there to make a good solid joint?  I am thinking that I have to get better at my scarf joints.  I found that when performing the scarf, I would scarf beyond the 3” length which seems to leave a low spot on the boards once adhered together.  Any suggestions would certainly be appreciated.

Next step will be to cut out the Garboard Planks.