Total Boat epoxy

[VTer]

Anybody using total boat epoxy for glueing up riser blocks. I saw Shane from Great Plains glue up a riser with it.

[Kirkll]

Nope... Never heard of it...

EA 40  here...  But i use The MT-13 smooth on for two pc hardware installation.

[Burnsie]

Not risers specifically, but I've used it to glue handles to self bows, limb tip overlays, and many other applications where you might use glue or some other brand of epoxy. I have also found it really good for filling larger voids in wood. I will use some plumbers putty or Play-dough to create a small form/dam around the area being filled, and then over fill it,  and then grind/sand it flush.
What I like about it, is that it is designed to tolerate some flex (that's why it was created mostly for the boat industry.)

[Richard Korte]

Richard Korte here. In building many wooden boats and a lot of bows, I have a LOT of experience using epoxy. I made the switch from Smooth-On to epoxy for glueing up all of my bow risers, mainly due to the fact that you do not have to place the riser block into a heat box to cure. I also use epoxy to glue on grip accents and bow tips. I use MAS epoxy because it has served me very well in boat building and has never failed me in any of my projects. I always build my risers with an I-beam and add West Systems' 404 High Density filler to the epoxy to create a super-tough bond. I also have used Total Boat epoxy in many woodworking projects and it has served me well also. Look at the videos available on-line and follow the directions!! After shaping and sanding my risers, I always apply 4-5 coats of epoxy, with no additives, to totally seal the wood. Apply a coat, wait until it sets to masking tape stickiness, and apply another coat. After a day or two, I sand the epoxy, without cutting through to the wood, to 400-600 grit paper, then 0000 steel wool. Then spray on your preferred finish. A perfect finish every time with all pores and imperfections completely sealed. Works for me. Richard

[Kirkll]

Hey Richard, I’m curious what type of boats you worked on? That was a very cool time in my life working at Christensen Motor Yacht with all those craftsmen. We used a lot of different West Systems epoxy for different applications. Some of that stuff was pretty hot, and had a very short pot life. We also used a lot of Urac 185 for laminating teak in various radius configurations.

I can remember a couple spiral stair case railings we clamped up that looked like a cork screw. one of them we laid up using that hot epoxy and it was a Chinese fire drill with 4 guys scrambling to get it down into the stairwell and clamped in place before it kicked off….

The second railing we used Urac and it was much easier to do…. But …. The epoxy laminated rail had less spring back, and held its shape better.


Going back to EA 40….., I think why I recommend it so highly to others is that it is very user friendly. Your mix ratios are not real critical,  it has a reasonable pot life even in warm weather, and does not need to be cooked at all….

 I have used it for footed risers for 15 years now, and never put it in a hot box.  In winter time I do put them in my spray booth I keep at 65 degrees to cure over night. But you need not cook them at all….. but… you can lay up the riser without heat, and still put it in a hot box while laying up the limbs with no problem.

Now I do prefer using heat strips for laying up limbs. Primary for efficiency. Once in the form under pressure. That epoxy is cured in 30 minutes at 160 degrees, and can be pulled from the form after the temp drops to 90 degrees. This allows me to lay up a set of limbs in one day, or several sets if I want. but I always let them cure overnight before stringing them up and flexing them.

Kirk

[Richard Korte]

I started with Cedar strip canoes, then a couple of Barnegat Bay sneak boxes, a 16' Sam Devlin Candlefish, an 8' pram for pond fishing, a 17' Glen-L Scrambler

-my current fishing boat, a 14' McKenzie River drift boat made with Cedar strips and decorated in the Thomas Molesworth Cowboy & Indian style

[Richard Korte]

Sorry folks...I'm still computer illiterate!

[Bryan Adolphe]

Richard thats a sweet drift boat you have …. Looks awesome, I could see myself casting a fly out of that  Beautiful !

[VTer]

So you guys that have used it, which total boat epoxy did you use for bow making? I understand they have many different products. Did you mail order it?

[Burnsie]

This is the stuff I used.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DZH7V9C/?coliid=I1ROZCV64TBVAT&colid=14MQVAX2YKO6&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

[S.newman]

awesome boats Richard wouldn't mind seeing a picture of the canoes you've built as well as some bows...
I have a 14 ft ceiling in my shop and have always wanted to build a canoe to use and hang in the shop when I'm not using it
would come in handy vs the small kayak I use to get deep in the swamps when Chasen the elusive whitetail buck in the fall 

[Kirkll]

Excellent Richard! Nice work.

These are the big boats I worked on.

https://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-32915/royal-oak.htm

https://www.google.com/search?q=Tiger+Woods+christensen+motor+yacht&rlz=1C9BKJA_enUS764US764&oq=Tiger+Woods+christensen+motor+yacht&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCTY3OTY4ajBqNKgCArACAQ&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=9OPCgV1UPe9X2M&imgdii=qU-AwTDMDxYXVM

https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/the-superyacht-directory/ocean-pearl--69617