Tabbing in the New Cabin Settee Tops

September 2, 2019

Picking up today where I had left things yesterday, I got straight to work by water-washing the tabbing I applied to the primary bulkheads - a second, 6"-wide 1708 biaxial layer.  I also water-washed the sealing coat I applied to the repairs underneath the waterline.  I dried things as much as possible and then let the Florida heat due the balance of the work.  Sanding was on the docket today.  I wanted to take off the blunt transition edges from primary bulkheads tabbing work, as well as prep the surfaces for eventual paint.  In addition to sanding the primary bulkheads, I also sanded the thickened epoxy I used to fill the settee tops' void between their outboard edge and the hull.  Sanding was required here to create a rough surface, or "tooth", for the tabbing to lock into.  

I used a 5" random orbital sander and 60-grit discs to accomplish the required surface prep for paint and subsequent epoxy work.  I was doing some hurricane prep work on the house prior to getting on the boat today, and wore shorts and a short sleeve to work in.  I made a mistake by getting straight into the boat work without changing - yes, the fiberglass itch is on!  Anyway, I cleaned up the interior by thoroughly vacuuming top to bottom and fore to aft; I followed the vacuuming by solvent-washing the surfaces to be work - tabbing the outboard edge of the new meranti settee tops to the hull of the boat.

With the interior prepped by sanding, and now clean, I taped a length of plastic sheeting to the shop floor and rolled out the port side length of 6" 1708 biaxial tabbing.  With epoxy resin, I wet out the fiberglass. 

The easiest way to handle a length of glass like the tabbing is to wet it out and roll it up.  

I carrier the tabbing over to the boat, along with the some resin and a chip brush to wet the surface of the settee top and hull where the tabbing would be placed.

Starting from the aft of the settee, I carefully placed the tabbing and unrolled it as I moved forward.  

Once the tabbing was in place, I came back and worked out any trapped air bubbles underneath the fiberglass.  

I repeated the process for the starboard side of the boat: wet out the fiberglass, rolled it up and carried it to the boat, placed it into position and unrolled it, and then worked out any trapped air.

Unfortunately I ran out peel ply (a textured fabric material that is placed on top of curing epoxy to draw the amine blush to the surface of the peel ply as well as eliminating the need for sanding before subsequent painting or epoxy resin work.  So, I will need to sand the tabbing prior to painting the cabin of the boat, to include the settee tops.

Total Time Today: 2.75 hrs