JEM Watercraft

General question: in building the 11' dinghy vee, I've started to get concerned about running out of epoxy. In one of the other topics, someone mentioned that a typical beginner fault is using too much epoxy, and making filets too big. I've ended up using a 3 inch 9 ounce fabric, instead of the 4 inch 6 ounc (this is what the store had) but was told it shouldn't make a difference. However, I've found that I have to use a good deal of epoxy to wet the cloth through. And then when it dries, it's very rough - and I have to put another thick coat of epoxy on it to get it smooth. I tried sanding it to make it smooth, but that ended up breaking up the cloth. So I'm now thinking of not putting cloth on the joints for the insides frame members. I've had these glued in place with waterproof wood glue, and then did each side with an epoxy filet. They seem very strong already - do I really need to add cloth tape here? Note that I did put cloth tape for the front frame that will hold the mast.

Morten will give you a definate answer on his design but I garuntee he'll see tape is needed inside and out.

Just to clarify I'm not talking about the hull joints, which I did tape inside and out. Just the joints for the braces inside the boat - whatever the boating term is for those.

Hello
I just posted a reply in NeilJ's post and can post it here.

Yes Matt is correct in saying always do what the designer specified for any boat. Sometimes we forget we are not really building a wooded boat, but a stitch N glue boat. The plywood is the core material and the epoxy / fiberglass is what gives the boat it's strength. When Mort or any designer makes a set of plans they calculate the stress on the hull and all of it's sections and how much of what type and weight of fabric needs to be used to meet the forces applied it that area.
If a seam calls for tape, always use tape. Using heavier tape or cloth is fine, but uses more resin. Using lighter tape or cloth anyplace puts yourself and your boat at risk.
In a stitch n glue boat the epoxy and fabric are not there just to seal the wood core but to hold the boat together and give it strength. In a wooden boat (plwood on frames) screws, nails and glue hold it together and gives the boat it's strength. The fabric / epoxy on a wooded plywood on frame wooden boat protects the wood only.

Even on seat frames it's important. There is a lot of twisting and bending forces on a boat hull. If only a fillet is used the is a greater chance to have that fillet crack and break if there is no cloth reinforcement used on that joint. I dorked up doing that ONCE. ON Mort's 10' Dingy I ran out of tape and didn't use it on the aft seat. Within a year and not using a engine on the boat the seam around the seat cracked. So since I didn't do it correctly the first time I got to do it correctly the second time! That meant more resin, more filler, more sanding..etc! lol

Thanks for the replies. I see your points about the twisting - so I'll tape the joints.