Filling Seams in Carval construction

Filling plank seams with MAS FLAG epoxy with workshop mix

I have been asked for some advice re the applying of MAS epoxy and WEST epoxy along with SP and others . Particularly the filling of seams I hope these brief notes will help many of you.

When filling seams with epoxy make sure you get the sandpaper into the seam you want the wood as clean and dry as it can possible be.

Dont be to greedy on the amount of work you are going to do in a session. i know if RL case he has a whole boat to do and to him and others who are doing the whole boat do small bits over the hull so if you do portside seam 1 by the gunwal do the same seam on the starboard side next do three planks up this starts to spread the strength through the hull and if you lean on it or your friends come in and poke and pull you should have enough strength that it won’t go out of shape.

Spend a lot of time on your prep work , have everything to hand take your time.

Once I have the area clean and clear I use one of a few options to stop the epoxy from going right through and falling out of the seam

1. good old masking tape
2. plastic
3. a few prayers and a steady hand

For most people it is easier to apply from the outside in as the seam will be bigger on the outside because of the natural curve of the hull , however you can do it both ways but remember its easier to sand and clean up the outside of a hull than the inside.

When I use plastic I usually use a pillow in a black rubbish bag as padding as it takes up the shape of the hull well, this is going to be personal choice and how much work you will be doing in one go

I tend to use MAS FLAG with a medium hardener for this it tends to be creamy and holds in place I find that WEST Epoxies get to hot don’t give you time to work and I get chemical burns on my skin

The Workshop Mix is a MAS epoxy.ltd product. I like it for a number of reasons the mixing is easy it retains MAS epoxies good stretch and playability and it does not smell.

When mixing the powders make sure you don’t lose the shine the mix will be to dry and brittle.

When filling the bag open it up and put it in a jug or similar it makes filling easier you can normally get three or four fills from one bag I then tend to throw them

Make the hole a lot smaller than you think you need it allows you to put pressure on and squirt the stuff into the back of nooks and crannies, you can always make it bigger.

Then it’s a matter of giving yourself time.

good luck take time if you need help ask