marine ply mirror

[janenorman]

new to forum, not much cop at sailing, but would like to start next year. Have very holey boat, marine ply and want to undertake work myself! Any ideas on how, diy books etc, or shall I take boat down to the tip? <span style="color:#666666"> </span>

 

[Spuddy]

First things first. Get it under cover at least and preferably indoors cos repairs are likely to involve use of adhesives/epoxy etc. Errrmm - before that go round with a spiky thing : bradawl or electrical screwdriver, and give a thorough poke to everything especially at the strips of wood that go front to back. Repairing the ply itself isn't too difficult a bodge but the chines etc up the skill and botheration factor considerable. Allow for the fact that everything will take 3 times as long as you expect ( at least ) and that it would be cheaper to buy one in decent nick. But then, if you're looking for a pastime over the winter and to use it as a means to understand boat construction then it could be a cracking project. It's just that I'm feeling a bit jaded at the moment.
Give it a poke and post again with findings. Should be lots of guidance on here

 

[tome]

You'll need 5mm marine ply for the mirror, which isn't a standard thickness. Repairs are fairly easy

 

[Lakesailor]

The problem with ply boats is that the glue bonding the plies breaks down and you lose the structural integrity. IE. you can stick your foot through the bottom.
This is the kind of thing you'll get involved in. I used 6mm for the bottom repair and cut a step in the scarf joint so the extra went inside where you don't see it. Epoxy repairs need 15 degrees C minimum to cure, so you need somewhere you can heat in winter. You also need to dry out the wood for at least a couple of months before using epoxy. The epoxy joints will be much stronger than the old wood, so you need to cut out anything flaky. I thought a match would have been the better option many times.
The Finished Job was worth the effort though. trouble is I want to sell it to make room for the next project and I can't bear to. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[VicS]

Re: marine ply Mirror

The Mirror association website might be of interest to you. There is a forum on there which might also be useful

Spare panels can be obtained from Trident-uk but all the parts are horrendously expensive IMHO

I did not realise the panels were 5mm and I've still got the one I built over 30 years ago.

If it is going to entail a lot of work or expense don't bother. You should be able to get a decent secondhand one for £300 or so.

A great first dinghy.

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'day Janerosa, and welcome to the WBW forums with your first post.

Great little craft the Mirror, easy to repair being ply. Getting a nice finish can be a challenge on an old one, well it is if you do not want it to be too heavy when finished; we applied 8 coats on the hull with lots and lots of rubbing between coats, she looked like a mirror when she was finished, very shiny indeed.

Avoid odd shaped repairs, keeping patched square will make them easier to control, avoid using ply of a different thickness or type as this will cause problems later if anywhere near a chine, it will be too stiff or too flexible, knocking off a layer or two of ply is not rocket science anyway.

Use epoxy glue and keep an eye on the temperature AND humidity, anything over 74% and you may have problems, if it looks whitish it's moisture during the curing process. Don't even try sanding epoxy for at least 24 hours after application, it will only clog your paper. All sanding is best done with a block, never a hand.

Scarfing the joints might need a bit of practice, you can make yourself a little jig that will control the angle if you need it. Best to cut to a line then scarf rather than try cutting at an angle.

I almost envy you, we had great fun doing up our old mirror, my two sons; then sub teens and now in their 30s had their first sailing lessons on that mirror. Now both are very keen and capable sailors.

Others will no doubt be readily available to assist you with answers to any questions you may have, so keep us posted on your progress.

Great project.

Avagoodweekend......