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[Mi Amigo]

Hello All I'm Neil 

Firstly I am new to model boating and new to the forum.

Never built a boat before.

I've acquired a nice model boat kit, I'm looking forward to building and sailing it, I hope I can get some help and answers to some questions I have here, this seems like a great forum.

Firstly glues? I've used PVA for a lot of stuff in the past, It's brilliant stuff but no good for boats, What is the standard waterproof glue for boat building? Also my kit has an ABS hull, will normal Araldite epoxy be ok to use on it? I know it won't melt it, I'm more worried if epoxy will stay stuck to ABS long term? Especially where the mast glues into the bottom of the hull.

Second question. When I fit the deck into the hull what would be a good way of sealing it around the edges without being too messy? I'm worried if I use filler which needs to be sanded afterwards I will spoil the printed finish on the wooden deck, is there a clean and easy way to do it which will give me a water tight seal?

Third question, where can I buy lead for ballast? I need some 3mm sheet for building into the keel to start with and probably some more later for ballast,  which could probably be lead shot from a fishing shop or gunshop but I wouldn't know where to get 3mm sheet from.

Sorry if my questions seem odd and have obvious answers, I've used the search box, (which did clear up some other questions), there is so much information already here.

Thanks
 Neil

[gondolier88]

Hi Neil,

First of all welcome to a fantastic and challenging hobby, and also to this fantastic forum. Never apologise for asking what you think are obvious questions- if you've asked it, a 1000 people have asked it before!

As for glues- you are right in saying PVA is not acceptable for a marine environment- unless you can gaurantee it won't come into contact with water at any point- pretty hard in a boat!

A suitable alternative is Aliphatic Resin- a white glue also, designed for Aero modelling- once its cured its highly water resistant, and completely waterproof if it has varnish over it.

Epoxy is not suitable for ABS- thats what iv'e found anyway. Your best bet is Cyano (superglue) or contact adhesive to attach wood to ABS- plstic-weld can also be used to join Plasticard to ABS- just be carefull not to let it run down the hull as it leaves really tough raised bits.

The best way to join the deck is to superglue a 3mm square stripwood along the inside of the hull- leaving the depth of the deck free above it- following the sheer (the curve of the hull looking from the side).Then epoxy the bottom of the deckto the wood- sealing the deck with epoxy- then stick a gunwhale (the plank you see running along the edge of a deck following the curve of the hull looking from above) this seals the joint between the deck and the hull and also adds strength.

As regards lead- your local builders merchant will sell lead flashing for roofing- you want code 3 (blue stripe) rolls- available in 300mm X 1500mm rolls.

Greg

[Shipmate60]

Mi Amigo,
What kit is it, I am sure there will be members who have made this kit, or one very similar to it, who can tell you how they did things.

Bob

[DickyD]

Hi Neil I wish I had read gondoliers post before I made all my boats. I have used epoxy on all my ABS hulls for sticking ang sealing. I always roughen the surface of the ABS with glass paper first to provide a key.

PVA is used widely in the building industry as a damp sealer and waterproofing additive in cement and mortar mixers.
When my father built his 1:1 cabin cruiser he used Uni bond PVA as the adhesive and ran the boat for several years before selling it, with no trouble at all.
I used PVA on the ply parts of my boats.

Having said  that, as gondolier says Aliphatic Resin- glue would be better or maybe Cascamite which is now called Resinmite would be better still.

Welcome to the forum by the way.

[Peter Fitness]

Welcome to the forum, Mi Amigo.

I agree with Richard (DickyD) regarding the use of PVA and epoxy. Like him, I have used both of these glues in my models with excellent results. It the model is well sealed with paint or resin, water will not cause any problems with PVA glued joints. As Richard said, the critical part of using epoxy to glue styrene or ABS is to rough it up well first. If epoxy is used on a smooth ABS surface there is a good chance it will simply let go.

Keep on building...and asking questions.

Peter.

[boatmadman]

I have used evo stik external waterproof wood adhesive on my boats - good stuff and available in most diy outlets. Its in a blue plastic bottle with red top.

Ian

[Mi Amigo]

Hi all
  many thanks for the responses, it just goes to show, you can ask 100 modelers the same queston and get 100 different answers and they will all be right, I'll probably take a bit of everybodys advice and find out what works best for me.

The model I am building is a Graupner Norderney, I can't find anything about it on the forum.

I've been thinking about fitting the deck, it might be best it I varnish it before fitting it, then if I do make a bit of a mess with the glue when fitting it I can rub it down back to the varnish instead of ruining the deck print.

I have some JP sanding sealer, will this be ok to use as varnish on the printed parts? I know I can get a good finish with it, just worried it might affect or spoil the print, probably best to just try some on a small unseen printed part or would  anyone recommend I use another product for the deck?

All the best
 Neil