I'm building my first RC boat kit - an Aeronaut springer. I've got 3 more kits ready to start, but I thought I'd build something relatively simple first, and practice some of the techniques that I'll need to use on the more complex kits.
Something that's probably not essential for the springer, but will be needed in future, is finishing the hull with epoxy and glass cloth. I bought some Z-poxy and lightweight cloth, along with some polyester resin and mat for beefing up the inside around the propshaft/keel. The inside is a bit messy (but solid), and I discovered that glass mat doesn't really "do" corners. I've not worked with GF and resin since I built a Westfield kit car 30+ years ago.
Struggling a bit with the GF made me read through a lot of posts on here before I started on the outside of the hull. For sharp corners, the best way to work seemed to be in sections - lay the cloth slightly oversize on an area, wait for it to cure, trim the edges back, then lay the next section?
I figured I'd do the smallest panel first - the transom - just to get an idea of how epoxy works. Once that's cured, the bottom of the hull & bow, then the sides.
Does that sound like a good plan? I hope so, because I've just done the transom. Brushed on the epoxy, laid the cloth, waited for it to "wet out", then gently over the surface with a credit card. Seems to have gone OK.
My question really is how to tackle the bottom of the hull. I assume that I can do the front panel at the same time without the cloth lifting off the plywood? What do I do about the keel/skeg? Lay the cloth in one piece, with a slit cut to go either side of the skeg, or in 2 pieces?
For the skeg itself, do I try and use cloth on that (one piece or 2?), just brush on some epoxy with no cloth, or just use a few coats of sanding sealer? I've already run a fillet of tube epoxy between the bottom panel and the skeg, and around the prop tube, so it's pretty solid.
Like I said, I probably didn't need to use epoxy and cloth on this kit at all, just want to get the hang of working with it before building my Boothbay lobster boat. I really don't want to mess such a nice kit up by practicing new things on it, so the next build will be an Aeronaut Mowe 2. A bit more complex than the springer, but still relatively flat hull surfaces.