Finishing Plug

Discussion in 'Fiberglass and Composite Boat Building' started by weldandglass, Aug 30, 2022.

  1. weldandglass
    Joined: May 2010
    Posts: 32
    Likes: 0, Points: 6, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: Gulf Coast of Texas

    weldandglass Junior Member

    I'm working on a 20'x 8' running plug. The plug surface still has a bit of "waviness" to it, particularly where the topsides meet the spray rails. It's not terrible, I've seen lots of tooling with minor waviness, but the perfectionist in me says "long board it again and flatten it a bit more". I know I'm reaching the point of diminishing returns, where the last 2% of imperfections takes 50% of the time you already put in. What say you collective boat design forum brain-trust? Call it good and pull a mold off this thing or break the long boards back out and go through another longboard-wet sand and polish cycle? See picture below.

    upload_2022-8-30_12-25-43.jpeg
     

    Attached Files:

  2. fallguy
    Joined: Dec 2016
    Posts: 7,598
    Likes: 1,674, Points: 123, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: usa

    fallguy Senior Member

    I don't like the ripple in the cove. How are you sanding that? It is very hard by this pic to make a quality decision.

    For the cove, I use pipe (as a sanding tool) of appropriate radius for my boat, not mould work. But it finished nice. The trick is blending the cove and the flat which should be relatively easy if the flat was done well first.

    @ondarvr is really an expert here, see if he has a standard to go by
     
    Last edited: Aug 30, 2022
  3. ondarvr
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    Location: Monroe WA

    ondarvr Senior Member

    What color will the parts be?

    You won't see it on a white part, but dark colors will highlight it.
     
    tpenfield likes this.
  4. DCockey
    Joined: Oct 2009
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    Location: Midcoast Maine

    DCockey Senior Member

    What is the customer requirements? What will the ultimate moldings be used for? How important are aesthetics?
     
  5. kapnD
    Joined: Jan 2003
    Posts: 1,298
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    Location: hawaii, usa

    kapnD Senior Member

    The product will carry your reputation, and you’d probably dislike being labeled “Wavy Gravy”!
    Are we looking at a picture of an upside down hull?
    Maybe you need a longer board?
     
    fallguy likes this.

  6. weldandglass
    Joined: May 2010
    Posts: 32
    Likes: 0, Points: 6, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: Gulf Coast of Texas

    weldandglass Junior Member

    Thanks everyone for your replies. Went back at it with the longboard today and I think it flattened nicely. We’ll see what it looks like when it’s polished up.

    “Wavy gravy” made me laugh and yes, it’s a picture of an upside down hull.

    ondarvr-the hulls will be a variety of colors so best to get it as close to perfect as possible.

    Thank you again.
     
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