Hi all. I am just figuring out my building options - if there's any? I have this manual: How to build PocketShip, version 2.2 July 2016. On page 4 there is a chapter about ”Your boatbuilding shop”.
When working with slow epoxy, there have to be for 24h enought warmness for epoxy to cure. I understand this "needs of epoxy" clearly!
I have red an article of CLC website on safe and inexpensive ways to heat workspaces. Solutions: Let there be light and keeping the epoxy itself warm.
So.. my boatbuilding shop will situate on my back yard. And it can not be very much more than ”a sturdy tent”; roof, walls, and maybe wooden floor. No heating really (except lamps). Like John Harris is saying: In North America during boatbuilding season (winter) cool temperatures are more of a challenge than heat. So that suits surely in Finland too. Winters in southern Finland when mean daily temperature remains below 0 C (32 F) are usually about 100 days long. I do not have to build during those three coldest months, I can wait until the average temperature is higher and start to build like in the beginning of april and continue to build till the end of september. And use warm epoxy and especially during nights also warming lights.
CHALLENGE no 1 (Epoxy / temperatures)
What could be the lowest temperature during epoxy curing period (about 24h) when under it is not practical enought to try to cure epoxy with warming lights in shops like I mentioned above?
CHALLENGE no 2 (Life of plywood / structures and moisture / ventilation)
When the boat is under construction, not everything covered by epoxy and glass / paint, and lies without heating under that ”sturdy tent”, (not outside in the open) waiting for warmer weather .. how will the 1) plywood and 2) half-made structures survive?
When there is a non-protected surface of the plywood is there a risk that the plywood all itself or just outer surface of the plywood will suffer becouse lacking of heating which keeps the moisture away from the shop? Or is there a risk of suffering / torsion of the half-made structures of the boat?
Is it ok if there is not heating but just enought ventilation. And what kind of ventilation should be enought if we are talking about back yard shops like 10´x 20´ "sturdy tent" / ”car shelter”? (Where there is practically just thin plastic between outer and inner area of the shop).
CHALLENGE no 3 (Plywood storage)
The same question as no 2. suits for: How to store the plywood in "sturdy tent" - conditions "standing up"- position.
There is a lot of question. I am grateful If you can give me a short or longer advice / estimation any of my challenge. And if there is some of you to think it's not practical enought to start with this kind of limitations, please feel free to tell it! I just became a member of the PocketShip building blog, but in the beginning of searching information from here. So far I`ve found information about garage-shops, which is - I think anyway - a little different thing than a "sturdy tent"- or "car shelter"-shops. So, if you can show me topics of these issues in this blog or elsewhere in internet I would appreciate.
Yours Jouko