Gel Magic

I have been using System 3 Gel Magic for my bogging jobs for a while. http://www.systemthree.com/store/pc/SilverTip-GelMagic-c16.htm
The resin part is blue and I call it Smurf snot. Apparently you have mixed it enough when the color goes away. I mix even more just in case. 

I especially like it over epoxy and powder mix for two reasons.  First, I am able to mix something like twice the bog volume in a given time because I don’t have to take the time to mix in powder.  And if you throw it at some part’s vertical  surface, it just hangs there, not dripping.
I had been using regular hardner and it was going off too fast in even just 70 degree days. I finally got the extra slow and its just what I needed working by myself on the project.
Interestingly, if you add any powder, the “just hang there” goes away and it slumps. For that reason, when I extend it with spheres powder, I also add cabosil.

Bottom Siders

I wanted to find some ethafoam mats for the lounging pit on the lunar lander project (a house built like a modern boat). I imagined something like the wrestling mats that I recalled from high school would be great. And would be good to work with local company. http://www.bottomsiders.com/
It turned out each 15 square foot cushion would be $1265.00 before tax. That’s $84 per square foot. Yeow. All six cushions would cost as much as a new Hyundai. I have to keep looking.

Trimaran Ferry

Thursday’s job was to create some updated renderings of the 149′ passenger ferry design. They never real till they real, but this one might go. Interesting irony that it might start in Africa first.

I recall that Richard’s excellent presentation on it was soundly rejected by Washington State Ferries some 25 years ago with the words “If it ain’t steel, we ain’t doin it.” Its foam/glass. Aiming for 40+ knots and 2500 hp. 149 seats.

model6PSP2G

 

model6PSP3G

 

Back

I wasn’t gone but apparently as Matthew notes “due to a slew of brute force attacks on wordpress installations my server
people have disabled logins from http” I was not told and most of last week I could only get a message that I was not allowed to log on. I will have a lot this week.

Silverthane

I got to use System 3’s Silverthane polyurethane sealant this weekend, in place of 5200. http://www.systemthree.com/store/pc/SilverThane-SA-2100-c58.htm
It is a 2 part product so that seems to solve my two main complaints about 5200; that my $17 tube hardened in just a few weeks, and after seems like days, the part I sealed was still wet.
I lose 5200 tubes after they opened even though I try to seal them up.
The two part poly self-mixes in a special nozzle. I’m guessing each use ruins the nozzle, so get several if you work like I do, with several small jobs. And my job was functionally cured the next morning, which was the soonest I tried it.

Only comes in white at this time.  So I still have to bear with 5200 for black jobs.