Onto the next phase of the project, cutting out gussets, epoxying them between the side and bottom members of the frames, and drilling and driving nails to secure the joint. One thing at a time. To create a waterproof joint and to improve the overall strength of the joint, marine plywood is highly recommended for frame joints. Here in Colorado, marine plywood is almost a myth. Luckily, the one company (Strait Lumber Co.) in the entire state that offers marine plywood is here in Denver, and only a mile away from my house! There are different types of marine plywood, from best to worst: Okoume, Meranti (Hydrotek), Sapele, Meranti (Aquatek), Douglas Fir, and other water resistant hardwoods veneered into plywood. Strait Lumber Co offers Okoume and Meranti Hydrotek as their only marine plywoods, which is great. I was considering waiting to get marine plywood for when I went back home to visit family in Virginia, and acquire some there and haul it back in the truck. Now I can just go a mile down the road and pick some up.

Well now that I have marine plywood, I had to cut the gussets to reinforce the frames. Gussets are plates, in this case made out of plywood and then epoxied on the joints to create a very strong bond that is resistant to water, sheer, and compression forces. Below is an example of one set of gussets I cut out ready for epoxy on the first frame.

There are gussets for Frames 1, 2, 3, and 4, which means lots of cutting, sanding plane, and epoxying.

Epoxy and nails are what’s going to keep these joints together. I chose the System Three T-88 Structural Epoxy Adhesive. This epoxy is slightly more expensive to regular epoxy, but is more suitable for bonding joints together through the formation of a paste that penetrates and builds up to fill the surface and not leak out when curing. It also has higher boiling, freezing, structural strength and stability compared to regular epoxy. Thanks Plasticare Inc.!

Ready to get these frames together. Going to take it easy though, and probably only do one a day because of a comp exam I have in 9 days. Going to only spend 2-3hrs max a day with these frames, and 8-10 hours dedicated to studying to get prepped for the comp exam. At this rate, will probably have all the frames bonded to their side members and the completion of the stem by next Sunday.