Tiki-21 beam glass

Bruce, Sounds like a good idea. :idea: I've contemplated the same for my Tiki over the years. Especially the mast beam that gets the curve compressed flat when mast tension is tight. If you can use uni-directional glass the length of the beams that would be best, otherwise double-bias cloth would be second choice. If you are not after added strength and just after sheathing for eggshell hard finish, then light bi-axial cloth would work - same as for sheathing the hulls. I have lately discovered some rot on the end of my aft beam - bummer! :evil: I guess I shouldn't complain after 18 years of service she has given :D Cheers, Rory & Cookie

Hi Bruce, I am exactly at the stage you are at with my beams and had planned a 6" glass section where the lashings go round to reduce the crushing and possible water ingress as a result. Hadn't considered glassing the whole beam, partly because I feel it would be really tedious work ! Although maybe what Rory says about the mast beam might be a good idea to do the complete beam for the centre and the lashing area on the others. I will watch your post with interest. Have you any photos of your build, I have updated mine ( see Tiki 21 in Scotland post) to include my beams - really got fed up filleting those beams and it certainly used up lots of (expensive) epoxy. Good luck with your build Cheers Bill

When I glassed the top and bottom of my beams, it destoyed them. It looked very smart and worked well for one season; but then winter came - freezing Canadian winter. The wood and the fiberglass contracted at different rates. The beams split. I could only save the midship beam. The two others had to be rebuilt from scratch. Without fiberglass, they can take the extreme cold (-40 F) as long as they are stored dry. Julien

Hello Bill, Rory, Julien and all, Attached is a photo of the WEST #733 nine ounce glass tape I applied to the beam plank. The Douglas Fir plank was belt sanded with 120 grit and the edges were round-over routed to a radius of 6mm (1/4"). I vacuumed the dust away. I'm right handed, so I stapled the end of the tape to the right end of the plank and worked toward the left. My right hand did the rolling with a foam roller and my left hand kept a slight tension and guided the tape in place. This was the first time I attempted glassing using the "dry" method. I got better results then the wet method and will continue using it whenever I can. I mixed two batches of epoxy using seven squirts of resin+hardener in each batch. Julien, thanks for your comment about extreme cold temperatures; living in Louisiana, I'd never given it a thought. Bill, you're waaay ahead of me in the build. I'm making all the parts I can indoors during the mosquito and hurricane season and will go outdoors when the weather is more settled to do the assembly of the hulls. A year ago I lost a mono and the Tiki-30 I was building to Hurricane Gustav. This year, so far-so good. All the best, Bruce

Bruce, I bought a used Tiki 21 a couple of years ago and the beams, which had been glassed, were damaged. I believe that the previous owned did not pay much attention to maintenance and one beam had a large rotten section which I had to cut out and scarf in a new lower flange section about 3' long. When rebuilding, I considered it important to re-glass to ensure the beam's strength in the area of the repair. I glassed this beam top and bottom and then glasses the tops of the other beams. I have left all three beam with a clear finish, using epoxy and covering with several coats of protective UV resistant clear varnish. It looks great and the only precaution I take is to cover the beams with a cloth cover when I leave the boat. It's a 5 minute fiddle, but worth the look of the beams. Hope this helps, Tiki21