Overcome by tedium--almost

I am in a "Marching through Dixie" phase of the work -- doing a lot of absolutely necessary stuff that must be done well; but largely tasks that are boring as dirt.

There is little drama associated with this part of the project, save small triumphs over doubts of basic competency. For example, I have finally figured out how to build and apply a half-round molding around the underside perimeter of the hardtop.

The half-round border is important because it will allow a gentle roll of the fiberglass cloth material from the roof to the underside of the hardtop. It will provide some added strength. And, done right, it might also look good. The idea for this feature came, of course, from The Mothership of Albin hardtops--Hira Reid's Shatoosh, Albin 25 #1124.

Imagine the hardtop edge without the half-round. It would be sharp and stark.

The half-round also projects an image of thickness, substance and strength.

Ms. Bettencourt must have such a top.

So, just buy some half-round and do it, right?

Wrong!  I found some pine half-round molding and bought more than enough. Then I found out that the stuff wouldn't bend. I tried notching it on one side. Soaking it. Heating it. I had some ready to go in the dishwasher, but was denied access to that machine.

It began to appear that I would have to build a steam box and associated paraphernalia to get the molding soft enough to go around the new top's corners. Then I remembered the PVC moldings for sale at  the home center.

No PVC half-round was available, but they had plenty of half-inch quarter-round PVC molding in 8-foot lengths.

It seems to me that  all I need to do is put two pieces of quarter-round together and, behold--half-round, as shown at far left.

The final molding doesn't have to be pretty because it will be covered with fiberglass fabric and painted.

The sticks in the foreground of the photo above, by the way, are artifacts of one of my failed attempts to bend the the wooden half-round.

The most complicated parts are the corners. That's where I started.  The PVC material is fairly easy to work, with the judicious use of of a heat gun. I found that I could heat, bend and tack down the quarter-round pieces face-to-face with relative ease.

The corner curves held their shape after the heated portions cooled, which was a relief.

I formed the two-piece assemblies on the corners of the hardtop with finish nails, then lifted them off the wood without completely pulling the nails from the molding.

This made it possible to set the corner pieces aside while I prepared the wood surfaces with epoxy glue. Then it was easy to set them back and tack them down in the same locations.

I glued the forward corners first and let the epoxy glue cure overnight before pulling the nails. The PVC glue-down feels like a mighty bond--seemingly one with the wood. I finished the remaining corners today, and I expect to complete the entire perimeter this weekend.

This is the aft end of the underside of new hardtop with the PVC molding  freshly glued and tacked in place.

Notice that  I have formed a filet of thickened epoxy glue along the inside of the molding. This is to further ease a smooth transition of fiberglass fabric over the molding and onto the underside wood.

 Installing the remainder of the molding should go fairly rapidly, since there are no more sharp turns. After the glue has cured, I'll pull the nails and smooth everything up with a detail sander.

Next, an even more painstaking and tedious task begins: Covering the hardtop edges and the PVC molding with a layer of 4-inch fiberglass tape.

SOME TECHNICAL DETAILS:  I am using MarinEpoxy with a medium speed catalyst. I applied un-thickened epoxy to the wood and allowed about 5 minutes for it to absorb. Then I mixed wood flour into the epoxy left in the pot until I had a pancake batter consistency. I brushed this mixture over the first coat of epoxy, then tacked the molding down. Then I added some colloidal silica to further thicken the glue in the pot. I used this very thick mixture to form the filets around the inside of the molding and to fill a few gaps. The epoxy glue gave me 20-30 minutes of working time at a temperature of about 60F in the unheated garage.