Sand Cay Club

The swim step portion of the sugar scoop was completed early Spring 2016 and filled with 16 lb density marine foam. The cabinets were constructed using flat panels temporarily

Rough cabinet formed as 3 flat panels

glued together with sharp corners.

Duck tape hold panels until epoxy hardens

1/4 round cylinders make by laminating glass over 2″ dia PVC tubing

Sharp corner trimmed from cabinets.

Cabinet ready for white gel-coat application

Cabinets with white gel-coat on corners.

Completed cabinets ready to bond into sugar scoop.

Additional glass layers added to upper portion of sugar scoop using VE resin.

Cutting out opening hatch portion of cabinet.

Trial fit of cabinet.

Operation of opening hatch.

Construction of water trap.

Hatch water trap.

Completed water traps in cabinet hatches.

Two layers of 9 oz cloth were laminated over waxed 2″ dia PVC tube to make the rounded corner forms. A 2″ spherical form was use to make the corner where the tube forms intersected. These were bonded to inside of cabinet sides.

The sharp corners were then cut away, leaving the 2″ radius edges

A trail fit to make sure everything fits.

White gel-coat is applied to rounded surfaces.

Completed cabinets ready for hatches to be cut.

Additional layers are glassed into place on the upper sugar scoop sides using Vinyl-ester resin, 1808 and 1708 biaxial cloth layers.

The cabinet hatches are cut from the completed cabinets. Hardware hinges and locking latches were ordered.

Trial fit before bonding into place.

Detail showing how the cabinet hatches swing open.

Self draining water traps are made for cabinets and…

hatch lids.

Ready for final trim and bonding into place.

Sugar Scoop Cabinet Bonded into place

Sugar Scoop Cabinet ready for final gel-coat touch up.

Detail showing built-in rain drain gutters.

Completed. Ready for touch up.

A bonding flange is made on each side at top of sugar scoop.

To complete the sugar scoop, a flange was made using a panel template with a hole cut out to allow placement of fiberglass into recess to make an area for bonding the last panels in place. To do this, a piece of clear Plexiglas scrap was cut to size of panel with center cut out and thoroughly waxed for removal. Tape (removed for this picture) was used to hold the Plexiglas in place while the resin cured.

Final panel on port side is bonded into place.

Then the last finished panels were bonded into place. Here the edges are prepared for gel coat touch up.

Final panel on starboard side is bonded into place.

Only gel coat touch-up on edges and installation of hinge and latch hardware remain for project completion. Project length… 1 year, 4 months.

In the last post for the Sugar Scoop construction, we saw how the parts are outlined with masking tape on a waxed mirror or window glass.

Some parts outlined in masking tape on waxed glass.

This process ensures a smooth defect free outside surface as the outside is laid against the waxed glass and the layers of fibreglass are laminated on top in a outside to inside approach. Another method is to make just sheets of white gelcoat fibreglass panels then cut out the parts, but this wastes material. Outlining the part with masking tape allows one to easily apply the gelcoat and fibreglass only where it is needed. In either case the final parts need be trimmed to size, but less waste is generated by masking a part outline. The orange part is the mold for creating the boarding ladder recess in the transom step.

White Gelcoat applied to exterior areas of swim step.

White gelcoat is painted onto the exterior surface areas only. The transom step is made in a two pieces and joined together (the sheet of glass was not large enough to laminate in one piece). The seam will be at the center of the step where there is an internal support.

Detail of ladder recess mold.

Remember, this view is upside down from inside the swim step. The orange mold will be released, revealing the finished white recess where the swim ladder will be mounted. The ladder telescopes and folds into the recess area. You will get a better idea how this works when you see the finished sugar scoop.

White gelcoat outlines ready for fibreglass layup.

Four pieces are laid out on this sheet of glass. The two outlines, half white, half clear, will be joined to make the horizontal swim step surface. The clear areas will be inside the cabinets and are not finished white until all the glass lamination is complete inside the cabinets. For now, the areas to receive further lamination or tabbing are left without white gelcoat for a better fabrication bond. When the gelcoat is cured, fibreglass layers can be applied.

Finished lamination ready for cutting

A pair of small panels with a single 1708 lamination, along with 6 oz cloth and surface veil is removed from the mirror surface and ready to be trimmed to final size. The thin panels will be easier to bend for assembly. The parts will be tabbed together from the inside and then more fibreglass layers applied from the inside of the cabinets.

Cardboard mock-up of scoop cabinets

Winter is over and work has begun again, for the third season. The new exhaust extension tube was bonded into place. It allows the engine exhaust to pass through the original transom through the area under the swim step and exit through the bottom of the sugar scoop above the water line. The exhaust hose is some 20 feet long and forms a loop high above the deck in the engine room before exiting to the rear of the boat. Bonding it in place had to be done prior to making the swim step and scoop storage cabinets. The cabinets will be water tight and do not empty to the bilge. The cabinet bottom is flush with the swim step between the cabinets. The area under the swim step is dead space, but a deck plate will be installed for periodic inspection. The cardboard mock up will be used to trace patterns on pre-made sheet glass then bonded together to make the cabinet. The corners will be somewhat rounded when complete. A center “U” shaped step, centered above the boat name will complete the step from the sugar scoop to the aft deck.

Layout of the Sugar Scoop Parts

Sugar Scoop Parts Marked on Panel

Cutting Sugar Scoop Parts

Some of the Sugar Scoop Cabinet Parts

Oscars OP-600 Mold Release Wax

More Parts Outlined on Waxed Window Glass

The card board mock up is taken apart and laid onto a preformed white gelcoat fibreglass panel. The part outlines are traced onto the masking tape prior to cutting. The masking tape reduces the chipping at the edges when cutting. Most of the corners will be trimmed and rounded over in the final steps, so chips are not detrimental here.

Next the parts are cut and will be sanded to final shape as necessary.

Here we can see some of the parts that make the sugar scoop cabinets. The remaining parts are made by taping and marking the outlines upon waxed window glass. Oscars OP-600 is the best wax I have found for this purpose. Three to five coats of wax are applied.

Then the outlines marked with masking tape. Note the black 2″ tape in the middle of the two larger panels and the orange ladder recess mold. These two larger panel will be joined to make the swim step platform. I used 3 layers of black Duck tape over 3M blue tape. Duck tape is very difficult to remove from the glass is applied directly. The thickness will allow me to tab the cabinet sides to the platform and later fillet into the gelcoat. White gelcoat will only be applied to the square area of these panels and the two smaller panels. The rest of the panel will be inside the lockers which can be painted white after final assembly.