Epoxy the corner castings for a tight rig?

While i've got seabass in pieces i've been looking into all kinds of thing I can do for maintence/upgrades. I came across the whole epoxying the frame together for rigidity. Is it worth the trouble to do this if i'm just a recreational sailor? It seems like a lot of trouble to do it right (even though I already have the boat apart). Any thoughts on this is greatly appreciated.
Cory

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82 named SeaBass

if you ever want to take the boat apart again then don't do it! I think you can get a boat just as tight w/o epoxy. You can use shims if they need to be tighter, make sure your tramp is super tight, you need a slight bow in the side rails.

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Brad Stephens
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What Brad said... No epoxy. On the off chance you screw up a casting, you'll not be happy. We've used brass shims on several occasions to tighten up pylon to corner casting connections. A high-end hardware store can help you find the stuff.

And check your square on the hulls when you're getting every thing tight. Measure from bow tang bolt to opposite rudder pin hole. Get them as close as you can. We shoot for a 1/8" delta.

Brian C

I'm a bit late on this one, but I thought I'd give a differing opinion (makes things interesting, right?). We've glued tons of boats here in the West-- You'll never get your castings as tight with shims. BUT... like those other guys said, and I sort of agree, you need to view it as permanent. However... If you do need to get the casting off, all you need to do is warm the casting with a torch. It only takes 140 degrees to melt most Epoxies enough to get the castings apart. It's messy-- I've done it about 10 times. West systems seems to be the most reliable at "melting" at 140deg, other epoxies vary. I never glue boats right out of the box, though some people want to, as I think they "settle in" after a season or two. After that, I'll glue away. Get it square, you only have one shot!

There you have it, the pluses and minuses.

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