Fiberglass

I am finally getting around to glassing the hull on a Hybrid Shearwater. It calls for three layers of fabric, one full, one bottom and keel ends. Should these be done separately or all at once. I think separately would add weight, but all at once might be hard to wet out. Any advice, suggestions?

Thanks, John

In my zeal to get the hulled glassed I completely forgot to apply the decorative kingfisher decals we had printed on rice paper.  Now I'm wondering if I can epoxy them on and put a few layers of epoxy over them for protection before sanding the hull prior to varnishing.  What do you think?

Alternatively, the print shop that printed the rice paper also printed the design on plastic with an adhesive backing.  So I could wait until after varnishing and stick those on, but I'm concerned they may peel off in the salt water.

In my zeal to get the hulled glassed I completely forgot to apply the decorative kingfisher decals we had printed on rice paper.  Now I'm wondering if I can epoxy them on and put a few layers of epoxy over them for protection before sanding the hull prior to varnishing.  What do you think?

Alternatively, the print shop that printed the rice paper also printed the design on plastic with an adhesive backing.  So I could wait until after varnishing and stick those on, but I'm concerned they may peel off in the salt water.

In my zeal to get the hulled glassed I completely forgot to apply the decorative kingfisher decals we had printed on rice paper.  Now I'm wondering if I can epoxy them on and put a few layers of epoxy over them for protection before sanding the hull prior to varnishing.  What do you think?

Alternatively, the print shop that printed the rice paper also printed the design on plastic with an adhesive backing.  So I could wait until after varnishing and stick those on, but I'm concerned they may peel off in the salt water.

Hi, 

My epoxy and glass fiber supplier, timeout.de, also sells basalt and flax fabrics for epoxy composites. Has anyone used either of these for wooden boat building? I'm looking for something opaque for the inside, and these two are cheaper options, than carbon and/or aramid. The flax is especially appealing because it is a natural material. Unfortunately, this also means, that it will rot. 

Any kind of feedback is appreciated. 

On my 'to-Do' list for this week was fabricating a new glass/carbon/epoxy seat for my next kayak project (Bjorn Thomasson Njord).

Hi all, 

I'm now in a point where final sanding is more or less done and in some places I have reached glass fibers too (edges of overlaps and reinforcement patches). Should I seal these areas with epoxy before applying varnish? I'm worried, that the glass matrix will be visible under the varnish unless it isn't surrounded with epoxy. This is my first boat to build and the finish will be far from perfect anyway. So if the effect is minuscule, then it won't really matter. I'm using a natural oil based boat varnish (Le Tonkinois).

I just did the wet out phase,, I must have had too much epoxy. I did a sealer coat, It is now just tacky to the touch but I can feel a lot of areas were it feels like the glass mat is raised up, almost like it is a crease. It doesn't feel like there is air under the mat, it just won"t push down, feels solid. How do I proceed? Do I put on the next coat to fill the weave? or do I have to sand it all off?

Very Bummed

A couple weeks ago I took time out from other projects to do some quick maintenance on a few a my kayaks. I had a broken back band, worn out gasket and a big ding to deal with. The video is below.

Probably of most interest to people is dealing with the beat up bottom of my Petrel Play SG. This boat has a single layer of glass on the bottom, doubled up only on the keel line. I take this boat to play in rock gardens where the surge sometimes drops me hard on pointy rocks.

I have a 30 year old fiberglass kayak.  It has started to flatten out on the bottom when I tie it down on the roof rack.  When there is no pressure on it there is no movement.  Will this condition mean that the kayak will crack eventually?