Fiberglass

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?  

i had a disheartening situation tonight. I’m putting thin strips of bent wood on the inside lips of my deck hatches to seal against the foam on the underside of the hatches.  I hot glued blocks onto the deck for clamp blocks.  Long story short, I knocked off one of the blocks and a chunk of epoxy went with it revealing the fiberglass below.   I’ve searched the old archives briefly and didn’t find anything similar. Does anyone have any advice on how to make the least obvious repair?  I can’t sand any without getting into the glass.