: Hi
: I'm Doug and live on the coast south of Boston. I've been paddling for 5of6
: yrs now and was looking for a next step up in boats.I had read nicks book
: on strip building a few years back and always figured some day i would
: build.
: Well the price of the next step up in boats sent me straight to the garage.
: I do do a bit of wood working so was set w/ tools, space and desire
: In December i started my 1st building project a night heron hi deck hybrid
: and things have been coming along quite well and I have progressed quite
: rapidly as i just sealed top and bottom last weekend and put the glass on
: the deck+ one coat this weekend. lots of stuff learned along the way that
: i will be prepared for the next project. I see how this can become
: addicting! I have a couple of questions if someone could help.
: 1)I have 1 coat of resin on after the glass was laid, the fabric texture is
: disappearing well but I am seeing some "orange peal" or little
: pitted spots on the finish???i sanded and wiped the first coat down W
: denatured alcohol before applying the 2nd coat. What can I do before
: applying the next coat to eliminate this pitting?

: 2) what are advantages / disadvantages to varnishing vs the auto body shop
: and clear coat?

: OK 3 questions
: 3) I built my own cockpit instead of using the one that came w/ the kit and
: was wondering what the height of the bottom of the lip on top of the
: combing should be off the combing base?
: Thanks much for any info
: Doug

Hi Doug I can try to answer these questions.
First. A little orange peel look is not uncommon how ever pits that look like they go all the way down to the first coat of epoxy could be a fish eye kind of effect. This could be from contaminants brought on by the alcohol. Mild soap and plenty of water with a good scrub down should help remove blush and impurities.
Second. Varnish is way cheaper and easy to do. Also the UV protection is much better with the marine varnish in my opinion. The auto body spray clear coat if done well looks much better. If you are going to use your kayak around sand or rock scratches are going to happen and easy to re coat with varnish.
Third. 3/4 inch is the measure I use for the lip to deck clearence. You can make it smaller but 5/8 would be the min. The 3/4 inch works better when there is a recess deck for spray skirt clearence.
Going back to the epoxy there are reams of pages written on the subject. I would wonder if this is the first time to glass and coat with epoxy. Epoxy wont level like varnish there will be some roughness. More or less depending on the method of application. If possible it is best to re coat while the epoxy is green that is when you can make a dent in it with your finger nail without much pressure.Then sanding is not needed for a proper bond. There is less chance of blush forming when it is green. I try to always use a non blushing epoxy.
Hope this helps Clayton P.