Thursday, February 07, 2008

With this epoxy, I thee wed....

I joined the halves of the bottom and chines tonight. The fiberglass cloth that was specified for the canoe is a much looser weave than that used on the kayak. It wets out easier, but it also sheds threads from the edges far more prodigiously, making it a bit of a hassle to work with. It will leave ugly edges, I imagine, but I don't think it will matter as much on this boat as it did with the furniture-grade kayak:





The wood is pretty warped, so it took a bit of weight to hold the edges down:





I learned from the kayak that when I use those little floor tiles (you can see them on the far chine), I have to put the smooth side down. The side of the tile that goes towards the floor underlayment has a grid pattern in it, probably to give the glue something to grab hold of. When I used that side on the epoxy when joining the kayak parts, it quite predictably left a grid pattern in the epoxy. It wasn't very easy to sand out. Not very easy at all. Funny how that tends to help reinforce a learning experience, isn't it?

1 comment:

  1. i think it's time to take the dog out for some fresh air. you have been breathing too much of the wacky fumes. ...." With this epoxy, I thee wed...."
    nice to see the progress
    leon

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