The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Thanks Glen.. I'm so discusted on how bad the epoxy turned out. I hope I can fix it.

I put my fiberglass and epoxy on yesturday. Before I was finished with my 3rd coat of epoxy I started to get several bubbles in the glass. First of all what would be the best fix. most of the bubbles are about 2" long and 1/2-1" wide. The secand question, is there a better way to get a smo...

I would hate to try this with the glass already on :shocked

Well I cut the thin strips out yesturday. Not as hard as I thought it would be. Fitted new strips and sanded. The 16' prospector is now ready for glass. Temps tomorrow around 60 deg. F. May have to wait till I get back from the fire college to glass. I has hoping to let it cure why I was gone. Thank...

BradRob, I think you hit the nail on the head. The thin spot is about an inch from the stem anyway. I had to scarf all of my long strips anyway so it realy will not matter about the joints showing a little. I was hoping someone had an easier fix. Thanks alot for everyones input. I'll work on this to...

I have worked a lot of spalted wood. The biggest thing you need to be aware of is the fungus that causes the spalting. It can be VERY BAD for your lungs. When you make fine saw/sanding dust PLEASE wear a dust mask. It can cause a bad lung infection and sometimes permanant damage. I do a lot over woo...

I built mine stapless but you may have the same problem with the strips not wanting to go together tight between forms. They somtimes like to separate between forms. If you keep a good eye on this problem area you should be alright. Just make sure you r strips stay as tight as possible, it will save...

The thin spot is about 2" in diameter and about 2" from the bottum of the stem. I figure this will be a pretty critical area. I was thinking of filling the inside since the outside is already sanded and looks great. The boat is built out of Basswood so any scarfs or fill in strips are goin...

I have not sanded all the way through the strips. I do have a lot of wood working experiance and can tell by just taping on the strips. I was thinking of using CA glue to glue the strips on top of the thin strips and feather them into the hall. I will first make some thin strips to to put on top. Ho...

I had done the unthinkable and sanded the bilge area pretty thin. I am still on the outside so I hope it's not too late to fix. The question is is how. I was thinking of glueing a couple of strips over the top of the thin area. The strips will be 8-10" bigger than the thin area. Then blend thos...

I am a avid wood worker and have built many items out of cedar. All though I have not built a boat out of the stuff I have used both tite bond glue and epoxy glue with great success. I wish I could tell you more but I also know it dose not like to bend without breaking easily. Hope this helps. If yo...

Thanks for the replies. I to like working with bass wood. It sands and cuts pretty good. I was concerned a little with the weight in a 16' canoe made of basswood. How well did your gunnels bend dry. I made my stems with laminated bass woo and walnut but I steamed them. I am a little concerned about ...

I am building a 16' prospector out of bass wood and walnut. I am not really concerned about the weight a hole lot because I don't plan to portage it much. I would like my gunwales to be made of walnut to match my accent strips. does anyone have any advise?

Thanks for the replies so fare. Are there any surprises I need to look out for in the construction part?

I am ready to start building the 16' prospector. My strongback is 15' long and my forms will be made of 1/2'" plywood. The boat will be made of Bass wood with Walnut and purple heart acsents. This is my first canoe but I do have a lot of wood working under my belt. If anyone has any advise or b...