The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Take a scratch awl - and some patience.

Try RAKA epoxy and cloth - about 2/3rds the price, also formulated in FLorida - I have found it easy to work with in the warmer climate of South Carolina. Your strongback should be fine.

Here are the names of the clear coat
7900S-1 CHROMACLEAR
7985S-4 ACT/REDUCER MED. FOR 70 TO 80 DEGREE APPLICATION TEMP.

THE POLISHING COMPOUNDS ARE ALL "3M PERFECT-IT"
6060 (SOON TO BE 6085) EXTRA CUT
6064 SWIRL MARK REMOVER
6066 FINAL GLAZE.

Ok, this could take a while. The first one I clear coated was with a new Dupont product. ( I am at work and don't know the exact product, I'll get it this weekend) It was two years ago, The canoe has been used a few times -- has got scratched up some-- into the epoxy in some places -- and has not ch...

I have both varnished and clear coated. I like the clear coat much better. Although it is more expensive to buy ( about 4 to 5 times as much) I think that it is fairly easy to apply if you have a quality sprayer. Varnishing takes days to apply, with sanding between coats. I can spray a canoe, inside...

I stretched a Prospector to 16'6" by adding 1 inch to each 12 inch space between the middle six stations. and kept everything else the same. I also have a 16 ft model. The extra 6 inches is helpful when loading heavy. It also is quit a bit more stable. It weighed 62 lbs. 4 lbs more than my 16ft...

If you are concerned about your decks thickness, you could consider adding carrying handles across the gunnels a couple of inches behind the decks. It would also give more strength than the thin deck does. Use a scrap of wood- match or contrast decks and gunnels-- 1 1/2 inch by 7/8 inch cut to the p...

I have found it more difficult to sand the outside epoxy with the canoe off the molds, therefore leave your molds on the strongback.. when it is time to sand the outside put the canoe back on the molds. It will give you a much more stable base. If you have not glassed the inside you may want to put ...

If you have a limited # of strips, it can be very difficult, if not impossible to create an intricate pattern. I believe that as long as the strips are book-matched; a well thought out "random" design can produce a fine result. :eyebrows Just my opinion.

Scottcam

A friend and I are currently building 2 Prospectors side by side in my shop(basement). These are my 2nd and 3rd canoes. My friend helped with the fiberglassing of the 1st canoe last year. I have found that it has been a little daunting working on both canoes at the same time. My friend lives about a...

In North Carolina they do not require a front license plates on your car. I have made several cedar strip license plates. I coat them with epoxy. They look pretty nice, especially when I am carrying me canoe.

scott

I still use a syringe .Instead of wiping out with a damp rag, I follow this procedure squeeze the leftover glue back into the glue bottle. keep a small bucket of water handy and pull the syringe full of water and drop it in the bucket. when you are ready for the next strip; purge the water out of th...

I have several reasons, they are probably unfounded, and caused by my inexperience and not the product. It was about 35degrees f. when I applied the outside glass. I called East and an engineer said that that was not too cold. In hind sight , it was too cold. so here are the problems that occurred. ...

I purchased a Prospector kit from Noahs for my 1st canoe. The quality of the strips was excellent. I had 2 strips out of 65 that were not useable as full length strips.They don't send many extra strips so I would order a few extras. Maybe contrasting wood. the decks were small but it was easy to mod...

I think that the prospector would be a better choice, your son won't be 5 for long. The extra room and carrying capacity of the prospector will come in handy. when ripping strips pay close attention to grain orientation. Canoecraft will explain this. It will save a lot of sanding and fairing problem...