The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Here is a link to a description of what you are proposing: http://www.myccr.com/SectionForums/viewtopic.php?topic=522&forum=20: If you have a lot of delamination, getting the glass off might be easy. I would be very careful once you get the old glass off one surface, since the canoe will become ...

Danny: I hope you don't mind that I reply to your queries here, rather than as a private message. Whatever ratio the manufacturer recommends is the ratio you should use for that combination of epoxy and hardener. Deviating from that ratio in either direction will diminish the properties fo the cured...

"Blush" on epoxy is a waxy layer that can form on the surface of epoxy, and interfere with sticking of the next layer. It forms from reaction of the hardener with CO2 from the air, encouraged by moisture in the air and lower temperatures that slow down epoxy cure. Some epoxies do not blush...

I agree with what you've been told, and have an even more extreme example: I used a figured hard maple accent strip. A card scraper was indispensable in the fairing, since the maple was so much harder than the cedar. It looks great.

You don't need cedar -- almost any other type of lumber will work, and many have been used. Fairly straight grain is helpful, and long strips are nice, but not essential. I don't know what lumber is available in Ireland, but would expect that something would be as cheap or cheaper than plywood, and ...

What works best depends on the type of epoxy you are using. When you follow the advice of one of the experts here, check to see what epoxy was used. The "try it, and use what works" advice holds for any, of course. Careful planning, small batches of epoxy, and working continuously without ...

This website has a good description of cutting strips and routing their edges: http://www.michneboat.com/Making%20Strips.htm A good fence and well anchored featherboards are important, but that does not mean it must be complicated or expensive. An expensive high quality fence will be easy to adjust....

A rolling bevel works well, and many (myself included) consider it very easy to do. It definitely takes less wood than bead and flute, which is also a fine way to go. There are people who have tried both, and prefer one or the other method. If you have a 6" radius curve (and much of most hulls ...

SB-112 is the System 3 stuff designed for surfboards that has the UV screeners in it. I used clear coat for wetout, since it is very runny and slow curing, so it is easy to avoid bubbles and other problems. I used SB-112 for fill in coats, since it is very thick and cures faster, so the weave fills ...

When you read detailed descriptions of the method used to apply epoxy, make sure you note which epoxy was used. That's because it matters a lot. With a very runny, slow curing epoxy, a roller works fine, and a squeegee is useless. But a roller will not behave well with a thicker epoxy, and a squeege...

I would expect that stiffness of the hull will depend on hull shape, and on the thickness of the strips, but that the way you fit edges of strips together would have no measureable effect. The stiffness of the hull material comes mostly from the glass layers separated by wood. The thicker the wood, ...

You can make spot patches to the fiberglass without removing it all. That is a lot easier, and is the way to go if at all possible. If it's delaminating in many places, it's likely to be polyester rather than epoxy, and may benefit from a complete change, as described here: http://www.myccr.com/Sect...

I prefer a hand-held circular saw over either the tablesaw or the bandsaw when ripping stock this long. It's less cumbersome, takes half as much space, and facilitates handling and sorting the strips. Here's how: http://www.home.earthlink.net/~durgerian/id5.html All the mentioned methods have been u...

Take a look at John Michne's site, particularly the section on working with short strips: http://www.michneboat.com/Builder's%20Corner.htm . Many of us have benefited from his work. After I had scarf joined a few strips, and discovered that I could not even find some of the joins in the completed bo...

Ed Alger: Thanks to you too. My first canoe was also redwood, but was made about 1972 -- a little bit after yours. I did very little woodworking between these two canoes, but am very glad I've gotten back to it. This one was for, and made with, my son, and pretty soon I'll be making another one with...