16 ' Prospector Seat Placement

barrm · Post by **barrm** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 11:59 am

My first canoe...in need of specific dimensions for the seat placements for the 16' Prospector.
Also, har far below the tops of the gunwales to the top of the seats is the norm?
Hope someone can assist.
Mike

AsaBlanchard · Post by **AsaBlanchard** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 2:44 pm

Mike,
see Forum page 3.
http://www.bearmountainboats.com/phpbb2 ... php?t=3659
Asa

barrm · Post by **barrm** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 4:17 pm

Thanks.....I don't quite understand that thread. This contradicts the diagram in Canoecraft.
Is that thread stating that the front of the seats are placed 44" and 40" from the center??

AsaBlanchard · Post by **AsaBlanchard** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 7:10 pm

Mike,
The seat placement is explained on page 171 Canoe Craft. The formula is explained as stern man weight x length to center, = bow mans weight x length to center. Hopefully you can figure on bow woman weight. You can scale the drawing on page 55 and come up with stern seat 50" from center, bow seat 40" from center. Ultimately you shift the cargo to adjust the ride. Also keep in mind when paddling solo, you can sit in the bow seat and paddle toward the stern. A good tip I received from a fellow boat builder.
Asa

barrm · Post by **barrm** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 7:23 pm

Thx Asa......40" and 44" just didn't seem correct in the thread on Page 3.
I believe the 50"/ 40" seems plausible.

whynotme233 · Post by **whynotme233** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 1:51 pm

All,
I am also building a 16' Prospector and getting close to hanging the seats. It appears I will need 7" bolts to allow the seats to hang to about 10" above the bottom. I see references to using 4 or 6" bolts but not 7". Should I just go with the 6" and let the seat hang higher, or will it be more unstable?

Thanks

barrm · Post by **barrm** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 6:41 pm

Good to know about the length of bolts. Another option I have seen on various canoes is to anchor support pieces on the side. They act as a "ledge" for the seat pices to rest upon.
I only got a couple hours in today to begibn sanding the epoxy.....holy crap.....I feel like I am doing something wrong as I didn't make much headway

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 7:05 pm

Even decent 6" bolts are hard to find so good luck finding anything longer. Some builders make their own using threaded rod and brazing a hex nut on for the head then file it to the shape they want.

A lot of things can go wrong when sanding epoxy. Give us a few hints such as brand of epoxy, shop temperature, number of days since last coat of epoxy applied, grit of sandpaper being used, method of sanding attempted (r.o.s., fairing board, dry paper, wet paper, etc........). Also speed and pressure applied to sanding device.

What are the results so far for you to think you are doing something wrong?

barrm · Post by **barrm** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 7:19 pm

Hi Glen
Thank you for responding.
I did some scraping to remove some high spots and then moved to 80 with an ROS. I clean the dust away with one clean cloth and clean the sandpaper with another clean cloth frequently. I tried using a "degummer" stick from Lee Valley as well on the paper.
The Mas Resin with Medium hardener was applied last Sunday.....temperature during the beginning application in the garage was brought slightly above 70 degrees and then I let it fall off gradually. I must say I have not left the garage very wwarm all week...mid 50s perhaps. The epoxy seems cured...nice powder during sanding except I did run into one spot that the area did not sand quite the same.....slightly gummy so I moved away (will this sand properly after it hardens?)
The small dimples (low spots) I assume need to go asa well?
At any rate, it simply seemed as if I was spinning my wheels...Honestly, I have no idea what the norm is for time to sand a complete hull.

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 7:26 pm

The garage isn't warm enough for a decent cure speed. You need to either warm up the garage for a few days or wait another one or two weeks before sanding. Once it is hard enough for sanding it shouldn't gum up unless your paper is too worn or you are applying too much pressure, creating heat. The 80 grit sanding can take about 60 to 90 minutes to cover the entire hull. More if the epoxy surface has runs, less if it is smooth.

barrm · Post by **barrm** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 7:44 pm

That's exactly what I thought. Glen, the small spot that began to gum, will it be OK once that 4"x 4" hardens?...i.e. sand properly
Also, with the dimples....is it necessary or should I put another VERY thin coat of epoxy over these areas to fill?

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Sat Nov 27, 2010 8:30 pm

Yes, that spot should sand out ok. Dimples? Don't sweat the small stuff. At this stage your nose is still 6" from the hull. Stand back 6' and see if the dimples still attract your attention (other than the fact that they are probably small unsanded spots located on an otherwise sanded surface) or if they fade away.
I wouldn't add any epoxy unless I sand into the cloth. Extra epoxy is extra weight, not extra strength.

barrm · Post by **barrm** » Sun Nov 28, 2010 8:02 pm

Hi again Glen
The tacky spot hardened quite nicely today after firing up the propane heater for awhile.
At the opposite end of the boat, there is another area approx. 12 inches x 12 inched with the same tackiness. I positioned a spot light near the area, however, I found the direct hear simply made it tackier.
Is this area " frigged", or do I need to exercise patience for the full cure?
Perhaps where it is still tacky I should mix a bit more and apply?

Regards
Mike

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Sun Nov 28, 2010 8:39 pm

Give it a few more days with the heat on. If it is still tacky, that would be a sign that the last coat was applied to a contaminated surface or a batch was not properly stirred or the ratio was wrong or there is amine blush on the surface. In this case, you would have to begin by washing the tacky area with warm water and a clean rag, wipe dry with paper towels. If it remains tacky remove what is still soft using a scraper followed by a cleanup with lacqueur thinner. Then sand and wash and apply more epoxy to the cleaned area.
Also check the entire hull after 2 or 3 days to see if any other soft spots have appeared.

barrm · Post by **barrm** » Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:08 pm

sent you an email Glen
Mike