Fiberglassing

Welcome to the new Bear Mountain Builders Forum - an interactive internet service we provide to encourage communication between canoe and kayak builders
Post Reply
User avatar
mtpocket
Posts: 562
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:48 pm
Location: Indiana

Fiberglassing

Post by mtpocket »

I should be ready to start the fiberglassing on my Redbird on saturday. If you can think of the most common mistakes, I would love to hear them now. Everything has gone quite well to date and I would hate to ruin it after all this work. Thanks mtpocket
Image
Image
User avatar
Glen Smith
Posts: 3719
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 9:08 am
Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Post by Glen Smith »

If you carefully follow the instructions on John Michne's website you can't go wrong: http://www.michneboat.com/ click on "Builders Corner" then "Fiberglassing 101".
patrick pfeifer

Post by patrick pfeifer »

nice lookin canoe. ours should be ready for fiberglasing after only 8 more boards.
User avatar
mtpocket
Posts: 562
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:48 pm
Location: Indiana

Post by mtpocket »

Thanks Glen and Patrick. I have the video that Newfound Woodworks sent. It looks easy, but it has been my experience that most things that look easy usually aren't. I will check out the website and hope for no surprises. I am using MAS epoxies with slow hardener and the best I can do is to warm up my garage to about 75F. I will let you know how it goes unless I become ashamed myself.
User avatar
KARKAUAI
Posts: 362
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 3:06 pm
Location: Hickory, NC / Princeville, Kauai, HI
Contact:

Post by KARKAUAI »

Aloha, Pocket,
I watched the Newfound video a couple of times then jumped in....everything went fairly easily. Don't be shy, it's not that hard to do.
A hui ho,
Kent
User avatar
Doug
Posts: 476
Joined: Mon Nov 15, 2004 7:59 am
Location: London, Ontario, Canada

Post by Doug »

Here is another site for fiberglassing the inside.
http://www.greenval.com/FAQglassinside.html

I'd love to hear how you did your accent stripe on the bottom.

What fiberglass weight are you using? type of epoxy?
"Some people hear the song in the quiet mist of a cold morning..... But for other people the song is loudest in the evening when they are sitting in front of a tent, basking in the camp fire's warmth. This is when I hear it loudest ...." BM
User avatar
Patricks Dad
Posts: 1476
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:11 pm
Location: Warrenville, Illinois

Post by Patricks Dad »

A follow-on question for the glass-masters... I've read several website descriptions of the glassing process which have all been very informative. But haven't seen anyone suggest the following. I'm wondering what the downsides or difficulties one might encounter. I'd appreciate your assessment.


I was looking at a friends canoe the other day and noticed several places where the epoxy hadn't fully "stuck" along the sheerline on the inside. The outwale held the glass in place on the outside but on the inside where there were scuppers, the glass and epoxy had separated from the strip. It seemed to be an invitation for water to enter. This lead me to think about wraping the inside glass over the sheerline and overlap it onto the outside of the hull by .5" or so. The outwale would then cover the seam allowing the edge of the sheerline to be covered in glass and epoxy thereby creating a complete seal.

Crazy idea? Or is the best answer to mill the gunwales so they cover the edge of canoe entirely thus avoiding the exposed cedar.

thanks!
Randy Pfeifer
(847) 341-0618
Randy.Pfeifer1@gmail.com
User avatar
Glen Smith
Posts: 3719
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 9:08 am
Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Post by Glen Smith »

If you try to fold the cloth over such a small radius it will not stay in place and it will pull away from the inside at the sheerline making the problem even worse. Since gravity tries to pull the epoxy down into the bottom of the hull you should be vigilant and pull excess epoxy up to the sheeline until it just starts to gel.

I coat the upper edge of the sheer strips with epoxy after they have been planed and sanded to final shape. This seems to help seal the edge and prevent water infiltration. Some builders install outwales that are shaped with a cap to cover the edge of the sheer strips.
User avatar
mtpocket
Posts: 562
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:48 pm
Location: Indiana

Post by mtpocket »

The fiberglass cloth I am using is 6 oz.
The accent stripe I made consisted of two stripes 16 feet long for the sides and one 4 foot long for the bottom. I used three species of wood, cherry, sassafras and white pine. I made these while I waited on the supplies to arrive. I cut blocks of each specie to 2 3/4" long and run them through a 3/4" round over bit on my router table. Then I ran them through the table saw at 1/4". I built a jig to assemble 24" of rope at a time. After I had 18 of these, I used the same jig to attach the lengths together, creating a 16' rope for each side and a 4' rope for the bottom. When the cedar strips arrived, I laid out two strips on my workbench, plus two filler strips for spacing, laid the rope on top, clamped it in place and traced the edges. Then used a 3/4" drum sander in my router table to erase up to the line anything I did not want. The bottom worked the same way except the final fitting into the hull. The rope in the bottom could not be glued to the cedar strips until everything else was put in place. I dry fitted the strips in the small football area, including the strips that were to be erased on the router table. I laid the rope on top and traced it. I removed the cedar strips and used the 3/4" drum sander to remove the area where the rope was to be located. I inserted and glued the strips in place except for the strips that are fore and aft of the rope, i.e. filler strips. This allowed me to work without reaching a point where I would have to sacrifice a cove or bead. I inserted and glued the fore and aft strips and slid them into position, leaving me the vacant hole where the rope would be positioned. At this time, nothing really fit very tight. I glued the rope and forced it down into position, which then caused everything else to tighten. Everything fit together nicely and without any real problem. It also allowed me to work without any need to hurry before glue setup. I hope this answers your question. mtpocket
User avatar
mtpocket
Posts: 562
Joined: Wed Sep 08, 2004 2:48 pm
Location: Indiana

Post by mtpocket »

[img]<img%20src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/ ... P_0116.jpg">[/img]

I now have the seal coat of epoxy and the wet out coat on and am going to start the first fill coat in about an hour, I am amazed at the difference in color since the epoxy. I took a little longer than I expected on the wet out coat, but it was interesting to see the glass disapear. I am so glad that phase is now behind me. I confess, I was worried.
User avatar
Glen Smith
Posts: 3719
Joined: Sat May 08, 2004 9:08 am
Location: Baie-St-Paul, Quebec, Canada

Post by Glen Smith »

Here's the photo and the colors are great.
Image
User avatar
John Caldeira
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Aug 11, 2004 8:40 pm
Location: Dallas, Texas
Contact:

Most Common FIberglassing Mistakes

Post by John Caldeira »

You asked for some 'most common' mistakes, so here goes:

1. Incorrect mix of resin and hardener. Recommend dispensing into a calibrated cup (the two-cup trick works well), even if you have pumps.

2. Applying the first coats of epoxy when temperatures are rising (typically in the morning). A sure way to get bubbles under the glass.

3. Failing to wet-out the wood with water before fiberglassing, to see how it will look. Wetting it out with water shows all the glue lines and scratches that will show up under epoxy.

4. Insufficient use of the squeegie. After wetting out fiberglass, all the epoxy that can be removed without starving the glass should be removed. This makes a lighter boat.

No idea how common each of the above errors arek, but they keep popping up on the message boards.

John
Post Reply