Fiberglass at the stems

If you know a good tip or technique to help get through a construction "stumbling block", please post it here. If you have questions concerning building problems, please post them on the "Builders' Forum".
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pawistik
Posts: 323
Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2004 11:20 pm
Location: Saskatoon, SK

Fiberglass at the stems

Post by pawistik »

I was checking out Dan's Bear Mountain Enterprise kayak build on westcoastpaddler.com and came across a little tidbit that I thought might be of interest.

For wetting out the fiberglass on the inside stems where there the confines are tight, Dan pre-wetted the fiberglass piece while it was layed out on a piece of cardboard. Once saturated, the fiberglass piece was lifted off of the cardboard and placed on the stems.

Have a look at Dan's photo album with this tip here: http://www.westcoastpaddler.com/buildin ... 15&pos=141

It looks something I will try to remember for the next build. Thanks Dan for the tip! :applause

Cheers,
Bryan
WestCoastPaddler
Posts: 29
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 4:33 pm
Location: Vancouver, BC
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Post by WestCoastPaddler »

I can't take credit for inventing that technique -- it's used by the fellows in the Clipper Canoe shop all the time (I work at Clipper). It definitely makes it a lot easier than trying to wet out a piece of fiberglass in a tight spot.

I should note also that I cut the fiberglass for the bow and stern inside stems on the bias, making it much easier to conform to the compound shapes of the inner stem. It was amazing how well it lay in that tight spot -- without any air bubbles under the glass at all.
Dan

My Enterprise build is documented at http://www.westcoastpaddler.com/buildin ... p?album=15
My daughter's Magic build is here: http://www.westcoastpaddler.com/buildin ... p?album=17
edmontonian
Posts: 62
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:56 pm
Location: Edmonton

fiberglass technique

Post by edmontonian »

Hello Dan,

Thanks for this advice. I am working on a Prospector with quite a narrowing of the gunwales from the half molds to the stems. While the shape is beautiful, it does limit access at the stems during sanding and glassing. The process you outlined using a bias-cut cloth sounds like it may be my best choice to complete the fiberglass work on my Prospector's bow and stern stem areas.
Thanks again.

edmontonian :applause
John Hidber
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