yoke, seat glassing?

[jturk]

I have built my seats and shaped my yoke. They are walnut as are the stems and gunwales and decks. I intend to put a layer of epoxy on all of the trim (gunwales, seats, decks. and yoke) before I varnish. I want all of the trim to be finished the same way for continuity of finish. My question is... I am considering a layer of fiberglass cloth on the under surface of the lateral seat members and the yolk. I am thinking that the glass will slightly stiffen but significantly strengthen the seats and yoke. At 230+ # I am interested in seat strength. Am I over thinking again or is my plan reasonable.

[Patricks Dad]

Reasonable. But you own weight is not a consideration WRT the yoke. It only needs to carry the weight of the canoe itself (unless you intend to sit on the yoke). I've seen some builders build their seats with laminations including a layer or 2 of glass inside near the bottom.

[Jeff in Farmington, MI]

Fiberglass along the underside of the seat frame is an excellent idea, especially if you use unidirectional cloth (fibers running only along the length). For sure, you won't have any concerns about the strength of these seats!

Jeff

[John Brice]

My seat frames are made of chestnut and when I tested them, before installation, they bent quite a bit so I routed a slot in the underside of the front rails and epoxied a 3/8" steel rod in each. They flex very little now.