Glassing the stem

[Roel1]

Hi everybody,

I’m building a ranger canoe with my dad and we’ve just finished a fourth coat of epoxy (cured) on the outer hull. Aside from some issues with runs and a crease here and there I’m reasonably ok with the result.
I cut a way the glass at the stems and sanded it down so that there is still glass on the sides and a smooth overflow to the front of the stem. The front is now bare wood with a few coats of epoxxy. I plan to mount a brass strip for protection.
After searching this forum I noticed som threads on bias strips covering the whole stem. And as these things go: now I’m worried... Do you guys think it is necessary to glass the whole stem?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Kind regards,

Roel

[Cruiser]

I don't use brass pieces on the stems, but Yes I would definitely glass the ends.

I would sand the stems flat to receive the brass bands, then I would go ahead and bias glass the stem area. Once that is filled and cured, resand the end area flat to receive the bands ... you are sure the end is sealed and will stay sealed .

This is a link to my last build at the point I did the stem glass, if you want a reference

https://www.canoetripping.net/forums/fo ... uild/page8

Brian

[Roel1]

Thanks Brian, for your quick reply. The link is very helpful. As I understand it, the fact that the last (fourth) epoxy coat has fully cured doesn’t matter? Just a matter of sanding it rough enough to receive te bias strip as shown on your photo’s?

The feathering out part is not something I’ve done before (the same goes for working with FG and epoxy as a whole; it’s a steep learning curve ;-)). I’ll study this forum some more before I start the next phase.

One last question. Due to circumstances I’m forced to leave the canoe outside. It’s sheltered from rain (under a roof and wrapped in a tarp) but we do still have some mild night frost. As I only have the outer hull covered in FG/epoxy I’m not sure if this is a bad idea....?

Kind regards,

Roel

[Cruiser]

Putting epoxy over cured epoxy is fine as long as you sand to prep, that gives the epoxy something to hang onto. If you put epoxy on epoxy within the manufacturers spec, you get a full chemical bond .... think of it as a single piece of epoxy, so strength is max. If you sand cured epoxy, the scratches you introduce provide the tooth or grip for the new epoxy that is applied, this is called a physical or mechanical bond, not as strong as chemical, but plenty strong.

Cold shouldn't bother cured epoxy, just don't chill it before it is cured is the only advice I can offer. There is a risk of leaving it unfinished as the wood is still exposed to temp and humidity swings and wood likes to "move" under those conditions. Personally, if you can swing it, get it sanded inside and get the FG applied before you move it outside ... if you can't, then you can't and you roll the dice. I wouldn't completely seal it though, tarp it for protection, but leave either the bottom open or at the minimum good sized areas for ventilation, you don't want to create a micro climate under the tarp (inside the canoe).

Good luck.

Brian

[Roel1]

Thx again, I took your advice to heart. I just hung the canoe on the ceiling of my garage. This canoe has some stories to tell even before it has seen a drop of water ;-)

[Cruiser]

Just a note on hanging your canoe .... I read an article about rodents chewing rope and that you should use light chains or some other rodent proof material.

This is just a thought, after I posted this is another forum, one of the guys there has his canoe drop because he had mice and they found a way up and chewed one of the ropes.


Brian

[Roel1]

That would be very unfortunate indeed... I used lashing straps (is that a correct term?) used for car racks. Hopefully the rodents don’t like it. When the temperature allows it, I’ll take it down and place the bias strips. After placing these, would one coat of epoxy covering the whole outer hull be sufficient for a smooth outer layer?

[Cruiser]

If you follow the directions in the link I posted, you will see I only do a thin final coat on the actual bias strip area, after it gets feathered and sanded.

There is no need to recoat the entire hull, having said that, once I sand down the hull, IF I have any areas where I get too close to the glass, I will do thin recoat to reseal, then a hand sand with 220 grit to roughen (take the shine off) for varnish. This does entail a delay, because the epoxy has to cure fully before sanding and proceeding to varnish.


Brian