Giving up I guess.

[jeromefloats]

I’m not convinced I’ll ever be able to fiberglass properly. Since I found the roller method bunk for the outside, I tried the brush for the inside. Still no luck. I tried giving the fabric slack, and whenever I really tried to squeegee out the excess resin it would just pull the cloth away, so now I’ve got lumps and runs on the inside with ONE COAT. I’m not even sure this will be a usable boat. I’m thinking about burning it. I was really convinced this would be a positive development in my life. I can’t believe it’s just made life worse. Fuck boatbuilding I guess

[Jim Dodd]

WOW !

I have seen some pretty messed up canoes, in all my years of helping others, and I can tell you this, You can make it work !

It may not look like a Million bucks, but will still float when you are done ! And really ? That's what it's all about !

If you have bad spots ? Scrape the glass down to bare wood, and reglass ! You won't see it after you are done.

I'm building a stripper, and using it as a mold for a Kevlar copy. Noticed a wrinkle about 1" long in the tumblehome area of the composite. Scraped it down to bare wood, and applied two cloth patches. It's now invisible after varnish !

Trust me ! You will be fine !

I know glassing is the scariest part, but a few hints that helped me, when I started building these things, over 30 yrs ago !

Get everything lined up, before you mix that first batch of epoxy ! 9 oz batches, is as big as I mix.

Get a helper, that can mix resin, while you apply !

I use rollers the "Cigar" foam type, get the good ones, rated for varnish.. They have worked great for me !

Don't give up ! You can do it !

Jim

[jeromefloats]

I really did line everything up. I’m gonna try to make it work. I don’t know if I should scrape away some of the wrinkles or just leave them as there isn’t air pockets beneath them. I honestly just wanna start another, better canoe but I’m shackled with this one for the time being. I won’t be using west system again as it doesn’t seem to wet cloth out very well. And it’s working time isn’t ideal. I’ve heard great things about system three

[Jim Dodd]

I have either used or helped glass canoes with West, System Three, RAKA, and MAS.
There is not that much difference between them, as far as wetting out.

System Three's "Clear Coat" is probably the easiest as far as wetting fabric. It is thin, and will require several more coats to fill the weave.
If you decide to use System Three's Clear coat ? Fill the weave with their Silver tip epoxy.

I am more inclined to believe your problems lay in something else.
Fresh epoxy mixed correctly, in small 9 oz batches, should be fine. This last week I've been glassing a composite, So far using 1.5 gals of mixed epoxy. Wetting two and a half layers of cloth, and filling the weave.

I use the foam "Cigar" type rollers, made for Varnish. After mixing a properly measured 9 oz batch, for 2-3 minutes max, I pour the epoxy, a few ounces at a time on the cloth, and start spreading it around with a roller. The resin is never left in the mixing cup longer than 5 minutes, usually less. I keep moving, and once a cup is empty ? I will take a little time, and go back over the hull, to ensure, I have an even coat.

I can wet out a 15'6" hull with 5 , 9 oz batches. Roughly in an hour, or a little more.

Shop temp around 72degrees F.

Again, it is simple to scrape, and patch flaws !
The weave of those patches, will show when you have sanded them, but once you Varnish, they will disappear !
Here is a couple of pics from a recent stripper. I double layer the bottom, up to about the 3" waterline, and add two Bias strips to the stems.
Where the water hits the stems, there are 4 layers of cloth.

I sincerely hope this canoe works out for you ! Your next one will benefit greatly from your experiences with this one ! Hang in there !

[jeromefloats]

Thanks, Jim. I think the most important thing on a first boat is managing one’s expectations. It’s just discouraging as I really loved the process up untill now. There’s a guy in the area I know of who builds stunning kayaks. I’ll probably enlist his help for my next boat if possible.

[shawnkielty]

Oh man, don't give up. Just keep going with sandpaper glass and epoxy.

[shawnkielty]

Look my boat is wrinkled, tarnished, moldy and ugly. but when I get out on the water, people say holy *^%*, did you build that?. And I say yes ma'am.

http://shawnkielty.blogspot.com/2021/09 ... etion.html