The Bear Mountain Boat Shop

Did the inside of my freedom solo today, but I ran into a slight snag. Need some advice/opinion on how epoxy cures in cooler weather. Was cool here today, about 10C, garage is a bit warmer than that. Warmed the epoxy/hardener to room temp (~21C) for a few hours, so that it would mix and go on better...

Hi Paul, I am also in Canada (near TO) and am working on my first boat. I am currently at the fiber glassing stage and would just make a point about time. 1) as Randy points out, finishing stripping seems like it's nearing the end, but there is a lot of time required for curing, sanding, trim etc. a...

Since this is my first time FGing and therefore also the first time sanding, I am wondering if there is any difference in the colour/appearance of the weave pattern that might tell me that I am at the glass or just the epoxy pattern. I don't think I have over sanded, simply because I am using a good...

I just finished sanding the outer hull with 80 grit ... I have the weave pattern showing in a few places, but I think it is epoxy laydown pattern. Problem is that I don't really know what the FG would look like if I really did get that far. What I have is not a white colour, which is what I think th...

So with the outer hull glassed and the plan for this weekend to get sanding done and the hull released from the molds, I have a few issues and am hoping for some feedback. I am using East System epoxy, work area was ~72F, had a dedicated mixer/timer and I believe I followed all the right steps. Unfo...

I am using the East System and it seems to be much the same way, low odour (low VOC) and in a well ventilated area, not at all troublesome. I had the wife do the mixing outside, as the hardener is a bit of a different story. After completing the planking, I made some adapters and put the strongback ...

I am at roughly the same stage and using Canoecraft as a main guide and this forum. Q1: I believe the inner stem gets rounded over so it isn't abrupt. Q2: I plan on laying the glass over the stem and leaving the 2" around the stem dry until the area surrounding the stem is wetted. Then I will c...

Well, for better or worse the outside is fiber glassed, it went better than I expected but worse than I had hoped. I know a few runs in the epoxy are expected, but I think the boat waits until you leave to create them. I plan on leaving the hull for 5 days and then sanding from the keel to the edge ...

Thanks Jim, was just looking for a second opinion. I was going to glass tomorrow and then sand and glass inside next weekend. In between, I want to get a start on extending the gambrel roof on my shed outback, to make a canoe loft, so the couple of weeks waiting on epoxy can be put to good use. Brian

Planning on glassing the bottom of my canoe in a couple days, both an exhilarating and terrifying thought. I have read materials supplied with my epoxy (east system) and looked through the forums and wonder if it's as easy as it seems. I plan to work in an open garage, with a fan at the main door, b...

It's going pretty well, just finished initial sanding and wetout.

Heading out to figure out best way to do the bottom planks to the sheerline .... that should be fun

Guess a pic would be better

Just finished another milestone, bottom is closed ... tomorrow I will remove all the clamps on the bottom and start putting on the last few planks to the sheer line. Once those are on, I will likely design and build a set of wheels to attach to the strong back, so I can do the sanding in the drivewa...

Things are moving along, I cut the centre line on the weekend and started laying the final strips. Since I included an accent strip, I am going slowly to "adjust" the fall of strips , so that the accents line up perfectly. It took a little figuring to come up with a smooth way of adjusting...