The big chance - with fine weather and *all* the materials ready. The hull has been sanded down, and cleaned with water and thinners. So, I started laying the fibreglass cloth over the hull, ready for the resin to be applied. I had intended to lay two 'runs' of cloth along the hull, overlapping on the keel. I knew that the shape of the hull would cause wrinkles to appear around the centre (amidships) of the hull, requiring 'darts' to be cut out. The thought of reducing the structural integrity of the cloth by cutting it virtually in half, worried me, so I changed the layout plans. I laid one of the full lengths right down the centre of the boat, which left about 250 mm of uncovered timber along 2/3rds of the gunnel. I then cut out two 300 mm wide strips, to be laid along the sides to cover the rest of the hull. This means that there was no need to cut 'darts' to get rid of the wrinkles. It also meant that for a considerable length of the hull, there would be two thicknesses of fibreglass - structurally much stronger. Also, because the overlap runs fore to aft, fairing the hull smooth would be an easy job. It also solved the problem of the heavy cloth wanting to slide off the smooth hull when it was laid with equal hang-overs on each side.
The resin application was an 'interesting experience'. I used the recomended 'dry' method, so that if the resin cured before the whole boat was finished, I wouldn't be left with half impregnated cloth. Starting from one end, I thoroughly 'wet out' the cloth in aproximately 1 metre stages, mixing about 6 'pumps' of the dispensers for each batch. By the time I was at the other end, I had enough resin, but the 'hardener' was running out. So much for accurate dispensing using the 'pump' system! I left the second 'side strip' to do later when I get some more resin. I found that a 'squeegee' was a great way to distribute excess resin laid on with a brush. I will get a better quality one next time as the cheap version I used kept falling apart. I had intended to use 'peel ply' with the application, but by the time I had finished the whole length, the first end was too 'cured' to apply the cloth. However, I got a good finish using the window cleaning squeegee, so I wasnt too perturbed. The final result looks 'mottled' with all the fairing compound, but the transparent finish indicates a good 'wet out' was obtained.
Progress to 11 June 2007 It is nearly the end of the financial year, and I have not added much to the blog. Work pressures have only allowed me about 2 or 3 hours each weekend to 'play' with the canoe, so not a lot has been done. As it is winter, and cold, it hasnt been good for setting epoxy. The time has been spent perfecting the finish - not much to see in photo's, so I wont bother with one for this entry. I laid a 2 metre extra layer of fibreglass in the centre section of the outside hull. This is the bit that will bear the weight of people stepping in ( and possibly forcing the hull down on a rock or suchlike), so I opted to go a bit stronger on this section. Experience has shown me a few things that would have been better to do. 1) Laying the first layer of fibreglass cloth with the squeegee was definitely the way to go, without bothering to use peel ply for the initial coat. It leaves the 'weave' showing through, but this is a good surface for the second coat. 2) The next covering should be done using small sections of Peel Ply, giving the terrific uniform, level, satin finish that requires so little work. I initially tried to use large sections of peel ply to do the 2nd finish, but it was very difficult to get all the wrinkles out, and control the quality of the contact. I would recommend squares of only say, around 2 squ metres of peel ply at a time, and overlap them if need be. The joins are easy to sand out, much easier than trying to cure wrinkles caused by wrestling with larger areas of peel ply, and the wrinkles caused by trying to get around compound curves. 3) Make sure you use peel-ply around the near vertical sides. Merely rolling the epoxy on will result in hard to sand 'runs' from these vertical surfaces, and it is worth the extra expense to avoid a lot of extra sanding and wasted epoxy. Good abrasive paper is expensive!
Painting the Sealer Coat - 24th June 2007 The day after my birthday - sun was out, still only about 15 degrees. But I mixed up the 2 part sealer undercoat, and rolled it on with a "wooly" roller. Very pleased about the result. Not too many faults showed up, and the paint set quickly (means dust and insects dont have a lot of time to settle)