I'm building a Bear Mountain Rice Lake skiff 13' 9''
I'm using 6 oz fiberglass and West Epoxy 105/207. Being a newbie to
fiberglass I would prefer not to adjust my epoxy ratio for fear of
having a nightmare experience that I could post


Peter

Burly Pete wrote:
I'm building a Bear Mountain Rice Lake skiff 13' 9''
I'm using 6 oz fiberglass and West Epoxy 105/207. Being a newbie to
fiberglass I would prefer not to adjust my epoxy ratio for fear of
having a nightmare experience that I could post

Peter:

Don't adjust your epoxy ratio for any reason. Diluting your epoxy after
it is mixed with a SMALL amount of solvent is OK- there was some
research by WEST that they published in Epoxyworks magazine in the
Fall, 1999.

See http://epoxyworks.com/indexprojects.html and look for 'thinning
epoxy' under the 'Epoxy Techniques' heading. You can also use heat to
thin epoxy, though that causes other problems (faster cure, bubbling,
etc).

It would be best to take some cloth scraps and do a few experiments- a
few dollars worth of epoxy in experiments is a good investment.

The techniques you will be using for your projects are the same as on a
strip canoe (I've built a number). I assume you have Ted Moores' (Bear
Mountain) book- it has most of what you need to know.

Cheers
John

On that boat, I'd want to end up with a double layer of 6 oz. glass only
over the keel or at most across the bottom. To cover the entire boat with
that much glass is unnecessary weight. Also, it won't provide as clear a
finish.
Cut the two pieces of glass to shape ahead of time and position them on the
boat and get the wrinkles out. A little 3M spray adhesive is a big help
here.
Then, wet out the glass on the boat. Different folks have different
methods, but i like to pour a dollop of resin onto the boat and then
squeegee it around. The 6" yellow plastic bondo spreaders are good for
this. You'll only need a brush for dabbing a few remaining dry spots. I'd
mix resin maybe 8 oz. at a time.
Try to get the glass fully wet, but not filled, with as little resin as
possible. You'll fill it later. Too much resin will allow the glass to
float and reveal its wrinkles.

Don't thin the resin. That makes it weak and permeable. If the temp.
isn't over 80, you'll have plenty of time to do the whole thing in one go.



"Burly Pete" wrote in message
oups.com...

I'm building a Bear Mountain Rice Lake skiff 13' 9''
I'm using 6 oz fiberglass and West Epoxy 105/207. Being a newbie to
fiberglass I would prefer not to adjust my epoxy ratio for fear of
having a nightmare experience that I could post


Peter