Fiberglassing the Hull

Oh Boy!!! Fiberglassing. I guess there comes a point where you just have to give it a go. I read the kit manual, Nick Schade's book, and researched every last key word I could think about on the internet, but there came a time when I just had to let it pour.

Its nerve racking because after all the time I spent stripping, gluing, and sanding. . . when it came to fiberglassing, it felt like one false move would forever be plastered into the boat.

Here's how I prepared:
1) Started on a weekend that I had free. Though its not absolutely necessary that the glassing get done over consecutive days, its easier. The additional layers of epoxy to fill the cloth weave can either be done when the epoxy is partially cured, 4-8 hours, or fully cured >12 hours. If you chose the full cure route, then you have to wash of the amine blush and sand before adding another layer.

2) I went for the small foam roller to spread the epoxy. Many people said they didn't like the roller because it soaks up too much epoxy, or it introduces bubbles, but I thought it did a great job of spreading the epoxy quickly and evenly. And because it does absorb some expoxy, it was possible to give a little more in areas of need with a little harder pressure. Down side is they are a bit expensive and can only be used once.

3) I also bought a Squeegie and Laminate roller from Fiberlay, http://www.fiberlay.com/, since they were near my house. I got the 6" heavy duty squeegie which was really helpful, perhaps necessary. The Laminate roller was really nice too when a few big bubbles arose. I probably should have used it more, since after adding a second layer of fiber glass, i noticed some tiny little bubbles arise.

4) I got a couple graduated quart containers for mixing the epoxy, just because I was paranoid that the pumps that came with the resin and hardner would not be completlely accurate. I trust them now, so i just use small disposable plastic cups to mix the epoxy in.

5) Lastly, I got some acetone. Don't forget the acetone. Epoxy is messy stuff, especially when you're nervous and the stuff is getting all over the place. You need a good solvent to clean up your tools.

6) I also had a mask, nitrile glove, and eye protection.

This is me almost half way into wetting out the first layer of fiberglass. Every thing went surprisingly smoothly. Everyone says it, but it is wonderful to see the opaque cloth turn transparent with your now darkend rich colored kayak beneath.

After laying out the cloth over the hull on the diagonal, the bias, you just smooth it out, then pour you epoxy on and spread it out. Its pretty obvious if there's enough there, if not, then its not transparent. Then if you have it, you can use your laminate roller to squeeze out any air or epoxy pockets that are lifting the cloth from the wood. Finally, you squeegie out the excess epoxy. I used a V slit in a piece of cardboard to clean my squeegie between pulls.

There she is looking all pretty after her first layer of fiberglass.



So far, the stern was the only eye sore that I could find. The cloth does not lay flat at sharper angles, so I had to cut the cloth and overlap it. I wasn't sure if that's what you had to do, but it seemed like the only way. So my stomach turned a bit when I saw the nasty overlapped edge.

Of course, that was just the beginning. The Kit instructions say just to use one layer of cloth, but everyone else on the internet was using mutiple layers. Sometimes 2 complete layers, sometimes an extra layer just on the bottom of the hull to the stems, sometimes 3-4 extras layers on the stems. So I was conflicted. I didn't want a wimpy boat, but I also didn't know if there was enough material in the kit for an extra layer. Also, everyone was saying that you trade strenght for weight.

Anyway, I decided to add another layer just on the bottom of the boat and the stems. Well, after I did my amazingly poor job of cutting out a symmetric football shape, I started to have a sinking feeling in my gut as i started to wet out the second layer. I wasn't sure if it was my horrible cutting job or if the frayed edges always looked this bad.

Not very pretty job of cutting the cloth for the second partial layer.

Yucky, frayed edges.

The problem is that the frayed edges where I cut became more frayed as I squeegied off the excess expoy. There was glass strands and cottony looking crap all over the place. I hope that after sanding it will all smooth out, but if I were to do it again, I think I would have just added a whole second layer.

Anyway, I put on two more epoxy fill layer to fill in the weave of the cloth. That's why I wanted to have a couple of days free to try to finish the hull. But before I do any more fill layers, i'm gonna let the epoxy cure for a day and try to sand down some of the nastier looking transisitons b/w layers. Then do the final fill layers for the smooth finish. Wish me luck!