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Friday, June 14, 2013

fiberglass

Got the bottom glassed up today.  I used 3 oz. glass clothe which is half the weight of what I have previously used.  I chose this weight because I wanted to toughen up the bottom but wanted the boat as light as possible.  3 oz. is very thin.
3 oz, glass clothe is very thin.
 I masked off the bottom of the boat and fitted the glass to the bottom.  Usually I wet out the wood with epoxy first, but this stuff is so thin I decided to just pour the epoxy right on top and then work it out and thru the clothe.  This seems like it should be fine.
As I was doing this I decided to put grounding keels on the boat.  These will give some small protection when on the ground and will give the frames inside the boat something to rest on other than the thin bottom.  They may also add a bit of directional stability, or tracking.
Glass on grounding keels epoxied and weighted in place.
I am just using epoxy to attach the grounding keels rather than gorilla glue and screws as I have done in the past.
I didn't get a chance to trim the extra clothe when the epoxy was partially cured, as I usually do so I may have to do a bit more sanding after I cut of the excess.  I am busy for a few days so all should have plenty of time to cure.

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