It’s glass time

The hull is sanded smooth inside and out. It’s repaired, patched and epoxied and glued. It’s ready for glassing.

The object is to get the cloth smooth. That’s best done with the weave (bias) at an angle. The 4oz piece I used was not quite cut at that angle so getting it smooth was a little tricky. Plus I needed to patch a couple of end pieces. As you can see the cloth isn’t quite perfect but I’m starting anyway.

I’ve mixed up about 12oz of epoxy and  ‘wetted-out’ the cloth. I poured out a small amount at the top of the hull and let it soak it. I used a squeegee to spread the epoxy over the cloth, working it down both sides. I know when I’ve got the correct amount of epoxy in the cloth-the weave shows through but has a consistent look and feel. Not enough epoxy and the cloth will have a grey color and pull away from the wood. Too much and you get puddling which floats the cloth away from the wood.

DONE with the outside hull. I will roll on two more coats of epoxy with a foam roller. I can still see the fabric and feel it is some areas. I may need to add one more finish coat before I’m done. I’ll wait until I know how the boat handles before finalizing the finish.

On to the inside of the hull.