I am finished stripping the hull of my Guillemot Expedition Single, and have completed 75% of the deck. I am thinking about the next phase where I remove the forms and "fair" the hull and deck. Here is my question: Just how fair should the surface be? I have read Nick's book about twenty times, and all the illustrations that show sections of the boat still attached to the forms are of lovely, already fair strips, all being good neighbors to one another. The only exception is the one where "one strip wound up a little low" and a small wedge shaped patch was placed over it.

I chose an artistic detail that produced several low spots, due to the unfortunate combination of my inexperience as a stripper (I could actually watch my skills improve from the hull to the deck, thanks for the suggestion to do them in that order, Nick) and from the way the detail strips went together. I dread having to fill in these many small spots with matching colored and shaped patches. How much depth can be made up in epoxy? I like the idea of compensating with a clear fluid instead of puzzle pieceing together scores of different colored, different shaped patches.

I also have many spots where there are gaps in the joints, not just in long, straight bead/cove joints, but in irregular, curving square-edged board joints. I think wood putty or epoxy-wood flour will cut down the draft blowing through the worst of these, but I am looking for some guidance on how large they can be and still be ignored. I mean, what minimum size must be fixed? Toothpick sized, with the grain? Will that show? I already have used approximatley 6% of the world's known reserves of staples, so a "jewelry quality" finish is no longer an issue, but I would like a reasonably clear and smooth surface. I am sure this is the time to make it so, rather than waiting to do it at the glassing or varnishing stage.

By the way, for those of you confused by my description of the artistic (hehe) detail and why it is giving me grief, here is the directory of my pics (no page yet, just pics). For those of you interested in seeing the early stages of the construction process, check the same directory. The filenames with the letter "a" in them are thumbnails.

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/7217/kayak/img/

All input is welcome. Thanks in advance.

Ed Valley