> . . . i noticed
> a disturbing situation: the glass around the fore and aft hatches had
> begun to white out. there were pathces a few inches wide by a few inches
> long fore and aft of each hatch, but not port and starboard. it was
> possible to feal the weave of the glass. after a good hour of moping about
> i decided that the problem may have been due to end grain that wasn't
> properly filled, causing the wind to lower the moisture content of the
> strips, shrink it, and allow it to dissociate from the glass.

I would guess that the wind had little to do with things. If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on the sun heating the hull and causing some moisture problems. Any humidity in the wood could have evaporated and been trapped by the layer of fiberglass and resin, clouding the underside of the fiberglass.

> So the next
> day i parked on the side of the road and spent the better part of a day
> putting epoxy on the end grain. i paddled it for the next few days with no
> problems and got the boat home with no further white out.

From your description it sounds like you could have spent the time paddling, instead. If the areas were small, not leaking, and not getting bigger then from your description I'd say there would be not problem paddling without worrying about a repair. But I WOULD check it to make sure it did not get bigger. If it DID get bigger I'd check for any pinhole leaks that might be letting water in. If it got bigger and started to look like a blister, then I would put a small hole ( pinprick) in the blister to relieve the internal pressure and let the trapped moisture out.

> I have three
> questions: 1. did i diagnose the problem correctly?

2. did i do the right thing about it, temporarily? Probably. It certainly did not hurt things, but it may not have been necessary to so at that time.

3. what should i do about it now? should i
> sand down to the wood and replace the fiberglass? should i just varnish
> over it and live with it?

This is the start of paddling season. Why waste time NOW on a few small spot repairs. By the end of the season you wil have plenty of nicks, gouges, ings, dents, and bruises to fix. Put on the varnish to protect against any further UV damage and go paddle. At the end of the season: Sand most of the boat to rough up the varnish. Sand these bad spots ( and any others) down to the wood and replace the fiberglass. Put on more resin to fill the weave of the cloth in all repaired areas, then sand them lightly and varnish the whole boat before you put it into storage for the winter.

Here is the reason for this approach: By grouping all your repair work at the end of the paddling season you will find it to be more efficient. You get out the tools and materials just once and take care of doing everything, just that one time.

Hope this helps

Paul Jacobson