> I've run into a bit of a snag on the Wee Lassie II and could use some
> suggestions from the group. I'm using redwood I milled from mostly
> flat-sawn lumber, some quarter-sawn. I would have bought all flat sawn,
> but my selection was limited. I was careful to keep all the strips from
> the same planks together as I milled them so I could balance the strips on
> either side of the boat. I started at the sheer laying the
> now-quarter-sawn strips (I will refer to these as 'good' strips) which
> carried me up to the bilge. From there to the centerline, I layed the
> now-flat-sawn strips (I will refer to these as 'evil' strips). Now, some
> of the evil strips are more evil than others, but there's a band about
> 4-5" wide that really has a lot of hard growth rings running parallel
> to the surface, and I'm having a heck of a time trying to fair the boat in
> this area.

> Here's what I've done so far: I started by planing the whole boat (where
> practical) with a block plane and then moved on to the ROS with 80 grit,
> and I was careful to change the disk every few feet. By touch, I could
> feel that I was still generating undulations between the rings. I gave the
> fairing board a shot. With fresh sandpaper on, I ran it over the good
> strips and got the satifying sound of a good cut. I ran it over the evil
> strips and got virtually nothing. I could tell it was just gliding over
> the top of the waves. I switched to a cabinet scraper, and by touch, this
> was giving me pretty good results. I thought I would be able to scrape the
> whole boat, and then go over it with a light sanding (ligthly enough to
> not generate more hills and valleys) with the fairing board. Last night
> for the first time, I turned the lights out and raked a flashlight over
> the scraped surface, and I was stunned by what I saw. Although I was able
> to make localized faired surfaces, the overall surface was pretty
> disappointing with waves and ripples. I'm looking for some suggestions on
> what to try next. At this point, the only thing I have planned is to get
> some different (sharper) sandpaper, and put the hard sanding pad back on
> the ROS sander (it's got a medium stiffness pad now).

> I would be greatful for any suggestions on how to fair evil strips.

> Thanks,

> Ross

Ross, I had similar problems with my Wee Lassie. I gave up trying to get it smooth and glassed it. The areas that I knew were a problem I put another fill coat on when epoxy was still green (12 hours) and used my cabinet scraper to level the areas when hard enough and put on the fill coat on the whole hull. In some areas I did the process again. This adding epoxy, scraping, adding epoxy in small areas levels without adding weight or thickness. I like to scrape the epoxy on whole boat before I start sanding. I have worn out 2 cabinet scrapers so far building boats.

On the inside of a canoe I think that its best to not fill the weave which leaves a matt finish that is less slippery and hides any imperfections. Your dog wont slide around and cause a capsize!

Larry C.