: I'm ready to do my first strip on the hull of my Outer Island. Do I leave the
: tape on my forms if I'm going to use hot glue? Which hot glue works best?
: What is the wait time between strips? Best clamping technique?

: Thanks!

Rob’s Hot Glue Tips for Fast Stapless Stripping

I like hot glue. I use hot glue for the deck and hull sides on my kayaks and I use staples for the hull bottom.

Hot Glue
Pros – Hot glue leaves no holes. Hot glue has good holding power if the glue has enough time to harden thoroughly. A good option is to use hot glue for the deck even if you use brads or staples for the hull. Get the Right Hot glue, one specifically for bonding wood.

Cons– Strips must be held in place by hand or with some type of clamping method for at least a minute for the glue to achieve full holding power. The process CAN be slower than staples or brads. It can be difficult to get the glue to release from stations with some woods.

Make certain you buy the yellow hot glue for wood purposes.

Western red cedar is the best wood to use with hot glue. The glue holds well and releases without pulling a chunks of wood. White cedar works well also.

I use plywood stations and leave the wood bare and unsealed where I will apply hot glue. This insures maximum holding power for the hot glue. On my hull bottoms I use staples. Here I apply masking tape to the station edges.

PRE-FIT EACH STRIP holding it in place with spring clamps. At the stems or any place that needs more holding power drive a sheetrock screw into the station (about 3/16” in from the edge) behind where the strip will lie and clamp the strip in place with a spring clamp. This will also later hold the strip in place while the hot glue sets. Use spring clamps between stations to align strips. The strip must fit PERFECTLY. If not, do what you need to do to make it fit. Make certain there is nothing keeping the strip from fitting tightly like hard hot glue drips or other debris.

Mark the alignment of each new strip to the previous one with an X with a pencil so you won’t confuse marks from one strip with past ones.

Starting at the center stations apply hot glue to two stations and press the new strip in place. Use as small an amount of hot glue as possible. Small amounts of hot glue set up faster, release more easily, yet hold very well. Work toward each stem.

Holding the strip in place while the hot glue hardens is okay in the middle but is not the best choice at the stems. It is easy to become impatient and let go too early. You may come back to this spot and find the strip has moved out of alignment. Apply the hot glue and clamp the strip in place with a small spring clamp to the previously installed sheetrock screws in the stations.

Clamp strips between stations with spring clamps and use dabs of hot glue on the strip joint to hold after the clamp is removed in 60 seconds

The dabs of hot glue are used like a clamp to hold the strips in alignment and tightly together BETWEEN stations. I use the hot glue dabs on the hull and deck. Once I've applied the strip to the station, with hot glue (or staples on the hull bottom) I use spring clamps the align the strips and tighten the strip joint BETWEEN stations. By applying dabs of hot glue on the strip joint (like stitches) I can remove the spring clamps in about a minute and apply my next strip. All the dabs are easily removed with a paint scraper along with other traces of glue.

You are unlimited in the number of new strips you can apply since all clamps are removed after 60 seconds.

Go over the newly applied strip to make certain all edges are aligned and snug against the stations and stems. If your strips are tight and aligned you will literally save yourself hours of work down the road. I cannot emphasize enough that nothing you do during your strip building project will pay off more, than taking the time now to ensure each strip fits perfectly and all edges are aligned.

To remove deck and hull from hot glue, start removing the deck from the stations by wedging a putty knife at the outside edges of the stations.

Do not pry because this could crack the fiberglass on the deck.

Use a very large screw driver to reach the stations through the gap between the deck and hull. Lay the flat of the screw driver blade against the station. Rap very firmly on the middle of the screw driver shaft with a mallet or dead blow mallet to knock out the stations without damaging the deck. Hit stations toward the center of the boat where the larger beam will facilitate removal. You will be surprised at how easily, quickly and cleanly the stations will pop out.

CAUTION
Please only use this knock out technique on the stations by hitting them from the side. DO NOT PRY!

It is easy to get impatient and rush things, but please take your time.
The deck is quite flexible at this point with only a single layer of fiberglass on the outside to reinforce it. If you try to lift up too far on one end of the deck you could stress the fiberglass making it turn white.

Tricks for aligning Rogue Strips

A stick with sheet rock screws to make spikes at each end is used to push up on strips from the keel/hull bottom to align the edge with the side strips to get the right fit on new strips added to keel. This stick is pressed up on strip bottom and wedged against the strongback. This used to keep strips from forming a low spot in the surface. This must be use very carefully so as not to overdo the lift and make a hump.

Hot glue wood tabs to hold a strip joint down that wants to pop up.

Hot glue thin strip bridges across and under places that need support to keep a strip tip from diving below the hull or deck surface.

All the best,

Rob Macks
Laughing Loon CC&K
www.LaughingLoon.com