: I am trying to find a better way to sand the inside of canoe and kayak hulls.
: I am working on a "Rob Roy" right now and sanding the inside by
: hand with a foam block with sand paper wrapped around it. This is very
: effective, however, my arms are sure getting tired!!

: I used a Dewalt Random Orbital on the outside and this worked very well, as
: you can "roll" the flat sander to match the curve of the outer
: hull. This totally does not work on the inside.

: Any suggestions on technique and/or tools would be greatly appreciated.

: Stephan

I have had the best luck using heavy duty sandpaper in a 40 grit. This paper stays sharp for a very long time, In fact I did my entire inside deck and hull with the same piece. I have cut and shaped several blocks out of 2x4 and 2x6 material to better handle inside curves. It still takes some arm work. I think I spent about 2 hours sanding the inside of my hull for my 18 foot guillemot. I'm not sure if that is a long time or a short time but I thought it was pretty good for doing it by hand.

Here are two of the custom blocks. the one in my hand usually has the 40 grit on it and is the block I mostly used for the interior work. Using different parts of it fit virtually every part of the interior curvatures.

The longer block in the background has rounded sides and a slight taper to the ends so it never digs in. I have stapled lengths of 60 grit to it and use it to clean up a little after gouging away with the 40 grit.

Even if it isn't what your looking for, go ahead and make a couple of custom blocks for yourself. You'll be amazed at how much you end up using them.

Tom