After 3 years of hard paddling, the hull of my Exp. Single is pretty dinged up and the varnish has started to crack and peel where it sat in the sun too long last summer. Oh how far we have fallen from the virgin mirror finish of launch day. I have put a new coat of varnish each year but it is time to get out the sander, new bungee and do the 60,000 mile overhaul. I want to throw out some questions to the group.

1. In patching dings that have penetrated the glass should I just fill them in with epoxy or should I be patching with a glass patch. The thought of feathering the patches smooth seems like a lot of work. Most of these are 1/8" in diameter. One is 1/4".

2. I assume I have to get every last bit of varnish off where new epoxy is going. Do you recomend just sanding it all off or trying to blend new with old varnish?

3. What is the recomended time for letting epoxy cure before varnishing. I have a really fun 20 mile race in Boston that I do every year at the end of April. I need enough time for the epoxy to cure and to get 3-4 coats of varnish on....not to mention train for the race in a slow plastic kayak.

4. How long does varnish need to cure before it can go in the water? I will be in Japan for a week on business so I expect that I will be varnishing up to a 3-4 days before the race. Any problem with getting is wet that soon?

Thanks for the advice

Jack