: (I originally posted this in the wrong forum area Sorry)
: I have a couple of questions.

: My wife and I are building a “Guillimot and a Great Auk” from the book “The
: Strip-Built Sea Kayak” by Nick Schade. I have also built a strip canoe the
: 13’-8” Laker from the book by Gil Gilpatrick.

: 1.) I’m going to use west systems epoxy.
: a. How bad does the humidity have to be before it will get cloudy on you?
: b. If this is a problem, is there a way to combat it?

Mike, West would be the people to answer this question definitavely. You could run a test layup on scrap, and see if it goes cloudy in the conditions you intend to glass at. If it is a problem, the best solution is to reduct the humidity - add heat to the space or run a dehumidifier. Once the epoxy is cloudy, the only fix is to sand it out.

: 2.) I’ve entertained thoughts of glassing the insides of the hull and deck
: first, then put them together tape the seam on the inside, finish sand the
: sheer line, then glass the outside. This is just a thought.
: a. Has anyone ever used this kind of a process?
: b. Or am I just thinking way too hard?

If you try to do this, the changes in humidity will tend to warp the hull and deck, because they are only glassed on one side. Best to glass the outside of the hull first, then glass the inside. While the inside glass is still green, prop the hull open at the correct width using spacer sticks cut to the form widths. Usually two spacers are sufficient. Clamp the hull closed if necessary, let it cure good and solid before removing the spacers. Do the same on the deck, and they will mate together very closely. If a small gap remains, force-fit it till the outside tape cures.

: 3.) The book from Gil Gilpatrick instructed me to tape the keel first so I
: did this (i.e. lay-up the glass from thin to wide) on my canoe and it
: worked just fine. The book from Nick Schade instructs you to never have an
: overlapping seam under a layer of glass because you could inadvertently
: sand through the outer layer of cloth. (of which makes sense)
: a. How does one handle multiple layers of glass, see question 4. ?

I havent read the Ted Moore article, but you do want to fair the seams on the layer underneath before glassing over it. This is easy to do 'green', using a scraper.

: 4.) I read the article on “Fiber-glassing a wood strip hull” by Ted Moore, (I
: found this article on the West Systems web-site) and how to make it clear,
: very awesome article. (totally changed my plans) Questions on this.
: a. How does this effect multiple layers of glass?
: b. Do you have to follow this process for each layer, if laid up individually
: (i.e. do one complete then the next layer)?

: Concerns about question #4 is I don’t want to have to paint the hulls, to
: make them look good.

: Thanks

: Mike Sundman
: http://w3.qtm.net/canoe/

If you dont tell anybody the flaws are there, nobody will know Dont sweat it.