When ripping my gunwales for my SOF I managed to get a massive gouge about 1/3 the way along the gunwale. This took the thickness down to around 15mm, quite a bit less than I felt secure with. Not having enough material available to make a new set of gunwales the solution appears to be to take both gunwales down until the gouge was gone, then rip strips from the offcut and laminate to bring the gunwales back to size.

I have been told that laminating with epoxy will result in a very stiff beam as the glue is much harder than the wood it is bonding, and that a single pack polyurethane adhesive will give more flexibility while still maintaining a joint strength greater than the timber (hoop pine).

Does this sound reasonable?

Has anyone had experience with polyurethane adhesives?

I was thinking of puting the laminate on the inside, where the gouge was - Is there any advantage in putting the laminate on the outside?

Any help would be appreciated.

Warwick