I pulled the staples on the hull of my Razorbilled Auk and picked up the scraper, block plane and spoke shave, ready to start the fairing process. I then remembered Vaclav, of One Ocean kayak uses a belt sander to do initial fairing.

I put a new 80 grit belt on my Bosch 3x21 belt sander and went at it------ WOW!!!! this is the way to go for me. The belt sander is easy to handle and removes the high spots at strip joints easily and fast, with complete control. Per Vaclav's instructions, I only removed enough material to start the fairing process. I left unsanded joint lines between strips as a reference. After fillng gaps with Durhams, I will finish fairing with the fairing boards.

The belt sander removed the flat spots that are usually left after planing. I did use a Jetstick belt eraser to remove crud from the belt a couple of times during the 30 minute "quick fairing" with the belt sander. I'm sold on another great idea.

Larry C.