: . For myself I only use epoxy
: for gluing the strips. I know others don't like it, but it is the best
: glue to use and the ONLY reason they don't use it is the difficulty
: associated with its use (and the expense). For me I want the best glue and
: effort or expense are not good reasonjs for not using the best glue. Any
: carpenters glue is ok, but it is not the best no matter how you use or
: slice it.

As for a "best" glue, my vote would go to resorcinol glue, which is a glue used by carpenters (would that make it a "carpenter's glue"?) There are no doubts of its resistance to water. It has a good pot life, and when it set up it hardens in a day. Epoxy on the other hand comes n many different brands and each ahs different qualities. some would be better glues than others. Generally, though, if you mix an epoxy with a slow hardener which will give you a long pot life, it will also mean you will have to wait a long time for the joint to develop adequate strength. and if you mix it up with a fast hardener, your materials will kick sooner, but they'll still stay somewhat soft (as in "green" epoxy) for a day at least.

With all that being said, most joints do benefit from the epoxy resin which wicks in between the strips through capillary action. Just as the epoxy soaks into the wood pores, it soaks into any gaps in the joints, filling them (mostly) and adding what it can to the bond between the strips.

(And in the words of Ron Popeil:) "BUT WAIT, THATS NOT ALL!!!"

The bond between two strips is equal to the area coered with the glue or epoxy. With square-edged 1/4-inch strips, for every linear inch of strip there is a joint area of 1/4 square inch between the two adjacent strips. But over the same one inch length you have a layer of glass cloth bonded onto the front and back of these strips. With 3/4 inch wide strips the epoxy and glass are bonding to about 3 square inches of area (that is 3/4 square inch on each strip for the outside and the same again on the inside.) * This would be 12 times the surface area of the glue (or epoxy) joint betweent he strips.

With 1/8th inch strips the strip-to-strip bond is cut in half, but the surface bond of the glass to the strips stays the same.

If you have enough heat on the surface of your boat to soften the epoxy resin (somewhere over 200 degrees F) so much that strips can creep, then you should have built with a resin that was more heat tolerant! Oh, and if you are in the boat at those temperatures I'd guess you should be medium-well done in about 4-6 hours of roasting. But this is just a guess. I suppose you would have to consult a canibal cookbook for more details on cooked kayaker.

Just some thoughts

PGJ

*With multiple strips you have two other schools of thought. One is that the bonding area should just be the 3/4 inch width of the strip times 2 (inside and out) for a bonding area of 1.5 square inches, or 6 times the edge bond area. The other school says the glass does such a good job of spreading stresses that the strength of the bond can be exerted at any given time over a larger area than just two strips. This may be valid, and it seems to be borne out in lab tests impacts, and but I can't do the math on that in my head. It would be greater than the other numbers, though.