Hi Don,

I had lots of frustration doing the inside sheer of my Pygmy AT17, and that was only for filleting, not taping, in the ends (Pygmy calls for taping the inside sheer only near the cockpit.) Yours must be really hard! I also had a lot of claustrophobic difficulty when it came to filleting and taping the forward bulkhead, especially from the cockpit side. I had so much loathing for the job that I skipped my plans to install a footpump.

If you don't already have one for night paddling, get a Princeton headlamp, they make great work lights too. Right on your forehead.

Another tip someone gave me for working in the cockpit is to put the boat up on its side, rather than upside down, and reach in with your head and just one arm.

Also, I gave up trying to make one continuous piece of tape lie flat along its whole length. If you cut short segments it's much easier. In a high-stress zone overlap them; in a low-stress area the breaks or even gaps won't matter.

As for the gobs you've made, you probably do want to get rid of them or at least knock them down smooth so they won't shred your dry bags. For epoxy drips, I used a Dremel tool, just like a dentist would take down a high filling. You can get those long flexible extensions for these, and maybe use a tongs or something to reach the tip way inside? Much faster, especially if you've got 'glass sculptures inside, is a Sur-form, if you can figure out some way to reach in with it and maintain leverage.

: I'm building a Merganser 17 and having many problems attaching the deck to
: the hull. I am up to the point of filleting the seam and taping it. I have
: large hatch openings, but I still don't fit in them very well. It is dark,
: I can't see, and there is no room to twist and turn. Yesterday, I taped
: one side and ended up with a head full of epoxy.

: This morning I looked at yesterday's results, and I am sick. On one end I
: have a bunch of rolled up hard fiberglass tape, which I cannot reach. On
: the other end, the tape veered off course after a couple of feet, not even
: on the seam. It too, ends in a mass of rolled up cured epoxy and
: fiberglass.

: Today, I will take the boat outside to work. My garage is dark, then I'm
: sticking my arm and part of my head inside a small cave (the hull) to
: work. I can't see what I'm doing. I have no idea how to see in that tight
: space while I am working. I must have just gotten sloppy while being so
: frustrated yesterday. Do you sacrifice a flashlight, laying it in the goop
: in the hull while you work. No, you must tape it up or something,
: otherwise it would be laying on the tape you are applying. Maybe I need to
: go to a surgical supply store and get a fiber optic light. That is the
: only thing there is room for.

: How do you work in there and keep it neat and clean? I can't imagine ever
: getting everything smooth enough to pack either end for touring.

: It sounds extreme, but what about not filleting and taping very far up the
: inside, then taping the outside of the rest of the hull? Then I'd feather
: the tape edges with an ROS before glassing the hull and deck.

: Help! Any tips or ideas on attaching the deck to the hull would be
: appreciated.

: Also any tips on removing the cured fiberglass gobs I can't reach?

: Don