: Looks like my work may take me away from home until next summer. I am
: building a guillemot L, and have the stripping done, but don't expect to
: be able to do much more before I need to leave.

: It would probably be a mistake to begin fiberglassing if I can't finish it in
: a reasonably timely manner, but would like to be able to sand it if
: possible.

: I'm thinking that I can leave the boat on the form, wrapped in plastic
: (saran) wrap, and tightly taped, then unwrap it when I return next summer.
: I didn't use staples, so the wrapping seems necessary. Any thoughts?

The glue should hold it together without the need for any wrapping. I would be worried about moisture (condensation) being trapped next to the wood and causing color changes or splotches. And of course I wouldn't leave tape on that long, either. So the simplest thing is to do next to nothing and jsut let the boat sit.

Should you sand now or later? Hmmm. It is more a judgment call than anything else.

While it would make the boat appear to be closer to completion if you sanded it now, I'd put off doing the sanding until later. The exposed layer of wood (tree) cells on each of the strips will weather and age slightly during the time you are away from working on this. Sanding now will expose some fresh areas -- which will then age -- and you'll have to go back and sand it again in order to remove the dead outer layer, and open up some fresh pores for the resin to soak into.

While the second sanding is going to be very light and it should go quickly, that is still TWO dusty sanding jobs -- and you might as well make a mess just one time. So let it sit for now.

If you are really worried about the thing coming unglued, tie lengths of cotton cloth around it. Get 2 yards of cheap muslin (usually around $1 a yard or less) and rip it into wide strips which are 6 feet long. If your muslin is 36 inches wide you'll get 4 strips which are 9 inches wide. If it is 45 inches you can get 5 strips that wide, or get 4 strips which are 11 inches (and a fraction) wide. Fold these into strips that are about 2 inches wide and wrap these around the boat where ever you thing you need extra support.

You don't need to wrap the thing like a mummy. A couple of "bandages" a few feet in from the ends will support the most heavily stressed areas, and the rest of the boat should be fine.

The loosely woven fabric will "breathe" and not trap moisture. Later, you can unfold these muslin strips, refold them into pads, and use them (dry or dampened) as tack rags to remove excess sanding dust. Nothing gets wasted.

Should you desire to hang the boat from the ceiling these fabric wraps make good slings, too.

Hope this helps.

PGJ