: I'm getting close to the point where I have to get the hull fair for glassing
: and I'm looking at the stems where the plywood panels have been joined
: 'side to side' creating an 8 mm wide flat surface at the very ends. I
: suppose I could just round it off with a sander but that would expose the
: interior plys and I'm not sure I could make it even. I'm a little leery of
: trying to run a bead of thickened epoxy down the ends and blend it into
: the bottom without making a serious mess.

: Any advice here? Is there any kind of a jig or form to shape a bead of epoxy
: so it's even and fair? The part that has me stumped is the changing shape
: as the panels go from 'side to side' to 'end to end'.

: TIA
: Paul

The bead is what gives you added strength to the keel. You pretty much have to build it up until it looks nice. Use thickened epoxy, lay it on, let cure till tacky, lay on more, ditto until it sticks out enough to shape. You can use electrical tape to hold it in place. I laid the kayak out on one side and used the tape as a form to hold the t-epoxy in place. I did try to make it very thick so it wouldn't run. The glass should wrap and stay wrapped around the bead as long as it is uniformly shaped. No rounded corners; keep it all round. Blending the tail end of the bead is just a matter of a little sanding. It is a bit of a pain to get this right but in the end it's worth the effort.

Hope this helps.

Robert N Pruden