: I've never done this before but I wonder if the tight weave of the
: 3.2 cloth from Thayercraft isn't helping it to conform. The boat
: designer says cloth should conform without cutting.

There is no sin in cutting this. Infact I would endorse cutting the fabric by the ends of the boat. Cut straight down a fold along the keel line and you'll have two wven flaps. Trim them so you can fold each of them over the end of the boat and get a 2" to 3" overlap. The advantage here is that you get a double thickness on the ends. I don't use external (or internal) stems, so that extra wrap of glass just adds to the joints holding all the strips together at the ends. Adds negligible weight but double the strength. The angle of the fabric bending over the ends is at a bias, so no need to cut extra bias strips. Once the resin has hardened, scrape off the loose strings and bumps, then you can sand the edge of the overhang at a slight angle so it tapers into the surrounding glass. this is called a feather edge. Do this when you do your touch-up sanding before varnishing and you won't need to add any epoxy over the sanded area.

: The second layer is going on soon. I guess I'll cut that too but it
: seems once I start cutting there's no end before I get a good,
: clean overlap.

How many layers are you planning on? One will hold the boat together just fine.

: I'll use two abrasion layers, cut on a diagonal, once the next full
: layer is on?

Again, just one is needed. That is, unless you are strictly landing a heavy boat on a rocky beach every time, and too lazy to get out a few feet from shore. two grunge layers are only necessary for really severe use.

You would want to cover basically the football-shaped area under the waterline, and an area 2 to 4 inches wide on either side of the bow and stern. Cut a couple of pieces of scrap into your bow stern strips. You need about 3 feet of strip for each end. These can be several short pieces you patch together. Don't worry about the thickness of overlaps. It is only about 0.01" thick fabric, and you will smooth that to a perfect surface when you sand.

The football-shaped area can be cut square to the weave, or you can apply it with the weave at a slight angle if you want to save a foot or two of fabric. Tape together several pages of newsprint from yesterday's newspaper, lay this over your hull and lightly sketch out the shape you'll need to cut from your glass. Don't press too hard or you may transfer some ink to the boat. Cut along your line with a scissors, and use this template for cutting the glass you'll apply. Cut the glass about 1/2" to an inch over the template, and any shredding or loose fibers can be sanded down later.

Wait half a year. Use the boat all summer and in the fall go over the hull and find any areas which have gotten heavier damage. Probably thses will be along the keel line, or to the sides of the cockpit area. fix any damage, and add patches to the most-damaged areas to give them an additonal layer of protection. These don't have to be big patches. Feathering the edges will make them disappear. Put on a fresh coat of varnish and put the boat away for winter. In spring it will look new, and the varnish may have even hardened by then.

Less is more. Fewer layers now, partial layers only where needed, and when needed. Let the boat talk to you.

PGJ