: Hi:
: I am in the process of building a Night Heron in my basement
: workshop. My first thought was to take the finished hull &
: deck to my buddies shop 40 miles away. Big project and a lot of
: shop modification the get the boat in. I'm wondering if any of
: you fiberglassed your kayak in you basement, and if you are
: married, did you survive your wife's wrath?? My concern is fumes
: etc. I can close up the shop and there is a window which I can
: vent out.
: Thanks,

: Jack

I have fiberglassed in the living room with plastic dropcloth to protect the floor. The problem was my bedroom is on the lee side of the house and we don't use A/C but rather let the breeze blow through the house. I woke up the next day swearing I'd never do that again after a night of breathing epoxy fumes. Your situation is different. If you put a fan aimed out the window and the basement is sealed from the rest of the house you'll be fine. Do not underestimate the fumes, however. They don't smell bad but wear a respirator. They are not good for you. Lesson learned.

As for the wife, I have the best wife in the world. I have a workshop in the kitchen and a pool table in the living room as well as various hot-rod VW's in various stages of completion in the drive (and yard). The porch is my sawdust making and fiberglassing area. She endures all this as long as I occasionally make her stuff, fix the cars, and somewhat clean up after myself. The trick is every other project needs to be something for her. A bookshelf, plant stand, or other simple project takes a few days and buys you a month of kayak building on the porch. Fixing her car lets me build a VW engine and then fire it up on the test stand on the porch. Same goes for the landlord. I fix his cars, mend a broken table leg, hang a screen door, and in turn he puts up with the sander at 10PM and a kayak being fiberglassed on the porch. You have to play the game smartly. "Honey I built you this nice footstool... Oh by the way, it started to rain so there's a half-finished kayak in the living room. I'll take it back outside once the storm passes, okay?" "Honey, I bought a 60-gallon air compressor and put it next to the dryer so I can plug it into the 220 outlet, but I just used it to rotate your tires and put on new brakes- hey look, we already saved $100." "Darling don't let the cats out because I just spilled epoxy all over the porch- oh and I hung the new closet doors you wanted."