Any canoe/kayak builders here?

[Ras72]

Well, the fiberglass is on. Three coats of epoxy/resin... Wish I could say I'm thrilled with the outcome but I'm not.

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This shot shows the beginning of the second coat. Wet-out coat in the foreground and a filler coat in the background.
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Unfortunately, you can see the cloth in some areas. See the 'milky' sections on the side. I think this is due to not wetting it out enough before applying the second coat. The cloth is covered adequately - just visible in the light. It sucks but nothing I can do about it now.
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Positive side - the finish is solid. It seems to be very hard.

Now I sand the imperfections and go for a forth coat of epoxy.
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[guido]

There were similar "insufficiently wet" spots on the first stitch/glue kayak I made years ago. I decided to wear off the imperfections having fun in it. Came quite close actually...

Don't sweat it. Damn fine looking boat!

[j44ke]

You'll just have to make another one! Practice makes perfect.

[Eric Estlund]

Its a sucky job, but you can work some heat and there and back parts of the glass job up. Still looks good from here!

[Ras72]

So... I took a little break from this project. And looking back on this thread, I realized it's been way too long since i posted some updates.
Here it goes.
After glassing the outside, I popped it off the molds and turned it over.

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It was pretty cool finally seeing the thing upright, but it was at this moment I realized how much work was remaining. After my not-so-stellar fiberglass job on the exterior I was not pumped to do it all over again.
I certainly couldn't walk away from it so I started sanding and sanding and sanding. BTW - Interior bow and stern areas are a bitch to get into.

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Next came the glass.

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Then came the sanding of epoxy. Good God the sanding!! A good respirator is a must for this project.

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Then it was an unexpected move into a new 'workshop'.

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[Ras72]

Now we're just about caught up to real time...
After the move, I started working on the trim. The gunnels, decks, york, seats, etc.
For the gunnels, I went with 1/4" oak strips and 3/4" ash. I cut the oak into strips with a 3/8" arbor bit.

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I spaced them out to accommodate the placement of the yoke, seats and decks.

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And used epoxy to glue them to the ash. Having moved into my 'new' workshop, I worked off the floor. For the obvious reasons, this is highly NOT recommended! If I ever had to lay a tile floor for a living, I'd starve to death.

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Then the interior gunnel was trimmed and fixed to the canoe.

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Sanded... and the same to the other side.

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[guido]

Wow! That this is looking great! Really wonderful work!

[lumpy]

This looks incredible. I fix my canoe regularly but I have a new respect for people that build them. Super clean work, too.

[Ras72]

Thanks all for the kind words. It helps with the licking of wounds.

Positioning the yoke here. Most people attach it under the gunnel using a carriage bolt. I prefer the look of a flush mount. I trimmed it to fit, drilled in a couple oak dowels and secured with a couple 3" stainless steel screws.
I don't anticipate carrying this by the yoke so I gave myself some liberty in how it was secured. It should be strong enough for my intended use.

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On the other hand, the bow and stern handles were secured under the gunnel. These will handle most of the carrying and tie-down loads.

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I've now trimmed the stern seat and positioning it's location.

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Next up will be the decks plates, outer gunnels and bow seat. Then it'll be another sanding marathon and several coats of poly.

Oh and sorry for the weird picture rotation. I can't seem to get them proper.

[Ras72]

A bit more progress on this beast...

In the past week I got past a big mistake, mounted the seats, expoy'd the decks and finished up the interior gunnels.

While cutting the the inner gunnels, I came up short. Because I'm dealing with special order 20' pieces of ash, I've been very careful on my measurements and cuts. Needless to say I was pretty bummed to realize I f'ed up.

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However, in true Bob Ross fashion - there are not mistakes when you're creating something - I chose to create an opportunity for a little inlay.

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With that little bit behind me, I moved on to the decks. Also, I found the lid to my biggest sauce pan was the perfect radius to finish it off.

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I then moved to the 'softening' the edges by running a 1/8" round over bit in the scuppers.

Before:
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After:
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Next comes the outer gunnels...

[guido]

Splendid recovery! That this is going to be such a looker!

[Ras72]

Over the weekend I completed the actual 'construction' of the canoe. Now I'm moving onto the finish sanding and final coats of varnish.

I'm thinking of a custom badge or plaque. If I planned to continue building canoes and such, I'd spring for a custom branding iron to burn into the wood. But I am one and done. So, I'm thinking of a one-off plaque. Something similar to a head-badge on a bike. I'd like for it to read "Momento en la Vida".

Anyone have better ideas or suggest the best route to get this done?

Thanks to all for the likes and kind words.

[lumpy]

You could try casting a badge in polyester resin. It's pretty easy and low-investment. Make a positive of your badge in clay, spritz it with mold release, paint on a bunch of layers of latex molding compound, pour plaster over to make a mother mold (which supports the latex), flip it over and pop the clay out, spritz the mold with mold release again, mix up some polyester resin and pour it in. Prime and spray paint and you don't lose any detail. Surprisingly tough too if you make it a little thick. That's how I make Badasslon medals:


I learned how from this book: The Prop Builder's Molding & Casting Handbook: Thurston James: 97815587�1281: Amazon.com: Books

ETA: It's not obvious from this photo, but you can get a lot of detail. When you paint it the detail pops right out.

[Ras72]

Thanks Lumpy. That gives me food for thought.

[lumpy]

Thanks Lumpy. That gives me food for thought.

It's never going to be as pretty or "authentic" as a real cast piece but it's a cheap fun way to try out ideas.

[j44ke]

Over the weekend I completed the actual 'construction' of the canoe. Now I'm moving onto the finish sanding and final coats of varnish.

I'm thinking of a custom badge or plaque. If I planned to continue building canoes and such, I'd spring for a custom branding iron to burn into the wood. But I am one and done. So, I'm thinking of a one-off plaque. Something similar to a head-badge on a bike. I'd like for it to read "Momento en la Vida".

Anyone have better ideas or suggest the best route to get this done?

Thanks to all for the likes and kind words.

Velocolour is doing head badges. I bet they'd be able to work something up for you. Headbadges / Velocolour Bicycle Paint and Products

I worked with a carpenter who liked to say that even a good carpenter makes mistakes. It's his repairs that are perfect.

[Ras72]

After some epoxy to the trim and final sanding, I brought it indoor to apply the varnish.
And. Holy. Shit. I now have a difficult decision of applying matte as my final coat.

Before:

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After first coat has dried:

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[lumpy]

Daaaang the gloss looks good.

[guido]

Be careful here! That thing is quickly approaching to beautiful to paddle!

Very very cool!

[Ras72]

Well boys and girls, this thing is DONE. Gestation period was only 51 weeks.
Thanks for all the kind words and encouragement. It helped me past the 'wtf have i got myself into' moments.
I'm so glad to mark this off my bucket list.
Now, if only I can find that list to see what i do next.

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Complete with seat cushions and handy little storage below.

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And paddle keepers to keep things nice and tidy. No, I didn't have the energy to make my own paddles.

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Next will be getting it out of my apartment and into the water. That'll come next weekend.