What have you done today thread?

[Count Steer]

Day four - got to the workshop this morning to find the hull plywood had gassed (created bubbles in the finished fibreglass from air taped in the plywood released as a result of outer veneer softening slightly from resin and heat) so I've got around a dozen bubbles to sand out and patch before deciding on weather to paint or varnish the hull.

The only way to have solved the problem was to have cranked up the heating in the workshop to higher than the outside temperature (26°C) before the resin had started to cure to force out the trapped air and to pierce the bubbles and push them back down to the ply surface, then watch for any more appearing (repeating the same again) until resin had sufficiently cured to lock in any further issues.

Today, we sanded and glassed the deck as early as we could so we could keep an eye on it as it cured before applying a fill coat to cover up the weave of the fibreglass. A bit of a shame as we'd go the fabric on pretty much perfectly and the pattern was carbon fibre esq.

Fitted and clamped the combing ring, epoxied and glassed various components for fitting tomorrow.

...pix..

You can never use to many clamps! The grain of the sapele looks gorgeous and iooks very close to what it will be like when finished with varnish.

It's hard to tell there's any fibreglass involved!

That's v cool.

(I planned to go to the USA on a birch-bark canoe building course once. (The course cost was by the foot/length of the canoe - the longer you made it the more the course cost). Didn't happen for a few reasons inc. the cost of getting it back here).

[gremlin]

20260709_144724.jpg

Canoe make me one?

[ZRX61]

Just 3 S'd.
Going to the beach today as it will only be 80deg there. Picked up some 30ft leashes for the pupsters yesterday so they can run around on the beach without violating the leash law.
Dropping by the Kaw dealer 40 miles South on the way there to pick up a sender unit gasket for the '83 GPz750.
Roomies birthday so she wants to hit the outlet mall in Camarillo for some retail therapy.

[ZRX61]

Gassed up the ST at Costco. On the way back some muppet in a standard Explorer tried to impress me away from the lights, silly child

[Silly Car]

It's hard to tell there's any fibreglass involved!

That's v cool.

Thanks, the owner of the business and his staff have all complimented the build and the finish I've achieved. It hasn't been easy but I've enjoyed every step but I'm annoyed at the bubbles (I'll take some pictures tomorrow when I pick it up).

The idea is the fibreglass will disappear into the next coat of resin and only be visible on close expecting through the varnish on the deck. The hull will get battered over time so I'm painting that, colour scheme TBC.

The deck section has been wonderfully accented with dark pinstripes where the panels join which is difficult to see on the photos but they really pop when you see the boat, so much so, the paint will likely finish a couple of inches below the deck / hull joint to make the most of them.

20260709_144724.jpg

Canoe make me one?

Given the praise I've received so far, I'd happily take a commission to build one, it's a good job you are a banker given the time put into building one this far let alone in terms of the finishing touches

Today, a few finishing touches, hip braces and hatch cills fitted, toggle holes drilled, combing ring shaped and fibreglassed.

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[Count Steer]

I'm intrigued by the type of fibreglass you're using. It really does almost disappear/become transparent. Is it some special stuff like satin weave or summink?

Where are you going for the maiden voyage?

[Silly Car]

I'm intrigued by the type of fibreglass you're using. It really does almost disappear/become transparent. Is it some special stuff like satin weave or summink?

Where are you going for the maiden voyage?

It is 160g sqm twill woven fibreglass fabric which is a million miles away from the chopped strand mat of years gone by. You basically wet it onto the surface of the wood ensuring a tight bond onto the wood rather than floating to the surface of the resin.

You can see the pattern of the fabric in a few of the photos, it kind of looks like denim.

The next coat or two are classed as fill coats as the sit on top of the previous coat, burying the fabric below the surface. These coats are sanded to 240g finish to remove any imperfections, e.g. there are loads of loose strands on the side of the boat which will get sanded out.

First voyage will likely be in the North Sea of Roker Beach as there is a car park very close to a slipway. The boat probably weighs around 25kgs so not impossible to carry around.

[Count Steer]

I'm intrigued by the type of fibreglass you're using. It really does almost disappear/become transparent. Is it some special stuff like satin weave or summink?

Where are you going for the maiden voyage?

It is 160g sqm twill woven fibreglass fabric which is a million miles away from the chopped strand mat of years gone by. You basically wet it onto the surface of the wood ensuring a tight bond onto the wood rather than floating to the surface of the resin.

You can see the pattern of the fabric in a few of the photos, it kind of looks like denim.

Ah, gotcha. That explains the sort of diffraction grating patterns I could just about spot if I magnified the images.

Twill will give good conformity to an underlying shape. Denim is a twill - technically a 'warp faced' one. (Been doing some weaving and worked my way through 'twill' ).

Cracking stuff though - should have had a 'build thread' to itself. Rather sad it's all done - unless you carry on with the paint job and launch.

[Silly Car]

I'm intrigued by the type of fibreglass you're using. It really does almost disappear/become transparent. Is it some special stuff like satin weave or summink?

Where are you going for the maiden voyage?

It is 160g sqm twill woven fibreglass fabric which is a million miles away from the chopped strand mat of years gone by. You basically wet it onto the surface of the wood ensuring a tight bond onto the wood rather than floating to the surface of the resin.

You can see the pattern of the fabric in a few of the photos, it kind of looks like denim.

Ah, gotcha. That explains the sort of diffraction grating patterns I could just about spot if I magnified the images.

Twill will give good conformity to an underlying shape. Denim is a twill - technically a 'warp faced' one. (Been doing some weaving and worked my way through 'twill' ).

Cracking stuff though - should have had a 'build thread' to itself. Rather sad it's all done - unless you carry on with the paint job and launch.

I'm planning to blog it properly via it's own thread. I've not got many more photos but I'm planning to describe the process.

I'll be taking more photos through the rest of the finishing process. I'm hoping to get it into the water as soon as I can.

I'm planning to sell the rarely used "toy" car shortly, giving me workshop space which will hopefully allow me to make a little progress each evening once the epoxy has properly cured, around 7 days time.