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Apr. 24th, 2006 05:32 pmI have epoxied the fiberglass to the outside of the canoe. Before adding epoxy, the fiberglass was radiantly white, the way I imagine white samite might be. Adding the epoxy turned it beautifully transparent, so that the wood beneath shone through. I did the job in several stages, one piece to cover to the water line (plus a couple of inches, because I’m a chickenheart), two pieces to cover the stems (the sharp corners at bow and stern), one piece to cover the outside completely, another two pieces over the stems. A patch where we put a ding in it, moving it out of Martha’s barn and into my carport. Another two patches where I didn’t get the stem pieces positioned properly. Then more coats of epoxy to fill the weave. It took days. More than a week, actually. Then I sanded it. More days. Plus, I sanded into (not through, thankfully) the fiberglass in numerous places while trying to sand all the drips and sags out of the epoxy to get a smooth surface. Then I put extra epoxy over all the places where I exposed the fiberglass. When I tried to sand them smooth, I sanded into the fiberglass beside the patches. I decided the epoxy was just too thin, and put on another complete coat. Today I started sanding again. I’m still sanding into the damn fiberglass in places, but I think I’m not going to try to mess with it anymore. It will show when I varnish, but not too badly, I think. Then the canoe comes off the mold, so I can do the inside.
Two Carolina wrens built a nest in the nose of my tandem canoe (hung upside down in the carport). Today the chicks left the nest. They fluttered all over the carport, practicing their flying, while I mixed epoxy. I watched them jostle on the rafters while I stirred each batch for the requisite two minutes. They were at it for two days, and the whole carport was alive with their flutters and chirps. Now they're gone; I think they've moved outdoors.
David, the deaf guy whose serendipitous appearance with his truck was the answer to my canoe-moving prayers, brought his deaf (girl?)friend (I have a hard time picking up all the signs when people sign at normal speed) Shelly by to see my canoe. I’m always happy to show it off. She wanted to know if I’d made it myself, and if I was making it to sell, or for myself. I've actually had three or four queries about that. I wonder what the traffic would bear?
Two Carolina wrens built a nest in the nose of my tandem canoe (hung upside down in the carport). Today the chicks left the nest. They fluttered all over the carport, practicing their flying, while I mixed epoxy. I watched them jostle on the rafters while I stirred each batch for the requisite two minutes. They were at it for two days, and the whole carport was alive with their flutters and chirps. Now they're gone; I think they've moved outdoors.
David, the deaf guy whose serendipitous appearance with his truck was the answer to my canoe-moving prayers, brought his deaf (girl?)friend (I have a hard time picking up all the signs when people sign at normal speed) Shelly by to see my canoe. I’m always happy to show it off. She wanted to know if I’d made it myself, and if I was making it to sell, or for myself. I've actually had three or four queries about that. I wonder what the traffic would bear?
