ROB ROY / Larry "Rehd" Brown /

09-20-01: It's been a year since I ordered the plans... I cut 4 sections out of 4mm Okoume plywood. Rough-cut about 1/8" outside the lines and intend to stack/align and plane/sand down to the lines to get exactly identical pieces. With the exception of the gap between the bottom and sides, which I cut carefully along the lines. I chose to cut out plan and tape down to plywood, stacked two sheets high, making sure that the sheets are laying opposite directions (good faces together and not both up or down). After rough cutting the first two I flipped this over on top of the other side of plywood and marked outline to rough-cut the other two pieces. When all 4 were cut out to rough shape, I sanded and planed the stack (clamped together with C-clamps and scrap wood) to the exact line. I used a Jig-saw for all cutting to this point. (approx. 3 1/2 hrs., less soda breaks.)

10-7-01: Sanded all four panels with 80 grit on ROS and knocked any splinters/burrs off the edges and around the drilled wire holes. Saturated both sides of the plywood panels with epoxy and squeegeed off the excess. Inserted copper wire into two holes on each panel and hung from the garage door for several hours.(approx. 2 hrs.) 10-8-01: Epoxy was fairly cured/hard, enough to sand with 80 grit again, very lightly. Then laid the panels out on the lawn to see which sides I wanted where and what matched the best. Once I picked out locations, I put masking tape in a corner with location on it, all on the inside. Applied small plywood "straps" at the ends of the splits in the panels with thickened epoxy, using some pine and redwood saw dust mixed to try and match the color. Using the mahogany dust seemed to be too dark when wet with the epoxy. Laid them on the workbench and set bricks on the straps to hold them down for a few hours. (approx. 1 1/2 hrs.) 10-9-01: Laid out the left sides and glued up the joint. I chose to use 3.25 oz. glass cloth instead of the plywood butt blocks. I double checked the edges to see that they were square, as well at the bottom edge. I placed Glad plastic wrap under the joint and used some 2" spring clamps and a couple of strips of scrap wood to keep it together and square. After I coated the wood/glass area, I put another piece of plastic wrap over the joint and set some bricks on top to hold it together and level. Only got one panel done this evening as I only have the bench to work on. (approx. 30 min.)

10-11-01: Pulled the first half off the bench last night, after two days of epoxy cure time, and laid out the other two pieces to be glued up. (approx. 30 min.)
10-14-01: Scraped and Sanded the epoxy/glassed center joints and redrilled the wire holes. (approx. 1 hr.) 10-15-01: Set boat halves up on workbench and cut wires to length and bent in preparation to stitching. Unbelieveable how long it took to cut 100 wires and bend them all. (approx. 1 hr.) 10-16-01: (problem) Well, it was inevitable I suppose, when a rookie builder desides to wander from the plans or designers instructions. I decided to build my butt-joints using fiberglass instead of the plywood blocks as the plans call for. Mind you, I have NO experience with glass cloth, so, I just cut some 3.25oz. Satin weave cloth and laid squares over the joints and saturated them with resin. All was well until I and a friend started stitching the boat up and the bottom panels didn't match at the seam, so we both applied pressure to get them in alignment. The seam gave way on my buddies side and ripped right up the joint. We were both shocked and he was beside himself because he thought he had caused it. After he left, I got on the internet and tossed the ideas around with some friends from a Kayak Building Bulletin-Board. Then I got back with my friend and my two options were to go back to the plywood blocks as in the plans, or try again with the glass cloth. I've decided to go with my original idea, and glass the joint. We figured out that my problem stemmed from the fact that I ran the glass across the joint and that only left half the threads to support the joint. They told me that I should run the glass cloth diagonally (bias cut) and then another layer in the opposite direction to double the strength. Another problem... I drilled the wire holes just large enough for the wire to go through and little extra room. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to break the boat down to the planks again and reglass the joints with the new method, but before that, I will redrill the wire holes with a larger bit, I will also go back and replane the edges of the plywood a bit so there will be flats to glue together. (approx. 4 hrs. stitching)

10-28-01: After a week off and getting over the breakage I went back to work. Pulled the remaining wires out and redrilled the holes a little bigger, but still less than 1/8". Then I sanded the edges to a bevel in an attempt to match the edges when stitched together. If they aren't beveled, they will meet at corners and it's difficult to line up. I started to reglass the joints using two layers of 6oz. cloth cut to a bias and also went with a 4" wide strip first and an 8" square over that. Since the broken 4oz. glass was still on the planks, I roughed it up to accept the new resin with a mechanical bond. It took about 3oz. of resin to wet-out the double layer and then was clamped in the previous manner and pressed with bricks to keep the joint aligned. The weather is a bit cooler (50^o at night and 70's during the day)so I'm leaving each joint on the bench for 2 days before moving so the resin has ample time to cure and then will glass the opposite side of the joint as well. (approx. 2 1/2 hrs.)

11-01-01: Finally got back to gluing up joints, or at least one more. Resin and glassed, two layers, on the outside of the first joint.(approx. 20 min.) 11/02/01 Glassed inside of second joint and scraped some of the lumps off the first joint. Will finish scraping/sanding the joints when all are glassed and cured. (approx. 20 min.) 11-04-01: Finished up glassing last two joints. (approx. 30 min.)

11-08-01: Scraped last two joints and sanded smooth with ROS and 80 grit disc. Layed out both sides on saw-horses and started re-stitching from the middle. Keeping all the wire ends on the outside/bottom of the panels (panels were laid out with inside facing up). Twisted all the center wires up so the sides were up close. Also wired the side/bottom gaps just till the sides started to move upward, and they did the same for the center wires. With the bottoms up snug, I put the frame together and worked on fitting it in the bottom section. This had to be done because I didn't use the plywood butt-blocks, but rather the fiberglass joints. That meant the sizes would be different (longer). With that done I continued tightening the stitches until the bottom halves started to move upward at the ends and had to quit for the evening. (approx. 2 1/2 hrs.) 11-9-01: Pulled the clamps off the frame and planed and sanded it to shape. Laid it in the boat and marked and drilled wire holes where I would stitch it in place as well. Went back and tightened up all the wires until everything was touching and aligned properly. I had beveled the edges throughout, and that, I believe helped greatly. Only slight bevel in the floor of the boat, and as it turns up in the bow and stern, and in the side/bottom joints, it took more bevel. (approx. 1 hr.) (well, 4 hrs. if you count talking to all the neighbors standing around gawkin') 11-10-01: Epoxied frame to bottom of boat and held it down with more wires. Tightened the side-bottom wires up to get the fit for the side joints. About paniced when I saw them over-lap 1/4", but double checked the instructions and there in the fine print, it said there would be some extra to allow for trimming and fitting. Marked and cut them off with razor saw and planed the edges to the line. Had to cut 4 or 5 wires on each one to get them out where I could use the saw, so I had to stitch them back up to double check, and also drilled the ends of the frame and then the sides for matching holes. Spent more time talking to the neighbor's roofer and someone driving by that stopped to ask.??? Brought it into the garage later and started to do the joints. Stuck a piece of glass cloth to the ends of the frame with resin, and clamped it back out of the way. Then I started wiring the sides up to the frame and together at the top until they were all snug. Then flattened the cloth back down to the sides and applied resin to the sides. That would effectively attach the frame to the sides as well as adding some strength to the area. Applied one layer of 6oz. glass above the frame at the side joint. All was tightened down and well saturated. Will do the other side tomorrow. (with all the interuptions, still approx. 2 1/2 hrs.) 11-11-01: Glued/glassed the other side-bottom-frame joint. Had a few wires break while doing these joints as it took a little more pressure to bring the sides in to the frame. I also added a second layer of 6oz. glass tape to both joints just above the frame. (approx. 1 hr.) 11-12-01: Cut out the Breasthooks and trimmed the bevels on them, fitting them ocassionally to be sure they'd fit properly. I didn't have any hardwood so used some pine from an old cabinet. I would rather have used a nice piece of mah. or possibly birch or maple, but since this will be covered with a layer of glass I think it will be durable and strong enough. (approx. 30 min.) It rained so there were NO onlookers! :) 11-14-01: Pulled the wires from the glassed side joints and laid the two layers of 6oz. glass on the outside of one joint. Drilled the holes for one of the breasthooks to attach and decided to call it quits for this evening. (approx. 30 min.)

11-17-01: Glassed the outside of the other side-seam. Planed and drilled the first of the breasthooks and attached it with some of the Bronze screws, (temporarily) so I could get the fillets started in the next two days. (approx. 45 minutes) Also: since the sides were flaired quite a bit past the frame attachment, I (for lack of bungee cords) clamped an extension cord across the sides with my spring clamps to bring them together a little. 11-18-01: Moved the boat outside the garage and mixed my first batch of resin/putty using Fumed Silica, Micro-Balloons and some redwood sawdust for color match. Filleted the seams on one half of the canoe enough to 1" - 2" wide pattern over all the wires. I installed the breasthook in that end to hold the sides together until the putty cured.( it was off so I could get the putty up into the very tip of the boat, minus the 3/4" allowed for the breasthook. I wrapped the breasthook with plastic wrap and tightened it down. Scraped the fillets as smooth on the edges as I could to make sanding them easier. (approx. 1 hr. 15 min.)
11-19-01: Checked the fillets to see how hard they were and pulled the wires out of that side. Sanded the fillets smooth and feathered the edges. Removed the clamps and extention cord and the sides opened a minimal amount, but were still close enough for the breasthook to be snug. Mixed another batch of putty and went over the seams again to fill the wire holes and add some body, up to the widths the instructions called for and smoothed and rounded all the corners. Reinstalled the breasthook just in case. Tomorrow I start the other side. (approx. 2 1/2 hrs.)

11-21-01: Beveled & Drilled second breasthook for fit. (approx. 30 min.) 11-22-01: Filleted this (oppisite) end of boat and screwed breasthook in place. Later, sanded the first end fillets and glass/taped w/3" tape.(approx. 2 hr. & 10 min.) 11-23-01: Cut and pulled remainder of wires (end 2), sanded fillets and scraped & sanded 3" glass/tape on first end. (approx. 3 hrs.) 11-25-01: Cut plywood for seat and bulkheads. Laminated seat parts using resin/putty. Glass/taped (6") seams previously taped w/3". Put second fillet coat, filling wire holes on other end. (approx. 4 1/2 hrs.) 11-26-01: Took seat out of clamps, trimmed and sanded all edges and surfaces. Scraped and sanded 6" glass/tape on end one and second fillet coat on other end. Turned boat over and lightly sanded wire holes and filler that had seeped through seams. Filleted all wire holes and seams. Turned boat back over and applied 3" glass/tape to second end.(approx. 3 1/2 hrs.) Sanded 3" tape on end 2 and applied glass/tape (6") over those seams. The easiest thing I found to apply the resin and tape up into the stems was my fingers (vinyl glove covered, of course). I had to make cuts in the tape, about 1 1/2" to 2" from each side to get it to work it's way into the stems and lay flat. Reminded me of my finger painting days of old. (approx. 1 hr., 15 min.)

12-02-01: Scraped and sanded the remaining 6" tape and started trimming the bulkheads to fit. (approx. 1 hr.) 12-3-01: Finished fitting one bulkhead and marked a line around it, in place in the boat, so I would know where to add the putty seal. Glassed the inside of the bulkhead area with scraps of 6oz. glass given to me by a friend (the boat crusher) and saturated that area well. Coated the inside of the bulkhead with epoxy as well as the underside of the Breasthook for that end. Mixed some thickened epoxy for glue and attached the breasthook in place, then mixed more in putty consistancy for the seal around the bulkhead. Worked it into a bead over the line and then place the bulkhead in place. Squeezed it down so there was putty on both sides. Ran my (gloved) finger around and made a fillet around the outside and under the breasthook to hold the bulkhead in place. Placed a brick or two on it to hold it from lifting up or slipping out of place. Also placed some spring clamps at the breasthook to keep the top in place. (approx. 3 1/2 hrs.)

1-26-02: After a long delay, brought on by work and health issues, I am back at it this evening. Cut strips of 3" tape, 6oz. (cut on bias) from scraps given to me by a fellow builder, and started glass/taping the bow and stern stems on the outside of the hull. I cut the bias tape because it will lay down easier on the pointed sections of the stems and as mentioned before, it is stronger arranged in that manner. As I got up to the flatter sections of the bottom, I used regular 3" tape as it didn't have to bend around the seam. The bias cut tape was in shorter pieces so it took a bit longer to apply to the hull. (approx. 2 hrs.) 01-27-02: Cut more 3" bias strips out of the 6oz. scrap cloth and glass/taped the Chines on the outside of the hull. ( approx. 1 1/2 hrs. )

02-01-02: Had a long session today... Started by going out and scraping all the rough edges off of the 3" tape. Then took the R.O.S. to it with 80 grit disc and feathered the edges into the plywood surface. Once I got all that done and was ready to add the 6" tape, I had to dig through the bag of scraps and find some of the 6oz. stuff and cut my bias pieces. I cut enough to do the stems only and then ran out of the 6" stuff. I took my roll of regular 6" tape and did all the flatter areas. I was still short of the 6" bias tape, so I had to do one end in the 6oz and the other end I added two laters of 4oz. It's all bias cut and the satin weave so the strength is not an issue here. With the 3.25 oz cloth over the entire hull, outside, and the 3" and 6" tapes, there will be around 15 oz of cloth at one stem and 17 at the other end. That should be plenty to toughen up the stems for any kind of treatment. I then started putting the tape on the keel and chine seams, and it took quite a while to get it all at one sitting. After it was all on and saturated well, I went over it with my fingers and made sure the glass wasn't floating in the resin and that the stems were all down and smooth around the sharp corners. (approx. 5 1/2 hrs.) 02-02-02: Tried to sand the 6" tape this evening but it was just soft enough that it clogged the sanding disc. I used a scraper to take all the rough edges off and smooth out where the piecs over-lapped. (approx. 1 hr.)

02-03-02: Finished cleaning up the 6" tape with the R.O.S. and got it all feathered in. Lit the wood stove and threw a couple logs on the fire to warm up the garage for glassing later on. Drapped the glass cloth over the boat, as there were some folds in it and wanted them to lay down. They weren't too bad and had no problem there. Let the garage warm up for a couple of hours, until the fire burned out. The boat was warmed up as was the epoxy. I was hoping that I could turn the glass cloth to get a bias on it, but it was too narrow and had to lay it straight down the length of the boat. Not a bad thing, but a bit stronger if you can bias it. Started in the middle of the boat with a big resin DUMP of say around 12 oz. I spread that out from one end of the football ( bottom, flat area ) and then started letting it run over the edges (chines) and down the sides where I would go from one end to the other and kept it smoothed out as even as possible. Didn't let it run off the boat too much. As you can guess, there were some pretty big wrinkles in the middle and where the sides started curving towards the stems. I just worked the squeegie back and forth untill I got them to lay flat. The weave of the cloth will tighten or loosen depending on how you push it, and it will eventually lay flat. At the stems, I took the old scissors and cut the cloth up the middle from the very points at each end, up to where the curves started flattening out, or where the wrinkles got too big. The ends of the cloth are then over lapped and trimmed to around an inch extra. I went over the entire boat hull and worked nearly all the extra epoxy off to keep it from puddling or the cloth from floating in the resin. Came out pretty well. (approx 3 hrs .... not including the warm up time). 02-04-02: Checked the glass job over and found 3 small areas where the glass cloth lifted up, where I had the biggest wrinkles to get rid on. All of them are the size of my little finger-nail and I will sand them off and patch with small pieces of cloth and resin again later. Mixed up some more epoxy and poured it over the boat, approx. 24 hrs. after the initial glass lay up. This will be the first fill coat. I kept it thin and squeegeed off the excess. Didn't take much more epoxy for this fill coat. (approx. 45 minutes)

02-07-02: Preparing for second fill coat, I lightly sanded the entire hull with some 100 grit paper by hand, just to knock off the dust, and some of the high peaks in the resin from the day before. Carefull not to sand into the cloth weave, but enough to take off the unwanted high spots. It's not neccessary but over the years working with other type finishes I have found it's easier to take off the foreign objects between coats as apposed to taking it off after building up 3 or 5 coats of finish on top of it. Also.. I cut the glass cloth off that had pulled up in 3 or 4 spots and since they will all be covered totally with the outer gunnal. I feathered them in with the surrounding glass. I didn't fill them with cloth, but rather just resin. Dusted the hull off and recoated it with a second fill coat of resin. Went much easier and took much less epoxy on this coat. The first, wet out, coat took somewhere in the area of 20 to 24 oz. of resin. First fill coat took around 12oz., second took 8 oz.! (approx. 1 1/2 hrs) 02-08-02: Ran the orbital sander over the surface very lightly to remove the high spots and recoated with fill coat #3. This time it took only 6oz. of resin to nearly fill the weave. It may take another coat, but only some very low spots have any weave showing now. (approx. 45 min.)
02-18-02: Put the fairing boards to work this afternoon and sanded the entire outside of the hull. I washed it off and towel dried it and then fired up the heater to warm up the garage for epoxying. I waited around an hour and then aplied the final fill/leveling coat. (approx. 3 hrs. ... 2 1/2 of which were sanding and cleaning) 02-21-02: As this was the final resin/fill coat, I let it cure for a couple of days before trying to sand it. I used the R.O.S. with 80 grit disc on it. Did the entire outer hull with the exceptions of the seams, until it was smooth and flat. I went back with a bad disc from a previous sanding effort and went over the corners/edges. The sander is too agressive and would have taken the glass cloth off really easy. (approx. 45 min.) 2-22-02: Light day today as I wasn't going to move the canoe, so I just stuck the 150 grit paper on the R.O.S. and sanded very lightly over the entire outside of the hull. (approx. 30 min.) 02-23-02: Took the boat out on the lawn and re-arranged the workbench with my boat cradles so I could turn the boat over and finish working on the inside. I don't count that time against the building of the boat. I did sand the edges of the sides and the top of the breasthooks to clean up the excess glass edges. I used one of the fairing boards I made previously. (approx. 15 min.)
03-16-02: Sanded the seam around one bulkhead and did some shaping of the breasthook to get away from the squared off appearance. (approx. 30 min.) 03-25-02: Cut bias strips out of 6oz. cloth scraps, 3" wide and epoxied them around the seams of the bulkhead on one end of the boat, then, since I mixed too much epoxy for that job, I spread it all over that one side of the boat. Squeegeed it out as thin as it would cover the plywood and then cleaned off excess. (approx. 30 min.) Also got the chance to run by the local lumber yard and pick out some Poplar in 16' length so I could cut my gunnal strips. The poplar will contrast the Okoume plywood nicely I think.
1-1-03: Well, I've done all the home projects, so now I can finally get back to the Rob-Roy. I should be able to get it all done in the next couple weeks with a little effort and no overtime at work. Here's the last two evenings I've been able to work.
12-28-02: Laid the glass cloth inside the boat ( one half only ), arranged on the bias and trimmed at the edges (approx. 2" extra on the edge). I only used glass in the inside to see how it worked and I chose 1.5oz glass cloth. I think this was a mistake in that the lightweight cloth was very difficult to manage. It wanted to float on top of the resin, and kept sticking to the squeegie pulling it up or dragging it along and air pockets. I quit with the squeegie and just started pressing the glass down with my gloves. It was a bit easier, but I ran out of time and couldn't quite get all the wrinkles out. I just left the little ones and got out the big problem areas. All in all it wasn't a pleasant experience. (approx. 50 minutes)
12-29-02: Scraped out the wrinkles left the day before. Sanded what I could and got it down pretty smooth. I'm not worried about the little gaps in the glass. It wasn't required and the boat will be plenty strong when I add a fill coat over it. (approx. 35 min.)
12-30-02: Got a friend with some more experience at glassing to come help me with the other side of the boat. We put the cloth in, clamped it along the sides and did the pour. We started with the squeegies to just move the resin around and then worked it in with the gloves. With help, it was much easier to lay it all down and I found that you have to work it slowly and move it easily to keep it from lifting. We got it all down in good order and left it to cure. Learned a little this evening. (approx. 35 min.)
01-05-03: Sanded the inside of the newly glassed section (1/2) of hull (ROS w/80 grit). Cut and fit one side of inner gunnal strip (poplar). Had to chisel out some thickened apoxy from notches in breasthook to get it to fit. It's not pretty, but some wood splinters and glue will fix that. (approx. 50 minutes)

9-3-04: Well, it's been a very long break since I last wrote and/or got any work done on the Rob-Roy. But... after a long battle: overtime at work, fixin' friends, neighbors and kids cars and a death in the family (and all that this entails), I have finally been able to find some time to start working on it again.
Took me 3 days worth of work to get the garage back in shape. What remains of the boat build are the seat, gunnal strips (inside and out) and a varnish job. But before I dig into those I need to get rid of the drips, runs and some glass that inadvertently got stuck to the outside while I was glassing the inside of the hull. Drips weren't bad enough, but some glass got stuck down and that will have to be removed. My first tool to start cutting at this was the cabinet scraper. I also may need the paint scraper if this gets too tough for the hand-held tool. I took the high spots off the drips and brought them down to nearly flush with the outer hull. However, it looks as though I will need the bigger scraper to get the layer of glass off or at least bring it down to where it's not too obvious. (approx. 15 minutes) Good to be back at it.
9-12-04: I finished the sanding the other evening and it didn't look good... I got a little aggressive and used the Random Orbital Sander. It had 60 grit paper on it and I should have gone with no lower than 80 or 100 grit. At any rate, I sanded into glass and made a fuzzy mess in most of the areas I worked and I doubt that a simple coat of varnish would have covered it to my satisfaction. So, tonight I wiped down the outer hull and cleaned off all the dust, then recoated the entire outer hull so I would get a good even coat. I spread out 4 oz. over the entire outer hull, so it will not be too thick, not will it look like patches. (approx. 30 min.)
9-19-04: Sanded the rough texture off the hull from resin fill coat with 80 grit paper on fairing board. I got the fuzzies taken care of... however, I didn't stick with it and the epoxy got a ton of little runs and dust specks in it. Tomorrow I will go over again with 120 grit on ROS to get it down smooth again. Then it's time to turn it back over and add Gunnal strips. (approx. 45 min.)
9-25-04: Last night, I sanded the outer hull again, with 120 grit to get it smooth and clean, and remove most of the scratches from the coarse paper.. What is left will cover with the varnish. (approx. 20 min.)
After washing off the dust and wiping it down I pulled it off the stands and changed the stands to hold the boat up-right. No time available. This morning I went out and cut my inner gunnals from the Poplar I bought last year.
In order to get it to bend I had to cut it down to 1/2" thick by 3/4". I had to do some fancy trimming to get it to fit into the slots cut in the breasthook, and if I were to do it again... I think I'd make the adjustments to the breasthook and not the strip. Mostly because I had to unclamp and unbend it to work on it each time... there are compound bends here. (in and out/up and down) What a pain. :-p Only after I did the first one did I think of taking a chizel to the inside of that slot and opening it up a little. Live and learn. My joints didn't turn out as good as I'd have liked, so I will have to use some thickened epoxy (colored with the sawdust mix I've used on the rest of the boat) (approx. 2 1/2 hours)
Got some last minute trimming done on the inner gunnals and mixed up some Dookie-Schmutz (epoxy and saw-dust/micro-balloons) and started smearing it all over the place. Well, mostly on the gunnal and inside lip of the canoe... but I managed to drip it on the canoe and the workbench?? I spread it thin on the strip and then went to the boat and applied it to the inner lip on one side. Then, with the excess I went back to the strip, which had soaked up a good part of the first layer, and applied the remaining mix.
I found that an old tooth brush worked exceptionally well for this. And I fould out over the past months that I wasn't working on the boat that I didn't have to toss my brushes away every time. I used Plain White Vinegar and it cleans up the epoxy on brushes very well. As long as you don't let it start to kick off while on the brush. So, I did the whole job with one brush and it's cleaned and ready to go on the next application.
I went to the boat and stuck the strip into one breasthook and clamped it there. Then went to the other end, bent the strip and stuck it in that breast-hook. Moved over to the center and clamped it in the middle, making sure that I had an equal amount of bow on each side. Then, just worked along the side of the canoe and clamped it all down. When I got towards the ends, I had to remove that clamp and allow the bow to come out of the strip and it slid further into place. Do to my error I had about 1/167quot; gap at all four ends :( Supposed to be a snug fit! So, I will have to use some Real Thick Dookie-Schmutz to fill the gaps and sand it to flush. Calculating that bend wasn't as easy as I figured. Plus, I spent some time unclamping and reclamping to get it all relatively even. I repeated the process for the other side and now that job is completed until final sanding and Varnish application. One other thing I noticed while doing the inner strips was that it showed how uneven my sides were, mostly in the center. Possibly do to over sanding when I was trying to get my joints even and smooth. Bending the Poplar along the edge gave me a more true line around the side of the boat, so when I get the clamps off on Monday (I want to wait two days, just for insurance sake, as there's a lot of torque on those strips) I will run the block plane around the edges and get them even. (approx. 1hr. 20min.) Now it's time for dinner. :)
While the inner gunnals are curing I decided to play with the seat, as it's the last thing that goes on, after the outer gunnals and before varnishing. I cut some scrap 6oz. cloth that a friend gave me. Layed it out for a little over hang ( bottom side ) all around and wet it out. I set it aside on some waxed paper to cure. Then, I decided to add some other seats that were given to me by a boat builder friend. I want to add them towards the ends of the boat, one low and the other a few inches higher. I cut out the low seat and got it approx. where I want it, but have to taper the ends. When I add the third seat, at the other end. I will place it farther from that end and a couple inches higher. That, I hope will give some variety to seat placement for different size single paddlers and offer seats for 3 people in that case. I have 5 grand kids that this boat is being built for and each weighs in less that 75 lbs. so 3 or even 4 of them would probably fit in there after they aquire some experience. Other wise it will be myself and one or two of them. These extra seats will be Velcro'd in and possibly made a little more adjustable with added velcro in different areas of the hull. Or, left out completely if need be. Man, this thing is going to weigh a ton. (approx. 1 hr.)
9-27-04: Pulled the outer Gunnals off the boat and cut the compound angles on the ends with my Japanese Pull Saw ( look-alike ). Love that saw!! Then I measured and marked for the tapers on all ends. Once marked I used my block-plane to plane down those tapers. Then, since I didn't want them laying around to get stepped on, I clamped them back on the boat... I also did some sanding on the Seat/Support piece and it's now ready to install. (approx. 2 1/2 hours)
9-30-04: Last night I didn't have too much time but I managed to glue the seat/support in the canoe. I used thickened epoxy to attach it to the support and side panels. I also added some filler around the edges. Tonight I went back to the seat and sanded a little and applied some glass cloth from the seat to the side wall. I also applied a fill coat to the top of the seat. A total time (approx 45 min.)
Also, tonight, I sanded the outside edges on the O. Gunnal strips and attached one. I mixed some epoxy and applied it to the inside of the strip for one side of the canoe. Then, went back and added more epoxy to the mix. I thickened it with my filler powder and applied it to the outer edge of the canoe... then added some to the inside of the strip. I stuck the strip on the canoe and started clamping. Once I got it positioned where I wanted it I got out the drill and screw tips. I drilled holes ( which I had previously measured and marked ) and then went back a few at a time and put the screws in. (approx. 2 hrs)
10-02-04: Pulled the clamps off this evening and hung them back up. Won't be needing them till next time. I sanded the gunnals and rounded off corners a little. Sanded the bow and Stern Breasthooks (you tell me which is which). I also sanded the glass patches on the center seat and recoated them with a fill coat. At Barry's suggestion I cut and glued some little plywood blocks where my web-seat supports go. This will spread out the pressure on the hull area where the supports will rest. I set the seats in place to help hold them until the epoxy cures. I will then fillet around them and sand them smooth. I will also have to shave those ends down a little so the Velcro strips will fit between them and the blocks. (approx. 2 hrs)
10-04-04: This afternoon I scraped and sanded some small drips/runs of filler from the pieces of plywood I attached for seat supports for the webbed seats. Then I mixed up some thick filler (D.S.) and built up a fillet around them. When that was done I thickened up the filler a little more and started filling all the screw holes in the outer gunnals. I also filled all the gaps in the breasthook/gunnal joints. Wanted to do it with pine, but I couldn't find anything even close to the same color. So, I just mixed up some light colored D.S. and used that. Before I quit, I decided to add the anti-skid surface to the inside-bottom of the canoe. I mixed 4 1/2 oz of epoxy and added 5 tsp. of Skid-Tex ( fine sand ) and applied it with a squeegie and worked it all around the taped area to get a good cover and no runs. Worked great..! (approx 2 3/4 hours)
10-06-04: Worked late, but had time to sand the filler off the Breasthooks, gunnals and web-seat supports. (approx. 45min.)
10-08-04On Friday I went out and applied some glass scraps (6oz.) to the top of the breasthooks, ran epoxy down the gunnals and recoated the web-seat supports with resin to seal then off better. I didn't have any brushes so I just used my gloved fingers. It worked well. (approx. 1 hr 15 min.)
10-11-04: Today was my Grand-daughter's Birthday so I didn't get much done on the boat. However, I did sand the parts I epoxied yesturday. I used 220 Silicone Carbide paper, wetting and wiping as I went. Then, as the glass weave was still showing, I mixed up some epoxy and applied another coat on the breasthooks. That filled it, so I stopped there and I'll let that cure before I start the last light sanding before quiting and putting on the varnish. (approx. 45 min.)
10-12-04: Today I sanded the Breasthooks again with 220 wet/dry paper. I took the canoe out in the front yard and wet-sanded the whole thing, inside and out and washed out all the sawdust and junk... Wiped it down to dry and hauled it back in the garage and glued in the Velcro tape patches on the web-seat support pads. As far as I can tell, it's completed with the exception of the Varnish and adding carry loops on the breasthooks.. I'll be waiting for about two weeks before adding the varnish... I may have to adjust the web-seat lengths as they might be too long with the added thickness of the Velcro tape. (approx. 1 1/2 hr.)
10-21-04: Yesterday, I went into the garage and wiped all the dust off the boat in preperation for the finish coat. I chose Varathane, clear, water-based Spar Urethane to finish the boat. It's very clear, easy to apply, easier to clean up and it's hard as a rock when cured. I applied two coats with a 2" wide foam brush. I waited approx 3 hours between coats. Tonight I wet sanded the first two coats with 600 wet/dry Silicone Carbide paper and a pail of water. I toweled it down and left it for a while to be sure that all the moisture evaporated from the surface. I then applied a third coat and couble checked it for dry spots or runs. It looks O.K. so far. The finish is really bringing out the figure in the Okoume plywood. Tomorrow evening I'll add a fourth coat and see how it looks. I may leave it at that and go on to the outer hull. ( approx. 2 hours total for all 3 coats ).
11-4-04: I am down to my last sanding and the carry loops. I'm going to be doing a little catching up here as My computer was down and I was working lots of Overtime at work. I've put on the 4th, 5th, 6th coats of Varathane and tonoght I put on the 7th coat. I think that will be enough. Each coat I wet-sanded the hull and allowed it to dry and then applied the coat of Varathane. I also allowed a day or two for the previous coat to cure. Each coat, sanding and applying, took an hour. So that comes out to ( approx. 4 hours. ).
11-11-04: The past two days I have been wet sanding the outer hull with wet/dry silicone carbide sandpaper. ( 600, 1000, 1200, 1500 and 2000 ) I started with 600 grit and used it on the Orbital sander, applying the water with a spray bottle. It seemed like I might be taking off too much of the finish with this method, so I reverted to hand sanding. It took about 30 minutes for each trip around the boat this way, and then cleaning up the residue with a damp towel. Through all these grits, I was not satisfied with the finish.. it seems somewhat cloudy. I was kinda half afraid I'd applied the Varathane too soon and the epoxy hadn't totally cured yet.. so... Today, after sanding with with the 2000 grit I broke out the polishing compound I got for the cars. It's a professional grade and works like a champ. I ran the polisher over the entire outer hull including the gunnals and when I cleaned up the residue... the boat shined like a glass table top. The 'foggy' look was apparently the scratches that even the fine paper was leaving. It may be over-kill, but I also tossed on a coat of Good Quality Carnuba auto wax. Whooo-Hooo!!! What a shine.. :) Probably the only time it will look this good, but it's worth it.. Now I'm ready to flip it back over and check for possible runs on the gunnals and breasthooks, from coating the outer hull, then shining them up as well. I won't touch the inside as I don't want it any slipperier than it has to be... this worked out to ( approx. 4 1/2 hours total ).
11-15-04: Last night I scraped a few runs off the gunnals and both tips of the boat. I sanded again with the wet/dry silicone carbide paper and smoothed out the gunnals. Then I went over them with the polishing compound and then waxed them as with the bottom of the boat. I also drilled holes in the breasthooks for the Grab-Loop mounting screws. I over-sized the holes and filled them with thickened epoxy ( dookie-schmutz ) and then ran the brass screws down into them. When that was done I took the webbed seats and retrimmed the ends and applied the other part of the Velcro to those ends. ( approx. 2 hr 15 minutes ) Today I removed the screws and prepared the web-strap grab-loops. I purchased 1" web-strap stock from the local hobby/sports store. I cut two 4" pieces of 3/8" fuel line, inserted and centered it inside the approx. 8" long web-straps. I then burned the ends in order to seal them, using a wooden match. A soldering iron would also work. When melted, I smash the edges together to more or less glue them. I folded them over and ran a #10 x 1" brass screw, w/washer, through the fold and down into the breasthook holes. After doing all 4 screws to check for fit, I took them out and mixed some un-thickened epoxy, applied a few drops to each screw hole and again ran the screws in. ( approx. 30 minutes )It's Finished...!!!! I will weigh the Rob-Roy when I can get some time in the daylight and see how overly grossed it is.. :) I know it's going to be a tank, what with all the glass, large fillets extra resin coats and Varathane. But if all that helps to make it stronger and keeps the kids safer... then it was worth it. Thanks again Barry for a great design and a beautiful boat. I've learned a lot about boats and fiberglass, which was why I picked the Rob-Roy in the beginning. I know the Grandkids and I will get plenty of use out of it. Now to clean the tools and work bench off and get ready for another boat.. :) (See Customer Photos)

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