Recent content by Alan Gage

I was in a race once that required a visible white light after dark. I found a 360 degree white light that was magnetic and I used a piece of metal under the top of my hat to attach it to. That way it was never shining in my eyes. Thankfully I finished before having to actually use it so I...

I might touch up a couple proud edges with the plane but for the most part I don't use one. I usually heard it recommended to run the plane at a 45 degree angle (better for fairing the hull), which I've tried, and it seems to work ok with no/minimal tear out. I give the hull a look over before...

Those pics don't look that bad. It does look a little funny though, not like what I expect to see with cloth that just needs some more fill coats. Maybe the pictures are deceiving me but it almost looks like there are little high spots rather than low spots in the hollow of the weave. I'm not...

I can't tell from the picture what is going on for sure. It's a vey small photo. It looks like the white fibers might still be visible (or is it a reflection?). If the white fibers are still visible then I suspect those areas were not fully saturated during wet out. Alan

Perhaps not elegant but simple and quick:. Our local hardware store has similar. This one is from Amazon

The hull was not built with epoxy but epoxy will stick to other resins and is generally easier to work with so that's what most of us use for repairs. I've never used glass mat for repairs, always woven cloth. Not saying it won't work but most use woven 6 oz. cloth. Either fiberglass or...

Cost to repair depends on if you want to do it yourself or pay someone else to do it. It will also depend on how good you want the repairs to look. It looks like the gunwale was bent as well. I think I'd probably want to remove that before repairs (a bent aluminum gunwale can pull the boat out...

Rustoleum is available nearly everywhere, is cheap, and works. There is probably nicer stuff that works better but, especially in this case, kind of seems like putting lipstick on a hog. :) Alan

Mo' staples is mo' betta. I am not bashful with the staples. I have 2 guns setup. One with 9/16" staples for going into the forms and another with 1/4" for between forms (strip to strip). I do not care how it looks. It doesn't bother me one bit. I just want a functional canoe and I want it...

It would help if people knew where the boat was located. You can post it here or, the best way, add it to your profile so it shows up under your user name. Nice looking boat. Good luck with the sale. Alan

Sure doesn't look very pretty. I would start by removing the gunwales and thwarts and seeing what the hull does. Hopefully it kind of goes back to it's normal shape. At that point, if I chose to fix it, I'd sand it down on both the inside and outside and add strip or two of 6 ounce glass to to...

Looks like a nice trip. Glad you got it done when you did! Thanks for sharing. Alan

What about heading south into the Mountains? Alan

I got rabies shots last year. Not a very big deal anymore (other than the cost). I shot a stray cat after it unexpectedly attacked me. I shot it in the head not even thinking about rabies. But once it crossed my mind there was nothing left to be tested so I ended up getting the shots just to...

The area is in quite a drought now. I looked up the historical flow and it doesn't look like the Gila has been high enough to paddle for 2 years. Hopefully that changes soon. I have a canoe down there just waiting for the opportunity. I haven't tried any yet. I've mostly eaten at the co-op...