Recent content by Francis

Here an update of the C1 racing canoe I build with Corecell and carbon fiber. The laminating of the inside was a little bit tricky. I had cut the carbon so I could lay them from gunwale to gunwale. and did the wet-out on a plastic sheet and then with some extra hands, lay them in the hull. With...

Here a picture of the glue I use for the Corecell. It's more messy then wood glue and it's also very difficult to clean the seams when they are still wet. The glue expand in his drying process, so for the outside I wait a little bit (curing time 10 minutes) and then with a Stanley knife I clean...

So, the hull is laminated with plain carbon fabric. I was a little bit worry about the area at the wings, but it was easier then expect. After curing I discovered on a few places bubbles. I have now idea how they came there, because I did the whole laminating with a squeezee and when you push on...

Yes Alan, I meant protection for the epoxy. For my strippers I've used Epifanes (Marine Varnish), but I've heard that a 2K polyurethane varnish is maybe better...? First 2 weeks holiday and then we start with the laminating. I'll keep you informed.

Thanks Alan and Jim to help me in my decisions! For reinforcements what is the best:? 1) do the bias 'carbon' pieces first before I lay the full fabric on the hull 2) first the carbon fabric over the hull and then the reinforcements (carbon). Aesthetic??? 3) step nr 1 + with an extra...

What's the best way to wet-out the carbon: brush, roller, sqeegee,...? Is the use of peel ply waste of money if you don't apply an extra layer of fabric? For the moment, I don't know if it's also necessary to give a fill coat after the wet-out or can I directly go for a 2K clear coat? It's...

The Corecel is the 'core' of the canoe, sandwiched between 2 layers carbon. I've stapled the foam to the molds to hold it on place. An advantage of the Corecell is, with thermoforming you can shape the strips., I did it with a heatgun, but for wider pieces is it not ideal. If you have to deform...

2 week ago I've started to build my racing C1. I have chosen to make the core with 7 mm M80 Corecell, stripped on a male mold. The Corecell is easy to cut and you make the strips as wide as the shape of the canoe allows it. Glueing the strips together with PU glue (not so nice at the fingers as...

Thanks for the links, a lot to read and then choose the right method,... difficult.

Thanks 'Alan' and 'stripperguy' for the input! Never heard before of the 'sacrificial wood strip mold', but that's also the reason why I do a post on this forum :-; It would be nice to see some pics of that project. I have very limited experience with Corecell (just made some bulkheads, covered...

I'm Francis from Belgium and a ultra-marathon canoe racer (5 x Yukon River Quest). Next year, I want to participate in a race in the UK with 78 portages, so I want to build a C1 canoe (see picture) as light as possible. I built already 2 strippers, but the question is now, again in WRC or in...