Cedar strip canoe build epoxy issues

I placed the fiberglass on and epoxied it but I have some places that floated or lifted off the canoe. Is the best course of action to cut these out and place a new piece of fiberglass over the exposed wood and rebond it?

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I'm not one of the strip boat builders or repairers, but I'm sure some with experience will pop in with advice.

Heya PD ... maybe a few more pics would help, but I think there is more going on there than just "floating".

It appears that wetout wasn't complete, almost like that area was epoxied after it had started to kick. Could you provide some more detail on how you did the application, what you are using, the timing you used on the application and the exact application technique.

Unless you have started sanding/scraping, there shouldn't be those whiter areas.

I first epoxied the canoe and let it dry, then sanded it down. I then laid the fiberglass down on the sanding and covered with epoxy by pouring it onto the cloth and squeeging it on. I then went over it again to remove any lines left over. I checked it over for any spots that floated and did not see any. When it cured, there were a few. Part of the problem is I was the only one applying it so I had none to pull the fiberglass as I applied. On the ends I folded the glass over and pulled and made sure it was without wrinkles. I used a paintbrush here to add epoxy to the ends. There was no issues here , only on the very middle on the last board and in the photo.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking at in the photo, but from your description, it sounds like you had some larger air bubbles form. If so, the solution is pretty much what you speculated. Cut the bubbles out and epoxy a patch in, it will be fine. I sometimes just sand the bubble out as opposed to cutting it out, but the fix is easy. If you are worried about how it will look, just sand after it has dried and reapply fill coats until it more or less disappears.

I agree that, from what we can see, it looks like the cloth has pulled away from air bubbles forming (or, possibly, stretching the glass it while wet?).

I've had small areas do that (seems particularly prevalent when glassing the inside) and I've have had success injecting epoxy under the glass with a syringe (before fill coats and you need to make a second hole so the air can get out as you fill the void).

The area(s) in your picture look to be a bit extensive for that & I'd patch as memaquay suggests. Don't worry, you'll be the only person who will be able to see it when you're done.

Welcome. Always good to see another builder.