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Made more progress on the mold. Yellow tacky tape between the mold halves: IMG_2786 by bctc95, on Flickr IMG_2785 by bctc95, on Flickr Before joining the two halves, the mold got cleaned & sealed. Once joined, I put the first coat of release on....still need 4 more coats. Wrapped in...

Please excuse the crude diagram, but this is what I'm thinking for the infused gunwales. Two layers of Kevlar will be come up the hull to the shear line, follow the mold scallop around the foam profile, then wrap around the foam and back to the shear/hull. This will wet out in the infusion...

We got the other half buffed out today and then I started working on the foam profile for the infused gunwales. The heavily beveled profile will be easier to wrap in two layers of Kevlar, but will make attaching thwarts and the yoke more of a challenge. The more rectangular profile should work...

​Sounds pretty normal to me. Some shops don't do this, but we would buff out 6-8 coats of Partall paste wax and then spray PVA. Spraying PVA is an art...any puddles, runs, or flaws when it dries will show up in the gelcoat. ​When we would pull parts out of a mold, it was quite common to...

​Somewhat, yes. I actually manage the engineering department here. We did take on a large light RTM project 5 years ago that I was in charge of, which was very hands on...so I learned a great deal about fiberglass mold construction. The guys who produce the fiberglass products and maintain...

My son and I finished wet sanding out to 800 grit and got one half buffed out today. IMG_2765 by bctc95, on Flickr IMG_2767 by bctc95, on Flickr

Doing a bit of infusion testing with layers of 5oz Kevlar, 5oz glass & 3mm Soric. The epoxy requires an oven cure and when completed is crazy durable. IMG_2738-1 by bctc95, on Flickr

After 4.5 hours sanding the orange peel surface smooth....I looked like a Dorito.... IMG_2730 by bctc95, on Flickr ​I still have the other half to do...then work my way up through 400 grit....and then I will probably buff at that point. I've got to remember that this isn't a production...

​Looks like it might be flax....

​This video has been posted on this forum already, but I find it interesting at the 3:22 mark it appears that this craftsman is using a profile made from cork? The profile is then wrapped in fiber and peel-ply and infused with the hull. He then drills through the gunwale to make his...

​That is my line of thinking right now. Using a proper foam would be easier to shape and work. But, I would be worried that a wrapped, infused foam gunwale would be too weak for the load that seats, thwarts and the yoke would inflict on it. Maybe if the foam was wrapped with two layers of 5oz...

​After spraying, the gelcoat typically has an orange-peel finish. It will be sanded starting with 220 grit and ending with 1500 grit before being polished. Any imperfection in the mold will visible in the finished product, which in this case is a canoe. ​One interesting thing about this mold...

​While it is possible to put in the work to fill and sand to remove the tri-keel, I don't plan to do that. I am fine giving up a bit of efficiency to have the extra stiffness. I also like those being the low points in the water to take the majority of the abuse. I will be adding extra...

​With the mold splitting where it does, I will probably put tacky-tape (gummy tape) in between and then foil tape over the seam. Of course, with infusion there can be zero vacuum leaks. ​If you don't mind divulging, do you use just one layer of each in your layup? Do you put any additional...

Greetings! I am new to the forum, but I have been lurking for some time. ​I work for a company that produces both plastics and fiberglass products. In composites, we produce parts using the light RTM, vacuum bagging, chop, and wet layup processes. So, I have some experience with composites...