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At the stems, I usually manage to over squeegee the sides and create some air gaps like this This time I just said "screw it", I am not going to try and fill the air pockets. Instead I scraped the area clean back to wood Laid down some tape and sanded the area laid in a new piece of...

Only one item left before finish sanding and varnishing starts and that is the yoke. Since this project is one of exploring new ways to save weight and do things differently, the standard yoke I usually use is getting a make over. The finished yoke looks like this (still needs varnish) If...

Just a note about the cart design, I move it back so that the canoe can sit between the wheels and that lowers the center of gravity and makes it more stable. Moving it back allows keeping the cart portion narrower (same width as the center of the canoe) , which translates to less weight and a...

Many years ago I bought a WheelEze carrier and made the mistake of assuming it would work, instead of trying it at home. It would skew sideways anytime I hit a bump and would never stay where it was supposed when on the trail. Fast forward to last year and I had a trip with a large portage...

Gamma, a suggestion for you to try next build. If you do something like the knuckle and maybe crack fill here and there again, let it sit for 15 minutes and then go ahead with glassing. You obviously need to be careful laying the glass at the sticky parts, but it will still move and sit in place...

Gamma, the void issue is valid, but as the fiberglass thickness goes down (i.e. lighter cloth) I really wonder if it is even a consideration at 4 oz. which is somewhere around 5 mil thick wetted out. When I overlapped my 4 oz, I had a heck of a time finding the overlap line, in that case while I...

I feel compelled to respond. "Wrong" is a pretty definitive word to be used here, it is really about the context for Gamma's needs IMO. If the need is for impact strength, he is doing the exact right thing, cloth inside. As far as inside layers only adding stiffness, that is incorrect. If you...

I just watched an "instructional" video from a build series and I cringe every time I see people smoothing glass with bare hands ... unfortunately it happens often. IMO using something like a soft brush is pretty much the only way to handle FG cloth and that is even more important for lighter...

This is going to sound nontraditional, but have you called and chatted with Swift to get their take on your needs?

No one has said it yet ,,,, mmm .... skilsaw

I install the seat (with cleats) back 7-10" from CoB, which is usually a few inches from the actual boat center. I measure the width required at the install location, which means I get the seat to wide to fit every time. You need some wiggle room with the seat width anyway, so I go 1/4" under...

You make a good point Jim and I agree that the quantity of holes and likely the size will impact the decision on how to do the fill. I have done both and it is mostly just that, a judgement call when you reach that point. For a few small spots, it can also be a question of time ... if I am...

The main reason for using epoxy Jim, is simply to let it blend and bond in a continuous operation, glue would have to be left to dry and possibly be sanded, but using epoxy for cracks skips all of that .... just push the glass on as usual and it all disappears into the process Brian

The only issue I can see with sawdust packing, is it will shrink when the epoxy soaks in. I have an alternative method that is pretty easy. 1. put a strip of masking tape to either side of the area to fill, usually done day before I am glassing 2. make up a small batch of epoxy and wetout the...

The foot braces and stud kit were from Sealect, got them at Duckworks 2 years ago, they are a kayak version and were a bit lighter than the regular versions, sadly Duckworks is no more and I couldn't actually find this model elsewhere to give any reference. The strips are all running parallel...

Part 2 -Seat construction and Install The notch cleaned up and the bottom "extra" material marked for removal. This material doesn't really contribute much to the cleat function, so I consider it extra weight, so I take the time to remove it, additionally, I think it improves the aesthetics...

Part 1 - this post exceeded the photo limit The seat on this build was a bit of a design challenge. I find my usual seats aren't as comfy as I would like, with the relatively narrow cross members causing some discomfort after a few hours. Last season, the seat in my current boat was removed...

I don't like to flip it until the exterior glass is on, there is a lot of movement with a bare hull. Are you wanting to flip it for better access? I know I did think the same thing on my first hull, but found it was less work to just get started and sand it. For the tumblehome section power...

This will be a bit of a cleanup post to finish the handles and thwarts part of the build. This part of the build is a bit chaotic for me as I near completion, have to fight impatience (generally, impatience = lesson) and usually there is work progressing on several smaller things at the same...

Just a note on epoxy and varnish, my understanding is that you are supposed to let the epoxy cure fully before varnishing ... the anchors do look good