First time Build. Epoxy Dry stack

[docork]

1. I work with carbon and have experience with both wet layups and infusion. This is my first canoe build. I am looking for an expoxy used for infusion.
I have used the proset 212 infusion resin and it works well with carbon parts. I do not know how well it infuses with innegra/carbon cloth or with kevlar. I understand its limitations with canoe building and UV exposure.
I prefer a dry stack with subsequent infusion. Does any one have infusion experience with uv resistant expoxy resin? If all else fails I will infuse with proset and use a top coat uv clearcoat layer. I do not want the weight of gel coat.

2 My build plan is a female mold, A 2 core 2 Dry stack = outside in e glass 120, carbon innegra, 1/8 inch divinicyl foam in structural areas of the web and walls, and finish with 2 plys carbon 45/90 orientation. Is this overkill? Heavy?

3. Any discussion threads on carbon gunwales, seat, thwart, and yoke construction?

 

[Jim Dodd]

2 My build plan is a female mold, A 2 core 2 Dry stack = outside in e glass 120, carbon innegra, 1/8 inch divinicyl foam in structural areas of the web and walls, and finish with 2 plys carbon 45/90 orientation. Is this overkill? Heavy?

Your layup sounds a little heavy to me, and I am NOT an expert !!!
I just finished a Kevlar hull, using a male mold, and hand laid cloth.

My layup from the outside in 4oz S-glass, 6 oz Kevlar, 1/8" WRC insert, 6 oz E-glass, and a partial 4 oz S-glass, up the sides from the insert to the shear.

Seems plenty stiff.
By the time I add flotation tanks, and glue gunnels on ? It will be plenty stiff.

Here is a pic of the insert. The strips were cut at 1/8" thick, but I spent a lot of time sanding them, so ?

 

[docork]

Going to be a very pretty canoe. I like your insert. What weight are you expecting when it is finished?

 

[Alan Gage]

It's been a few years since I've really done any of this but at the time it was difficult to find an epoxy thin enough for infusion that didn't have special cure characteristics such as UV cure or higher than normal temps.

At the time Ad Tech made a somewhat thin laminating resin (still thicker than vinylester) but it needed to be at least 80 degrees, and preferably higher, for curing. Since I built in the winter and iowa is cold I often had a hard time achieving those temps and delt with some tacky hulls.

My hulls were all hand layup so I don't know how it would have infused an entire hull. It did fine for small things like seats but it was slower than vinylester.

Alan

 

[docork]

The proset infusion resins work at room temp and can be cured at room temp but it takes awhile. I will be using an oven to post cure at 180 degrees for hardness. I am considering a solar oven set up at home but for this initial build I will either time cure at room temp or use the oven at my work. The cure properties https://www.prosetepoxy.com/wp-content/uploads/INF-114_INF-212.pdf

 

[Alan Gage]

I believe MuddyFeet successfully infused an entire hull with integrated gunwales. I don't have a link handy but will look later when I get some time. It's on the forum somewhere.

I've tried carbon gunwales multiple times but these were always after the hull had been completed and I never came up with a satisfactory way of doing it that made it feel worth while.

Alan

 

[Alan Gage]

Here is Muddyfeet's build thread:

Multiday Adventure Race Canoe - Composite

Welcome to an unconventional build thread. I enjoy reading these sorts of things and have learned so much from others that I am happy to post my own projects. I welcome community input and hope we can learn a few things along the way. This is a construction forum, so no need to tell me I'm...

www.canoetripping.net

Alan

 

[docork]

Here is Muddyfeet's build thread:

Multiday Adventure Race Canoe - Composite

Welcome to an unconventional build thread. I enjoy reading these sorts of things and have learned so much from others that I am happy to post my own projects. I welcome community input and hope we can learn a few things along the way. This is a construction forum, so no need to tell me I'm...

www.canoetripping.net

Alan

Thanks. I have been reading this thread all evening. It has everything I was looking for in a discussion. It also has given me several items to mull over.

 

[Jim Dodd]

Going to be a very pretty canoe. I like your insert. What weight are you expecting when it is finished?

In the past builds, they have been about 15# lighter than the cedar strip, they were copied from.