glassing pirogue | SouthernPaddler.com

glassing pirogue

J

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
I received my supplies from Raka today to glass the bottom and sides of my pirogue. I'm doing this to hopefully eliminate the checking and splitting of the Douglas fir ply and to protect against scrapes and gouges in the soft wood. I mixed a couple of batches of epoxy and wood flour to smooth out the nail heads. Never counted them before -over 300 nails just to attach the bottom and sides to the chines! WOW! There's almost another 100 to attach the gunnels and stems. I could have saved 2 lbs on just nails by going with the stitch and glue. But, I really enjoyed my old school build.

Hear she is , all puttied up.

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I plan on taking a half day of vacation in the next couple of days and sand the putty and apply a sealing coat of epoxy. I should be ready for the glass this weekend.

Joey
 
J

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
Love, indeed, Jack. I'm thinking of a little creative way to cover up some of the blemishes on the sides that stopped me from finishing them bright originally. Giving her a name could be part of that plan. Just a little hint of the things to come.

Joey
 
I

islandpiper

Well-Known Member
Jul 6, 2006
2,556
4
Ponchatoula, Louisiana
www.islandpiper.com
Dang Joey, I leave for a few days and look what happens!!! Wow.......YOu?? and Fairy Snot? Man, now I have heard everything.

Yup, this will make her a little heavier, but will be an extension of useable life for sure. Good choice. Can't wait to see her with the new glass covering and some new paint We'll need to get together and see if you are still faster than my UJ.

piper
 
J

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
Re: radius on corners. Yeah, Keith, I made a generous radius at the chines- probably 3/8" or so.

Just put on the saturation coat. Made 3 small batches to get the feel of working with the epoxy. I was a bit nervous, seeing as how a few of y''all curse working with the stuff. I was pleasantly surprised though. It goes on like varnish. Seems pretty forgiving, but I haven't tackled the glass yet.

I followed the advice of having something else ready to take a coat of the extra epoxy. Had just enough to do one side of my foot brace. Pictures later.

Joey
 
J

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
A few pics of the freshly applied epoxy. As far as any added weight, with all the paint I sanded off as well as quite a bit of the outer ply to get to some clean wood, I don't think it will amount to much. Depending on how it looks with the couple of sore spots on the sides, I might just finish it out with varnish.

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The graphite on the bottom and up to the waterline will hide a lot of those nail heads. Next stop - fiberglass.

Joey
 
G

gbinga

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2008
736
2
Hoschton, GA
Remember to keep that mess off of your skin as much as possible. And wear a mask if you have to sand it. The fumes don't amount to much, from everything I've read, but the dust ain't good for you.

George
 
J

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
Thanks for the heads up, George. I do a LOT of grinding and sanding making bows and knives and started using a double filter face mask years ago. Helped a lot with my sinuses , too. I put it on as a matter of habit.

I got a little stray blob of epoxy on my hands while cleaning up. Came right off with some of that orange hand cleaner.
 
J

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
OK, a little advice please. I'll be applying the glass tommorow evening and I need to know a couple of things( well, maybe more than a couple) . How much excess width do I leave to cover the sides? Do I wait to trim up against the gunnels until after the epoxy sets up some? I'm sure I'll think of more later.

Joey
 
K

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
Joey, it might be both easier, and stronger, if you leave a couple inches excess around the bottom to turn up over the joint, and onto the sides. Will likely have to snip it in a few places. Next day turn the boat up on one side, and run a wide strip down the other. If it were my boat, I'd snug one edge right up to the gunnels, and have a couple inches excess to wrap around the bottom. Again, you'll probably have to snip this excess in a few places to make it fit well.

This makes it easier to do, and doubles protection around those seams. Others may have different advice and techniques.
 
J

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
What I was thinking of doing was to do the bottom and sides with all one piece. Starting from the middle of the bottom, I would apply epoxy across the bottom and sides and up to the gunwales. I thought I would wait for that coat to firm up and then trim the excess at the junction of the gunwhales and the sides. Too much to ask for?
 
K

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
Do what you want, Joey. I was thinking, "This is the first time this fella has ever done fiber glassing. Maybe, he could take it in bite sized chunks?"

If you do it in all one piece, start at one end and carefully work your way to the other. I'd allow about 3 hours for the job. May not take that long, but I'd allow it.

If you stop for a Nature break in the middle, be sure to get all the epoxy off your fingers first? Less embarrassing the next day when you wave at the neighbors.
 
B

bluegrasslover

Well-Known Member
Feb 18, 2009
202
0
55
Willow Springs, NC
jdupre' said:
What I was thinking of doing was to do the bottom and sides with all one piece. Starting from the middle of the bottom, I would apply epoxy across the bottom and sides and up to the gunwales. I thought I would wait for that coat to firm up and then trim the excess at the junction of the gunwhales and the sides. Too much to ask for?
Click to expand...

Having done this only once I tried to do what I *think* you're talking about. I tried to do the bottom with one piece with excess past the gunwales. I have rub rails which pushed the fabric off the sides to about 1.5" to 2" from the rub rails. I was able to get it much closer to the bottom of the rub rails cutting it more to size.

This is how I was originally going to do it.
042009_203301.jpg


It was cut closer that the picture shows. After seeing how it pulled away I stopped, got my scissors and cut it to right beneath the rub rail.
 
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