Boat Forum / Building / October 2006

I'm interested in making a plug, than a female mold with parting plane
and flange to make several canoes for our club. My plan is to lay out
the strongback, attache the stantions, cover the stantions with
flexible foam strips (like a strip built canoe), cover the foam with

I'm looking for recommendations for good books on fiberglass. Not just
the regular books, but good technical references. I just don't want to
read another book about 12/1 taper. I'm looking for a book that will
tell me what materials to use where and why. Specifically with ...

I just purchased a 1984 AVON R2-80 that is in very good shape as far as
the fabric.  BUT there was a problem with rats/squirrels in the POs
garage and there are 5 large (1.2") holes in the tubes.  These have
been patched with PVC patches and something that looks like 3M-5200.

Some follow up questions for my canoe plug and mold questions. Thanks
guys for the previous solutions. Would masonite make a good parting
board material and what would I use on it for a release agent. Also is
it glued to the mold until the fiberglass cloth is layed up against it.

Someone told me it won't adhere to to epoxy. True or false?
Thanks
Gordon

I've got a 28 foot sailboat, 7800lbs with a 10.5hp engine. It has a 3
blade prop with 10 inch diameter and 9.3 pitch. Prop is in like new
condition, so is the bottom. When I sail, I can push her up to 6 knots.
Though, when I spin the engine at 3600 rpm I only get about 3.5 knots

I went to buy some Devoe paint today.  I had read up on the different
primers and 2 part topcoats on their web site, and had a few questions
 about the high build primers offered.  Here in Canada Devoe
industrial paints (2 part epoxies and polyurethane) are sold through

I'm an engineering student and we're into sea-related businesses.  My
group's idea was to share weather data between ships automatically,
allowing high-traffic areas to be relativily closely monitored.  The
data would probably flow on a radio frequency, although we might be

A friend has asked me to look at a mercruiser 350/bravo3 powered boats.
shortly after coming off the lift the overheat alarm goes off. Boat is
regularly maintained. Last time out with no problems he apparently flushed
it ( fresh water via muffs ) with the leg raised to its top ...

I'm looking for a source which sells small quantities of Klegecell
sheets. The only source I found had a min. order of 50 sheets. Thanks.

It's going to take longer than I thought to update the links, so please
be patient...  I've added 501 plans to the "A" and "B" sections for
free woodworking plans.  Remember the site is under going a bit of
work, and i apologise for any inconvience this causes.  Check out the

What does peel ply look like? Does it look just like 6oz fiberglass cloth?
I laminated two layers of 6oz cloth to my cockpit sole using epoxy. I
laid the fiberglass down dry and lined it up nicely. Then I folded it
back over itself half way. Then I rolled unthickened epoxy over ...

I've been researching a good DIY trailer sailer, and while I have found
a lot of good designs, I keep coming back to the old Hartley 16 or 18'.
 Does anyone here have any feedback regarding the building or
sailability of this design?

Does anyone have any advice on what Adhesive/Sealant to use to attach a
Lexan window to a steel hull boat? I tried using 3M Marine Adhesive
Sealant 5200. It did not bond with the Lexan.
Any thoughts or recommendations?

So, we're floating, again, and letting the hull settle into its water
configuration, having been out for more that 2.5 years, before we start
tweaking.
The engine alignment is one such; I think I have that handled.