Fiberglassing the Outer Hull

The fiberglass is laid out on the hull and trimmed so that there is about six inches of overhang at each end.

Much care must be taken in smoothing out the fiberglass. It is very easy to misshape or snag the fiberglass fibers which can result in a blemish in the final product. We use a wide paintbrush to work out the wrinkles. With some effort, you can get the fiberglass to conform to the ever-changing curves and bevels of the hull.

The fiberglass is then wetted out with epoxy. After it has been saturated, the excess epoxy is squeegeed out.

A second coat of epoxy is applied to fill the weave followed by one or two more coats of epoxy once each prior coat has semi-cured. The final coats of epoxy are applied to build up enough thickness so that the hull can be sanded to its final smooth finish without exposing the fiberglass fibers.

Once the final coats of epoxy have cured, the excess fiberglass is trimmed from the hull. After curing for a day, the canoe will be removed from the forms so we can begin smoothing the interior.

Prepping the Hull for Fiberglassing

After planing the outer stems into shape, many hours are spent preparing the hull for fiberglassing. At the beginning of this stage, the hull is a series of edge glued rectangular planks and is fairly rough. The goal is to transform the hull, with all of its hard edges, into a smoothly curved, free flowing shape.

Fairing the hull is accomplished by first methodically planing the seams of the planks. For me, planing is one of the most enjoyable steps of the building process. I like it because you can see immediate results and I know that it is saving me a few hours of sanding.

After the hull has been planed, the sanding begins. It takes many hours of sanding to get things just right. Sanding is hard work and after several hours, becomes somewhat tedious. If planing is one of the most enjoyable steps, then sanding is one of the least. It is, however, the most critical step in determining the final shape of the canoe and much care must be taken to get everything just right.

After all of the highs, lows, and wobbles have been sanded out of the hull, the final step is to "raise the grain". Raising the grain is accomplished be wetting the hull down with water which swells the wood fibers. After the hull has dried, the raised fibers are given a final sanding with fine sand paper. This step will keep the grain from rising when the fiberglass and epoxy are applied. The wet hull gives us a preview of what the wood is going to eventually look like.

Attaching the Outer Stems

Once all of the planking has been completed, the plank ends are cleaned up in preparation of fitting the African mahogany outer stems.

A belt sander is used on the upper plank ends where the outer stem fits flush with the inner stem and planks. Just past the turn of the stem, to where the outer stem will end, the planks must be cut away so that the outer stem can be inset and attached to the inner stem.

The stems are fitted and then epoxied into place.

After the thickened epoxy has cured, the screws are removed and the stem is planed and sanded so that it is close to its final shape.

Planking the Bottom (The Second Side)

As the second side of the bottom is planked, attention is paid to the numbers on the planks to keep the color scheme similar to the planks on the already completed side. Earlier, we divided the planks into three groups (light, medium, dark). The differences between planks within each group is subtle and, of course, there are never two planks identical. The shades vary and the grain is always different. This is what makes each canoe unique and beautiful. It's not until we apply the first coat of epoxy/fiberglass though that we will really know what the boat will look like.

On this canoe, we installed a longitudinal plank down the center of the bottom. This added step gives it the look of a keelson, but is just for aesthetics. The new planks are then carefully fitted to it.

Once the bottom has been completed, the bow and stern sections are filled in with partial planks. These planks will allow for the curvature of the sheer at each end of the canoe, which will give it the traditional look we desire.