Hello All:

I have gone as far as I can without actually doing the fiberglass work on my Guillemot Expedition Single. I can see now I have been subconsciously delaying this step in spite of the fact that the boat must be finished by 01 Aug to make the Boy Scout expedition I've committed to. I would like to describe where I'm at and invite all comments, especially that variety that starts "...but if I had it to do over again, I would have..." so I can increase my confidence by learning from your mistakes.

1 -- I have purchased plenty of fiberglass: 95' of 8.9oz satin weave, 60" wide. Likewise epoxy, 40 lbs resin, 10 lbs medium speed hardener, sundries (2 inch brushes, laminating rollers, squeegees, mixing pots).

2 -- I have rolled out some butcher paper over the hull and cut out a rough pattern to be transfered to the fiberglass to minimize waste.

3 -- I prepared the exterior of the hull and deck with 40 oz of Smith's penetrating epoxy. I did this on Monday evening, about midnight. The process fumigated the ENTIRE house and nearly got me and the boat evicted by my wife. The penetrating epoxy is 30% solids, and 70% solvents and is NOT an indoor toy. Only the continued prospect of rain for the forseeable future compelled me to do it in the basement instead of outside.

So, the questions:

When may I glass over the penetrating epoxy, "seal coat" without blush problems? If I have to wait, how will I clean up the blush? How will I know if it is even needed?

The owner of the fiberglass store recommended I wet out this denser glass (heavier weight and tighter weave) from *beneath*. How in the world would I do that on a convex surface like the hull or deck exterior? Must I?

I wish to make one layer of cloth for the entire hull and a second, smaller layer along the "waterline", and rub strips along the external stems, as illustrated on page 110 of Nick's excellent book. One layer at a time? The two large ones at once?

How much epoxy can be mixed in each batch so I can count on getting it all down before it starts to kick? Smaller batches are certainly easier to apply, but I don't want to loose time between each on setting up the next and stirring while the boat continues to gel. I would like to have the glass all wet out in the same work period so I don't have dry glass next to cured glass.

I thought of outlining the pattern on the fiberglass with 1" wide masking tape and using pinking shears to cut down the middle of the tape. The purpose would be to keep the edges from unravelling and mucking up the works with loose strands of glass. Is this worth the effort?

The resin and hardener I have is 100% solids, meaning no solvents, and no odor. Can this be applied indoors in the basement?

What am I forgetting? What am I simply ignorant about? (due to space considerations, please restrict comments on this question to fiberglassing my boat. tia) All comments welcome. I'm pretty nervous about this part.

Ed Valley