: I am progressing fairly well on restoring the ol Cape Charles 18
: "Moose". (She has moose images on the hatch covers.) I have the
: hatches reinforced with strips that go sheer to sheer. And per LeeG, I
: added another support halfway between the cockpit bulkhead and the aft
: hatch. The boat is so much stiffer in those areas now, it's really great.
: I've cut out and glued on the coaming. 2 days ago I precoated the coaming
: with epoxy, and last night I put on a layer fiberglass. I tinted the epoxy
: black (manufacture's pigment). I'm using System Three epoxy. My question
: is related to the cure time. When I checked on it this morning, it seemed
: to be not as stiff as I would have expected it to be. It was dry, but
: still flexible? I think the way I would describe it would be like hard
: rubber? Does epoxy with pigments take longer to cure?
: Next question is how many coats should I put on? I am thinking 3. Do they all
: need to be tinted? or just go regular after the first (or second)?

Epoxy takes quite awile to cure to it's fully hardened state. Initial cure "is" somewhat rubbery. Don't expect it to have near full strength for up to a week after it's applied. Takes usually nearly a month to achieve full strength, but after a week it's usually around 90% of that state.

Bill H.