Re-glass a redwood strip canoe?

[Fod01]

My dad built a redwood strip canoe back in the 80's. It was hot on the day he fiber glassed it, resulting in some fairly large bubbles. He added a second coat of tinted resin to help hide the defects, so I always thought it was heavier than it should be. The boat has been outside, covered for decades.

Dad passed a couple years ago, and I would like to restore it and get it back on the water. It should be in pretty good shape overall, but he did tell my mother that it has a hole in it. Dad was a stickler for detail, so that could mean anything. It was a lake boat, and he never grounded it, so I'm not sure where a hole would come from. I'll need to inspect it obviously.

Does anyone have any experience with stripping a canoe of this type? I imagine it would be a sticky nightmare. Any tips or feedback would be appreciated.

Thank you!
Gabe

 

[peakbagger]

I have built a few stripper canoes and kayaks, but I used epoxy. Odds are by the date it was built, it was made with polyester resin. If anyone was around when he was glassing it, ask them if it "stunk" as polyester resin has a very noticeable model air plane glue sort of odor. Epoxy on the other hand has almost no smell.

I have read and heard that there is a better chance to remove a polyester based glass job as it does not penetrate into the wood as much as epoxy. The approaches are typically heat gun based in open space. Here is link to an article that may be of interest. https://www.epoxyworks.com/index.ph...type heat guns,or chisel under the fiberglass.

It was popular at one time to "restore" old wood canvas cones by glassing them. It might make them okay for a year or two but inevitably it would allow the hull to retain moisture and rot.

Be aware that if you do go through this major effort, that you will most likely use epoxy. Epoxy is great but its lack of odor and easy workability means folks do not use the proper safety gear. People exposed to it on their skin will eventually get contact dermatitus and some will progress to being totally allergic to uncured epoxy (once cured its inert), to the point where it will impact their lungs if they go near it. When I worked with it, I used a barrier cream on my skin with a full tyvek suit and rubber gloves.

The other caveat is if you do go through the rather arduous task of stripping the boat and recoating it, is that Epoxy can look crystal clear when applied but it is damaged by sunlight and UV. You need to cover it with a UV resistant coating. Spar varnish is the usual coating but dont buy the hardware store stuff as it will brown. I learned that the hard way with my first boat. I recommend Epifane brand, either their regular of their catalyzed poly version. The regular spar varnish will need sanding and recoating yearly while the catalyzed version last longer. Most marine suppliers like Hamilton Marine carry this brand.

 

[Fod01]

Thank you very much for your insights, you gave me a lot to think about. Knowing my dad, he probably kept the resin container all these years. If I do decide to move forward with this, it would be under one of those portable car shelters. My garage is currently occupied with you name it. With winter on the way, I've got plenty of time to decide what I'm doing.....perhaps just do the necessary to get it seaworthy.

I'll follow up with some pics when I get a chance to look at it.

Thanks again.

 

[peakbagger]

Dont worry about scratches. If there is coat of spar varnish for UV protection, its relatively "soft" and it will scratch. The resin is "hard" and it usually does not scratch. Even it does, sand down the entire hull and smooth out the scratches, then give it new coat of spar varnish and it will look much better. The one caveat if its got UV damage, the epoxy gets cloudy and the details of the wood slowly disappear until it looks like a light brown/tan boat. In that case it's time to strip the glass or give it a viking funeral . You can strip outdoors but the varnish needs about freezing temps.

The usual wear point is at the bow or stern along the keel where they get dragged in and out the water. Easy fix and you can buy kevlar patch kits that are not that pretty but stand up to lot of dragging.