C-Forum

I've got two similar situations that both result in the same thing - itching!

1. We have a couple of old fiberglass canoes that get used for Boy Scout or YMCA groups; they are getting fuzzy, especially on the inside. Kneeling in the boats guarantees itchy knees for a couple of days. If you're not careful loading them, you'll get itchy shoulders, arms, etc... The Mohawk site says to sand and paint with urethane marine paint. Any opinions or alternate approaches?

2. I'm back in glass - picked up a slalom boat at the NOC's GAF. The boat is in great shape; no repairs that I can see, though there is tape (masking?!) peeling on the seams. However, the outside of the hull has a case of the fuzzies. Options? Lightly sand it and a thin coat of resin?

Thanks -

Scott

Go with a thin coat of resin for all of the above.
JK

Kaz -

What about surface prep, aside from cleaning? Should I avoid sanding the C-1? Will that damage the fibers? And application - brush? Then squeegee?

Thanks -

Scott

Scott,
Here's what I do. I wet sand the hull lightly with 180 grit paper. After the hull dries from the wetsanding, I mix up a small batch of resin, maybe 4 ounces. After putting on my latex gloves, I pour a small amount of juice on the boat and smear it around with my hands, to a very thin layer. Repeat for the rest of boat. 4 ounces should be enough. You just want to seal the exposed glass fibers. Sanding helps restore some of the original color. This process brings me satisfactory results with mimimal effort.
JKaz

Kaz -

Sounds great !

Thanks -

Scott

Kaz, do you use the same technique of wet sanding/applying a thin coat of resin to fix scratches on your boats? My Fat Boy has some scratches which penetrate the pigmented layer and show the underlying fibers. Nothing wide. And nothing where the underlying fibers appear damaged. I just want the boat to look as great as it feels.

I only made it to GAF for the final day. The Defiant was a popular boat on Sunday. A number of open boaters, one c1 paddler, and even some K1 folks had questions about the boat. I referred them to your website.

Scott, that Viper 12 on top of my truck is one beat up hunk of royalex. It should make an excellent winter project for Bill. I think with a phone call to John Sweet, some serious chine work, and a new saddle we can turn it into a good boat for a completely color-blind boater. She'll never be pretty again....

ncdavid,
You really can't fix a scratch. Yes, smearing resin into the deeper scratches is a good thing. I only do this type of hull maintenance when I can no longer tell what color my boat is from all the scratches.
JKaz

Cool. I've got to put a whole lot more scratches on the boat before reaching that point. Thanks.

David,
You aint right- that Viper 12 is going to be sweet- It's going to be red white and blue when I get done with it- well it kind of is now- I might even get some stars on it- we'll see, It won't be as pretty as yours but it will be an original.

Bill

Yeah, it is red (paint), white (ABS patch and visible foam core), and blue (royalex and paint) now, but I see a future of gold (kevlar), grey (JB Weld), and silver (duct tape)!

Actually, I'm doing a little work on that bow plate now. The SS Hoopty is gonna be alright.

It's been a long time since that Viper 12 looked as good as it paddled. One of my all time favorite boats. There are parts of that boat in 4 states and on the rocks of dozens of creeks and rivers. I did get my money's worth out of that one. And for a case and a half of beer, so will Bill!

I hate that I missed a chance to try a Defiant.

Scott

Scott,
You missed a chance, but not your only chance. I'd love to have you show me the park and paddle spots near the zoo in Columbia.
I'd also like to see what the Defiant can do in the hands of a better paddler than me.
David

Scott-

I have two old boats, a Noah and a Phoenix, which are non-glass, and therefore got quite fuzzy on the outside from wear. Various sanding techniques did not cut off the fuzz. I even tried a safety razor without success.

So I bought a propane torch, put the flame spreader attachment on it, and swept over the hull surface. The flame caused the fuzz to shrivel into little hard knobs which I could sand off or scrape off. Obviously this takes judgement.

I like Kaz's idea about spreading a layer of resin by hand. I used the West epoxy method using foam rollers to put on about three layers, just enough to allow me to sand the surface perfectly smooth. However, the West approach is more difficult and adds more weight. Maybe Kaz's vinylester resin is more self-leveling than West epoxy.