Fiberglassing the Baidarka

After sanding the boat smooth, coating it with epoxy, applying the veneer decorations, I draped 4 oz fiberglass cloth over the inverted hull. 4oz. cloth provides reasonable protection to the hull while being quite light weight. For a more rugged boat I could use 6oz. cloth or two layers of the same 4oz. cloth.

I smoothed the glass and trimmed it so that it hung a couple of inches below the sheer-line.

I trimmed the fiberglass to fit around the bow and stern. It had to be folded and overlapped to fit some of the shapes. I also added an extra layer as armor to protect the bow and stern.

I spread my epoxy onto the entire hull with a disposable bristle brush and plastic squeegee. I spent the time to make sure the epoxy evenly coated the glass with a minimum of drips and runs, with no bubbles or wrinkles in the cloth. I brushed epoxy onto the deck so that the extra cloth was able to be neatly wrapped onto the deck. The next day, I sanded the edges of the cloth on the deck in preparation for covering the deck. I laid the cloth over the deck, smoothed it, trimmed it and epoxied it just as I did the hull. The cloth covering the hatches and cockpit was left to be cut after the epoxy had cured.

• Back to the photos page
• Making the panels
• Assembling the hull
• Making the deck and cutting the hatches
• Decorating the boat
• fiberglassing the boat
• Cockpit and hatches

• Return to home page
• Return to Baidarka Study Plans Page
• Draft of Stitch and Glue Instructions for the Merganser

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