Jeff, I built the SW 17 S & G and what you described is the proper procedure. Glue the puzzle joints with the slica mix and let it cure. Then cover the joint with a strip of glass and clear epoxy. I would also suggest using good thick plastic sheeting underneath the glued joint. I used some cheap thin plastic and it wrinkled up underaneath the joint when it cured. No big problem but I had to do some extra sanding that could be avoided.

Thank you. I would not have waited for the "glue" to cure. I was planning to glue all the joints then come right back with the tape and a batch of epoxy.

When it does cure you will have some excess epoxy slag around/above the puzzle connection. Lightly sand the ecess off then the lay your glass strip over the puzzle connection and apply clear epoxy.  Make sure your puzzle connections are even and on a flat surface. I laid a 5 pound weight on top of the joints (plastic sheeting under the weight) to match everything up correctly. Even so, one of my joints was off to some degree. Just double check all the joints making sure it is all level before calling it a night. Mark

The first part worked well, now I am about to glass the joint, does that also get the weight treatment?  I did not think so, than, was reading Lazlo's "Building a Wood Duck 12" website, and it seems that he did wieght them once the glass was there...

I used no weight for the strips of glass over the puzzle joints. It is about as flush as it gets when you wet out the galss.

Thought so, that will happen this evening, then, this weekend, the stiching begins....

Thanks again.

Hey Jeff,

I used the weights because I did everything in one fell swoop - joints & glass - so they needed to be immobilized. For that matter, in my kit the joints were so tight that I didn't bother with the silica. I just brushed the  joints with epoxy, laid them flat and taped them. There was no gap when everything finished curing. Even if there had been, they would have been filled when the outside was glassed. But it's probably safer to follow the manual.

Laszlo

Thank you, I have the glass on now, I will let it sit until after work tomorrow. Then the fun begins...

 Sure wish CLC would offer a Duck class out here in the Pacific Northwest.

Well it was my first wetting out fiberglass, I think I overdid it with the epoxy. it is a bit thick.  Does anyone think there is any issues? I asume I will still be able to stitch the piece together without any trouble????

Jeff, there shouldn't be any issues a sanding block can't fix. On the Koholo I'm working on they even suggest planing the panels at an angle to make a flush fit.

When doing puzzle joints on that I used heavy plastic under and on top over the cloth with weight over plywood at the same time all with straight epoxy. The advantage of using plastic over the cloth even without weight is surface tension it keeps the epoxy filled to the top of the cloth eliminating any secondary fill coats,air bubbles and roughness of the cloth seams.