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To sheath or not ?

Submitted by Dave R. - Thu, 4/8/10 » 5:36 AM

I am ready to sheath my C16 with 6 ozs glass cloth. However, since I do not live in the US, Europe or Australia it is very difficult to source good quality, soft, cloth. What we have here is something akin (in stiffness) to a sheet of cardboard !

Has anyone out there completed a C16 (or any other wooden kayak) without glassing the hull ?

I have a stitch and glue dory (12 foot) which was never glassed, merely epoxy saturated then reinforced with 3 inch glass tape along the seams. It has held up perfectly. But, it was built with 6mm, not 4mm ply.

My boat will not be subjected to heavy duty work, and will be used on an estuary for most of its life.

Your comments would be appreciated.

Dave

3 replies:

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RE: To sheath or not ?

» Submitted by Mac - Thu, 4/8/10 » 5:02 PM

Dave,

I think we're stayin' away from your question in droves.

In my case, 'cause I'm scared.

Not only does fiberglass strengthen the okoume, it gives the epoxy a place to build thickness. Whithout this combination, I think we're talkin' eggshell.

I would try any means possible to get the proper cloth.

Be safe!

RE: To sheath or not ?

» Submitted by KathyD - Thu, 4/8/10 » 8:47 PM

I would definitely try to find some fiberglass cloth to sheath the boat if possible. CLC does ship internationally, but I don't know how much it costs. Here's the international orders web page. I'm sure you could e-mail them and find out the cost.

http://www.clcboats.com/international.html

Good luck!

Kathy

RE: To sheath or not ?

» Submitted by Dave R. - Fri, 4/9/10 » 7:33 AM

Mac, Kathy,

Didn't mean to scare you ! I put the message out just in case someone had tried it.

It looks as if I shall have to source the glass from CLC, which is the safer route to go. Besides I also need to get seating and footbraces.

You are so fortunate to live fairly close to CLC. I'm 10 000 kilometres from them which loads transport costs.

But, having said this, we build CLC boats for the pleasure of it and ultimately the satisfaction of owning something special.

Else we wouldn't be chatting on this forum.

Thanks for your comments.