In June of 1995 we began including complete epoxy kits with every Chesapeake Light Craft kit.  But which epoxy? By then we'd already helped thousands of people build their first (and second and third) boat and we knew that the decision we made would make a huge difference in each boatbuilder's experience.  Why?  Because not all epoxy is created equal.

We chose the premium stuff. It costs more but it's been standard in CLC kits from the beginning.

Epoxy comprises most of the strength of a modern, composite wooden boat like the ones found on our website.  Everything is either bonded with epoxy, coated with epoxy, or sheathed in fiberglass saturated with epoxy. 

You can save up to $150 or more on a typical kayak kit by using an off-brand, old-fashioned epoxy, but you won't enjoy it and you'll get a much lesser boat.  Here's why:

"Amine Blush":  This is a greasy film that forms on the surface of your boat as the lesser epoxies cure.  Nothing sticks to this oily film, which must be laboriously cleaned off with soap and water before you can go on to the next step.  The soap and water can stain adjacent wooden surfaces, and it's just a mess and a waste of time.

All Chesapeake Light Craft kits ship with "blush-free" epoxy---at no extra charge.  Apply the epoxy, let it cure, move on to the next step. 

Viscosity:  Cheap epoxy systems feature high viscosity---they are thick and gooey, like honey.  Applying clear finishes over fiberglass with thick epoxy results in boats that look cloudy beneath varnish, not the beautiful clear wood finishes you see in photos of CLC boats.  It's also just hard to use viscous epoxy.

All Chesapeake Light Craft kits ship with low-viscosity epoxy---at no extra charge.  It goes right through fiberglass and deep into the wood without a lot of hard work, resulting in clear wood finishes.

Odor:  Economy epoxies tend to have a strong smell that can clear out the house if you're working in the basement.  The heavy ammonia-like odor is unpleasant at best and simply unworkable for many shop situations.

MAS Epoxy, which we ship with every CLC kit, has the LEAST odor of any epoxy we've tried.  It's essentially undetectable in a basement shop.  It is 100% solids, so it's not flammable if you're working next to your furnace.  We use common sense with ventilation with ALL epoxies, but we use this epoxy in our own home shops.

Ease of Mixing:  We ship epoxy with a simple 2:1 ratio of resin to hardener.  We include metering pumps at no charge to make it even easier, but anyone can manage the 2:1 ratio with mixing cups if they had to.  5:1 or 3:1 is a lot harder---and if you make a mistake, the epoxy will not cure.