Boatbuilding Tips
Our vast collection of boatbuilding tips, drawn from decades of experience in supporting backyard boatbuilders.
Sanding & Foot Braces (S4 E20)
Do You Hate Sanding? Bob Emser doesn't! Sanding epoxy on a kayak is more than a step in construction—it is a quiet act of reflection. What begins as a practical...
Sanding & Foot Braces (S4 E20)
Do You Hate Sanding? Bob Emser doesn't! Sanding epoxy on a kayak is more than a step in construction—it is a quiet act of reflection. What begins as a practical...
Surviving a Wooden Boat Catastrophe
This demo model Kaholo 12-6 got crunched. Most of us wrote it off, but CLC boatbuilder Travis Guthrie said he could make it right. Can he? There was a gaping...
Surviving a Wooden Boat Catastrophe
This demo model Kaholo 12-6 got crunched. Most of us wrote it off, but CLC boatbuilder Travis Guthrie said he could make it right. Can he? There was a gaping...
Quick Bonding and Emergency Repairs
On Saturday morning, you eagerly enter your shop, all set to make great progress toward finishing your boat, only to find that you forgot to glue one critical part last...
Quick Bonding and Emergency Repairs
On Saturday morning, you eagerly enter your shop, all set to make great progress toward finishing your boat, only to find that you forgot to glue one critical part last...
Peel Ply for Smooth Fiberglass Surfaces
We’ve written before about the challenge of getting smooth surfaces with epoxy and fiberglass. It takes at least three coats of epoxy to “fill the weave,” and then hours of...
Peel Ply for Smooth Fiberglass Surfaces
We’ve written before about the challenge of getting smooth surfaces with epoxy and fiberglass. It takes at least three coats of epoxy to “fill the weave,” and then hours of...
Pastry Bags for Epoxy Fillets
In stitch-and-glue boatbuilding. epoxy "fillets" are what hold everything together. Whether you are filling the seams on a Lapstitch™ hull or you are bonding bulkheads to the hull shell, you'll...
Pastry Bags for Epoxy Fillets
In stitch-and-glue boatbuilding. epoxy "fillets" are what hold everything together. Whether you are filling the seams on a Lapstitch™ hull or you are bonding bulkheads to the hull shell, you'll...
Safe Boatbuilding (Part 2) by Dave Carnell
These are the general rules for keeping out of trouble with hazardous chemicals. Let's take a look some specific materials, their hazards, and procedures for using them safely; Epoxy Resins...
Safe Boatbuilding (Part 2) by Dave Carnell
These are the general rules for keeping out of trouble with hazardous chemicals. Let's take a look some specific materials, their hazards, and procedures for using them safely; Epoxy Resins...
Safe Boatbuilding (Part 1) by Dave Carnell
By Dave Carnell [The guys at MAS Epoxies turned us on to Dave's excellent safe-boatbuilding essay, and it is used here with Dave's permission.] Chemicals are commonly conceived as a...
Safe Boatbuilding (Part 1) by Dave Carnell
By Dave Carnell [The guys at MAS Epoxies turned us on to Dave's excellent safe-boatbuilding essay, and it is used here with Dave's permission.] Chemicals are commonly conceived as a...
Preventing Epoxy Bubbles
Have you ever coated bare wood with epoxy or varnish in the morning, then returned in the afternoon to find thousands of little bubbles on the surface? As the temperature...
Preventing Epoxy Bubbles
Have you ever coated bare wood with epoxy or varnish in the morning, then returned in the afternoon to find thousands of little bubbles on the surface? As the temperature...
Fiberglassing
Fiberglass is just what it sounds like: very fine strands of glass, just like the stuff in a window pane, woven into a cloth that vaguely resembles white burlap. Bonded...
Fiberglassing
Fiberglass is just what it sounds like: very fine strands of glass, just like the stuff in a window pane, woven into a cloth that vaguely resembles white burlap. Bonded...
Epoxy Mixer
Professional boatbuilders agree that 90 percent of epoxy problems are caused by insufficient mixing. Well, we mix a lot of epoxy at CLC, so we made this neat little epoxy...
Epoxy Mixer
Professional boatbuilders agree that 90 percent of epoxy problems are caused by insufficient mixing. Well, we mix a lot of epoxy at CLC, so we made this neat little epoxy...
Epoxy in Cold Weather
In many parts of the country there comes a time in the Fall when there aren't enough layers of neoprene and fleece in the world to make the local waters...
Epoxy in Cold Weather
In many parts of the country there comes a time in the Fall when there aren't enough layers of neoprene and fleece in the world to make the local waters...
Epoxy Basics
Stitch-and-glue boat building must be done with marine epoxy adhesives. Other resins such as polyester or vinylester are simply not strong enough to hold the panels together. You'll use epoxy...
Epoxy Basics
Stitch-and-glue boat building must be done with marine epoxy adhesives. Other resins such as polyester or vinylester are simply not strong enough to hold the panels together. You'll use epoxy...
Conserving Epoxy
Many first time boatbuilders use more epoxy than is required. Epoxy is both expensive and heavy, so here are some tips to help you use less epoxy, spend less money,...
Conserving Epoxy
Many first time boatbuilders use more epoxy than is required. Epoxy is both expensive and heavy, so here are some tips to help you use less epoxy, spend less money,...
CLC Epoxy Tips and FAQ
What is the Mix Ratio? - The MAS mix ratio is 2:1 for Resin to Hardener. That ratio stays constant even when the hardeners are custom blended. If using calibrated...
CLC Epoxy Tips and FAQ
What is the Mix Ratio? - The MAS mix ratio is 2:1 for Resin to Hardener. That ratio stays constant even when the hardeners are custom blended. If using calibrated...
Bias-Weave Fiberglass
If you've ever struggled to make a piece of fiberglass tape or cloth lay smoothly over the sharp bow or stern of a boat you need to learn about bias...
Bias-Weave Fiberglass
If you've ever struggled to make a piece of fiberglass tape or cloth lay smoothly over the sharp bow or stern of a boat you need to learn about bias...
Avoiding Epoxy Fisheyes
If you've ever applied a coat of epoxy that formed "fisheyes" (round craters) or beaded (like water on a freshly waxed car), you know how hard it is to sand...
Avoiding Epoxy Fisheyes
If you've ever applied a coat of epoxy that formed "fisheyes" (round craters) or beaded (like water on a freshly waxed car), you know how hard it is to sand...
"Filling the Weave"
Without epoxy, fiberglass is just an itchy, loosely-woven fabric that you can unravel in your fingers. Saturated and bonded to plywood in a hard matrix of marine epoxy, fiberglass cloth...
"Filling the Weave"
Without epoxy, fiberglass is just an itchy, loosely-woven fabric that you can unravel in your fingers. Saturated and bonded to plywood in a hard matrix of marine epoxy, fiberglass cloth...
![Strip Planking 35: Laminating the Coaming Lip [video]](http://clcboats.com/cdn/shop/articles/tip-35.jpg?v=1729125153&width=533)
Strip Planking 35: Laminating the Coaming Lip [...
Nick Schade writes: I make the lip of my coaming (the part that holds on the spray skirt) by laminating a stack of thin laminations around the coaming riser (the...
Strip Planking 35: Laminating the Coaming Lip [...
Nick Schade writes: I make the lip of my coaming (the part that holds on the spray skirt) by laminating a stack of thin laminations around the coaming riser (the...
Strip Planking 34: Applying a Fill Coat [video]
Nick Schade writes: A "Fill-Coat" is what I call the coat of epoxy applied after fiberglassing which is intended to fill in the weave texture of the fiberglass so that...
Strip Planking 34: Applying a Fill Coat [video]
Nick Schade writes: A "Fill-Coat" is what I call the coat of epoxy applied after fiberglassing which is intended to fill in the weave texture of the fiberglass so that...
![Strip Planking 33: Installing a Solid Outer Stem [video]](http://clcboats.com/cdn/shop/articles/tip-33.jpg?v=1729123997&width=533)
Strip Planking 33: Installing a Solid Outer Ste...
Nick Schade writes: There are a couple ways to add an external stem to a kayak. While I typically use thin laminations stacked and bent and glued in place, on...
Strip Planking 33: Installing a Solid Outer Ste...
Nick Schade writes: There are a couple ways to add an external stem to a kayak. While I typically use thin laminations stacked and bent and glued in place, on...
![Strip Planking 32: Joining the Deck and Hull and Taping the Inside Seam [video]](http://clcboats.com/cdn/shop/articles/tip-32.jpg?v=1729123758&width=533)
Strip Planking 32: Joining the Deck and Hull an...
Nick Schade writes: Joining the Deck and Hull One of the more frequent questions I get is; "How do you put the deck back on the hull? How do you...
Strip Planking 32: Joining the Deck and Hull an...
Nick Schade writes: Joining the Deck and Hull One of the more frequent questions I get is; "How do you put the deck back on the hull? How do you...
![Strip Planking 31: Smoothing the Hull Interior [video]](http://clcboats.com/cdn/shop/articles/tip-31_bc907da2-f971-4312-b1c0-f2a7335ee978.jpg?v=1753889417&width=533)
Strip Planking 31: Smoothing the Hull Interior ...
Nick Schade writes: The concave shape of the interior is more difficult to smooth than the exterior. The easiest tool to use is a scraper. These scrapers are not card...
Strip Planking 31: Smoothing the Hull Interior ...
Nick Schade writes: The concave shape of the interior is more difficult to smooth than the exterior. The easiest tool to use is a scraper. These scrapers are not card...
![Strip Planking 30: Glassing the Interior of the Coaming [video]](http://clcboats.com/cdn/shop/articles/tip-30.jpg?v=1729123303&width=533)
Strip Planking 30: Glassing the Interior of the...
Nick Schade writes: To this point I have only glassed the outside of the coaming. Now that I have applied carbon fiber to the interior of the hul I can...
Strip Planking 30: Glassing the Interior of the...
Nick Schade writes: To this point I have only glassed the outside of the coaming. Now that I have applied carbon fiber to the interior of the hul I can...
![Strip Planking 29: Laying Carbon Fiber Cloth on the Deck Interior [video]](http://clcboats.com/cdn/shop/articles/tip-29.jpg?v=1729123057&width=533)
Strip Planking 29: Laying Carbon Fiber Cloth on...
Nick Schade writes: Laying carbon fiber is not that different from fiberglass accept that it is black, and stays black. Where fiberglass starts white and becomes transparent when saturated with...
Strip Planking 29: Laying Carbon Fiber Cloth on...
Nick Schade writes: Laying carbon fiber is not that different from fiberglass accept that it is black, and stays black. Where fiberglass starts white and becomes transparent when saturated with...