Boatbuilding Tips
Our vast collection of boatbuilding tips, drawn from decades of experience in supporting backyard boatbuilders.
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...