JEM Watercraft

no other way, unfortunately.

How bad are they? You could try to just see if you can rub some resin into the glass, if there is an opening the resin will get in and seal it up. If it is a big pocket then you would need to sand it out.

I got most of them sanded out and re-glassed. Just a bit of a pain really. No-one will notice when the dark varnish goes on anyway

Going to have a look at getting the gunwales started tomorrow. Does anyone have any gems of wisdom about steaming and bending?

steam is meant to flow in the steam box. Don't seal the box up tight.

Thanks Matt.

Got one of the outwhales steamed and all cramped up into position now, but used all 16 cramps just for that one piece. I was surprised how hard bending and keeping the timber in place is. The spring cramps don't really cut it, so luckily I had 7 G-clamps and a sash clamp to hand. The springies are filling in between the real holders.

On the hunt for more cramps now, out round the second hand market stalls this week. See if I can't pick up a few cheaply.

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for a recommendation on a suitable varnish for the canoe.
Ideally I would like a little 'colour' in the varnish to slightly darken the colour of the underlying plywood, but all I can find is clear varnish like International Original.

Or would it be better to put a 1% brown pigment in the final coats of epoxy?

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Epoxy pigments are nice but you have make sure you mix and apply one coat at a time, and apply it all at once. Otherwise you could get a bad color match.

Water-based stains work well with epoxy.

Latest photo update after gunwales have been fitted. Its starting to look like a wetting could be in order pretty soon.
I have the bow end of the gunwales held together with a screw at the moment. That will be removed and shaped when the epoxy is 7 days old.

Just received some graphite and some dark water based stain (thanks for the info Matt). Will lay the boat up in the garage again and apply at least the stain coats before next weekend. Also need to think about a seat a bit more.


If you look carefully you can see a large fillet in the bow. After a the end pour I carved a block of polystyrene to fit the bow around the end pour, then glassed the whole thing in to make a neater finish.

I like it.

Matt, I noticed that the bottom of the hull goes very flat about where the planks are joined in the middle. This will be quite prone to scraping and rubbing at a guess. Would a runner glued onto the centre line cause any great problems do you think?