JEM Watercraft

I am currently building the free Laker. I am using 5.0 mm luan. I plan to glass the inside and outside. Should I use 6 oz or could I reduce the weight and use 4 oz? The plans call for 38" wide fiberglass, but I am only finding 30" and 50" material (from duckworks).

Thanks-
Patrick

you could reduce to 4 ounce with the understanding that is not as strong as 6-ounce so don't go running any rapids. Check for deep scratches after each outing.

as far as the width you could use 30". you'd glass the bottom and the cloth will go about 1/2 way up the sides. Install the deck but don't put on the coaming. Then, drape the 30" cloth over the deck and down the sides. The top layer of cloth should have about 2" of overlap with the bottom layer.

If you want a natural wood finish, that overlap area may not look as clear as area with no overlap...just the single layer of cloth. If painting the sides, no issue.

Patrick........

Not sure about where you live since you do not have that info posted......

I like the 3.25 tight weave glass and get it from Raka here in Florida.( http://www.raka.com/ ) It comes in all sorts of widths and weights. The boat I am making right now required the 60 inch width and he had it. That was a blessing to me since there was only a 4 inch overhang on the inside when I used it.........
He also has the shorter widths of glass but I like to do my boats in one single layer with no patching.

Chuck.........

I would not recommend the tight-weave glass to a new builder. It can be hard to get it conform to corners.

jem wrote:...glass the bottom and the cloth will go about 1/2 way up the sides. Install the deck but don't put on the coaming. Then, drape the 30" cloth over the deck and down the sides. The top layer of cloth should have about 2" of overlap with the bottom layer.

If you want a natural wood finish, that overlap area may not look as clear as area with no overlap...just the single layer of cloth. If painting the sides, no issue.

Patrick, the method described above by Matt is basically what I did with my Laker and it looks quite reasonable with a timber finish. Just take care with trimming the glass at the joint and with sanding and you should be OK.

I did use a much lighter glass (about 2.5oz) and I'm not sure whether this would make it more difficult or easier - maybe someone else could comment on that.

Good luck with the build.