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I began glassing the interior of the hull and have a few questions

1. I applied glass in the aft section a week ago and haven't added a second coat. Is it too late to just roll on a second coat without sanding, and will sanding now grind out some of the cloth?

2. The 3rd coat of epoxy applied to the entire interior of the boat. should that be done after all of the cleats for the deck have been added so that they get a coating of epoxy?

i'm sure i have more questions that i can't think of at the moment. thanks

one more...

does anyone see a reason not to fiberglass the underside of the cockpit deck before installing it? the manual simply says put several coats of epoxy to add strength, why not lay down some cloth and make it even stronger?

Hi.
1. I'd think that a light swipe with 150 or even 220 sandpaper, without cutting into the glass fibers, would ensure a better bonding of the new resin coat.

2. I finished all the cleats and stringers with two coats of resin, giving them a good finished look, before I glued them in the boat. I wanted to be sure that all wood is sealed against future moisture, and I'm shooting for the interior to be completely finished out before starting on the decking. I got the cabin sole installed yesterday and am working on the interior wood trimming now. Hope to post a photo of the final result soon.

3. No reason not to glass the underside of the deck, I guess, as long as you think there will be enough cloth to do the required glassing. I've been considering doing that, too.

Build-on. Jer http://gallery.me.com/jermcmanus

>>>>>does anyone see a reason not to fiberglass the underside of the cockpit deck before installing it?

That would be an improvement---panels get stronger when you put the fiberglass in tension (opposite side of where the stress is applied). My seats seem plenty strong, and have endured rough handling. (Hundreds of boarders clumping aboard at boatshows.) But eventually a grandchild will jump into the boat from a high dock and hit the seats hard.

Only reason I didn't do that on mine was time and patience. I suspect there's more than enough fiberglass in the kits for that.

Too late for me to fiberglass the underside of the cockpit but it seems like a good idea. My seats are strong ( especially along the seatbacks where the big fillets are) but there is a bit of flex on the front section near the cabin wall. I am going to install a cross cleat from the rear of the centerboard trunk to the front of the middle cleat to stiffen it up a bit. Probably not necessary but it will make me feel better.

Yeah as John mentioned, my biggest concern is people jumping into the dock off the boat.

Good. Thanks for the info, all. I'll glass the underside of the decking & cockpit floor. That's the next step as I just, tonight, finished working on the boat's interior. Photos to follow, tomorrow. Jer http://gallery.me.com/jermcmanus

I'm glassing the last areas of Kilderkin - the outer hull (below the rubbing strake) and inside of hull are all done, as is part of the cockpit. I need to do the cabin top, aft cabin wall, cockpit well, and hatch. I have 3 gallons of resin left (seems plenty), 20lb of sand-filler left (what?), but, I've run out of glass cloth - about 10yd short is my estimate. I didn't glass under the deck, and have been economical in its use. How have others fared - left over cloth, needed to get some more, or Goldilocks - just right? From this thread, it seems there should have been plenty, but I'm 20% short!

SteveW