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Jet ski guy had a parachute that failed to open.

That would have also gave you twice the sanding. I was thinking about the crease, you could heat the epoxy up past its glass transition temperature and make some minor tweaks. I'd talk to the manufacturer first though to see how hot you can go before permanent negative effects.

Swift used flax cloth a few years ago. Not sure if they do still. If you're looking for flax at fabric shops, it's called linen. For a composite though anything you could find at a fabric store would probably be too tight a weave.

Dang Stripperguy, you don't waste any time. Looking good so far. For the stems, ever thought of molding one layer of fabric on the stripper stem, then attaching it with more layers onto the shell? I use 4 mm Lantor Coremat for my ribs in 3 inch strips with two layers of kevlar over top. It is...

It's been a slow afternoon at work. I just read through most of the McCrea selection of articles. I particularly liked the one about naked cops and priests.

Skin coat, is just filled weave, it isnt rolled in, it just happens as the epoxy and weave are pressed against the mold. That's why there isn't any extra weight, because there isn't a gelled coat of vinylester sprayed in first. Edit: in a vinylester laminate, the same applies, the canoe is...

Basalt is made of basalt, a mineral. Innegra is polypropylene. Basalt is fairly dense, on par with fiberglass, about 2.5 g/cc. Innergra is the least dense of all the materials in composite canoes, I think around .9 g/cc, lighter than water. I don't really recall any other specs

Good thinking Mem, I'd be tempted to do the same. Those keels probably add quite a bit to the frictional resistance through the water.

Another question. What's your plan for the gunwales on the existing kite? Won't they get in the way when molding a new shell? If I remember from the original build they are not removable.

Can't wait. I'm always ready for more one off composite builds. For mold release I'm still a fan of the window shrink film, and leave those stems open until after you pull it off the plug. What are you thinking for a core/ribs?

Standard layup for the home builder is from outside to inside: 6 oz s glass, 6 oz s glass, 5 oz Kevlar, 5 oz Kevlar. Most canoes have ribs or a foam core. With the mold you have, I would put extra material in those rib grooves. Those will take the most damage on the water and also provide the...

Depends a lot on what food and cooking gear you bring, as well as how you like to sleep. Test pack everything first. I could get a weeks worth of gear in a 25 lb. pack or a 100 lb. load. I've done both. I've eaten great and slept poor and vise versa. Pack what the other person you're journeying...

Mike, why the 50:50 mix? Isn't regular epoxy harder therefore more abrasion resistant? Also that repair looks real nice. Taking the lazy approach from the beginning, and due to my poor varnishing skills, I skip the varnish and sanding all together, and just use a good marine wax over a final...

I'll let you know the route after I find the buried treasure.

My imagination is not so vivid, bring on the pictures and video! Glad you had a grand trip Skwid!

Never heard that term, we call it the farmer's blow.

Mike, the picture into the inside of your cap reminds me of a several month road trip, my girlfriend and I living out of the truck. Many of the items that she deemed essential became truly frivolous to me when after a couple months on the road I finally came across a pallet of Hamms beer at a...

Those rocky down to the river roads in southern MO are something else. They can rattle most vehicles apart. There's many an exhaust system buried in the woods that bounced off E350 vans. Along with plastic panels, headliners, and seatbelts.

I'm jealous. That looks like a whole lot of fun.

I've been keeping my eye on this too. My Ranger has 180,000 miles on it, and I'm not sure what it's replacement will be yet. I'm not crazy about the short bed trucks, hopefully they will have a longer option. We had a joke in high school, called them d**ks because every guy had one. I will be...