I've made so many canoes in so many "wrong" ways now, and I can't say I have ever noticed a difference in strength. To qualify that.....sometimes life gets in the way of completing fiberglassing all at once. There have been several times when I wet out the cloth and then couldn't get the fill coats on for a week or two. Didn't bother sanding, just wiped off dust and applied. Canoes still going strong ten years later. Silvertip, by system three, claims that one can wait 72 hours between coats and still not have to sand. I like silver tip, but I can't really see what would make it different for any other epoxy in terms of wait times. They are all very similar.
Anyway, I forgot that I have a work related meeting tonight, so I might not be able to fiberglass till tomorrow night....we'll see. Clear Coat has a real long set up time anyway, so if I have to wait till tomorrow night, I probably won't sand.
I normally don't put a seal coat on, but I noticed the last time I used really dry western cedar, it soaked up the epoxy like crazy, and left some parts on the canoe where the pattern of the cloth was showing through. We'll see what happens this time, it's always a surprise, cause I'm working with the good 'nough philosophy.
