Refinish of Jensen J-200 marathoner help.

[wrhester]

First of all, glad to have found this forum. It's helped tremendously, but I'm needing some advice as I continue.
I have an 80's Jensen J-200 that I started stripping down this week.
To start off, let me say that I'm not looking for perfection, nor do I have the skill to make it so. I am looking to make this boat paddle worthy again, re-vitalize it and enjoy some distance paddling and even some marathon training/exercise. I don't have a shop (though I wish I did) and I'm using the hand tools that I have...hot air gun, scraper, sanders...etc.
pics:



I've finished scraping the old glass off and have sanded it down to the wood (about 25 hours so far). I've got some repairs to small dings and small holes to do. I plan on using epoxy and sawdust to make a paste to fill those. Also I have some split seams that I'm thinking of bringing them together as much as able, reglue or fill and then use glass seam tape to strengten.
My questions:
1. I'm looking to use 4 oz glass over the hull. Several types out there so which is best for ease of application/strength and being clear. E-glass? A standard weave?
2. This boat design has wings that flare out and I'm unsure about how to go about glassing. I'd like to go with a 60 inch wide, single piece of glass. During wet out, will the shape of the wings make it difficult to do the wet-out? Will the glass want to pull away? Will the shape of the wings create problems with the glass fabric as I mold it around all those curves and lines? Any suggestions on how to go about this would be appreciated.
3. Any other suggestions, or thoughts are much appreciated. I've glassed a few holes in kayaks over the years and did ok, but this is the first time on a project this big.
Right now the boat is on my front porch so it's somewhat protected. Looking forward to seeing this old boat on the water again.
Thanks much...Bill

 

[pklonowski]

I've not glassed anything that exciting, but what you might want to do is lay the cloth over the hull, and sort of play with it -- see how the cloth will lay, how it might wrap around the wide part, and where it might need a gusset, or an extra seam of glass tape.

I'm speculating; hopefully someone will have more experience with this kind of shape.

 

[wrhester]

Hey thanks...Another quick question to add. I'm needing 56 inches to cover the widest point. I can't find 4 oz wider than 30 inches, but 6 oz I can find at 60 inches. I'd like to cover with 4 in keeping it light, but whats the difference between 6 and 4..will I gain a lot weight?

 

[pklonowski]

The heavier cloth will add some weight, but I can't begin to guess how much.

RAKA.COM has 4oz x 50": http://raka.com/75ozplainweavex50in-2-1-1.aspx

as does Jamestown Distributors: http://www.jamestowndistributors.co...id=2069&familyName=Fiberglass+Cloth+-+4+Ounce

Not quite 56"... What if you centered this cloth on the boat (side-to-side), then added filler strips to cover the remaining areas? You'd need to overlap about 2" on each seam, but you'll be doing something similar to that around the wide part of that boat anyway.

Again, I'm speculating, not having done a boat like this before. Anybody else have any thoughts?

 

[Todd Bradshaw]

I kind of wonder whether putting the boat up on its side (as in the last photo) and glassing one side and half the bottom in one session and then the other side and that half of the bottom in the next session with an overlap down the keel line might be the best approach. Those wings are going to be a bear to get the glass to stay down tight to the surface as it changes direction over the ridge. There will, however, be a point during the cure cycle when you could press the glass back down and it will stick there - you just have to be there when it happens and you can expect a lot of sticking it down and watching it come back up before you get to that point.

One way that it could certainly be done in one piece would be to give the entire hull a light coat of resin (slow hardener) and wait for it to get stiff enough that it doesn't move freely, yet still be pretty sticky. Then you can lay the glass on, smooth it out with dry rollers and gloved hands and it will stay put, even on the underside/overhanging areas. As soon as it is in place and smooth, you begin the actual saturation process with more epoxy. The trick to this, as before, is to catch the previous coat of resin at the proper time in it's hardening cycle. You don't want it coming off on the cloth (can leave partially-saturated, semi-dry spots that subsequent resin coats can't penetrate) but it does still need to be pretty tacky in order to keep the cloth stuck down over the contours.

In any case, whenever you are applying fiberglass over a difficult shape it's not a bad idea to trim off the factory woven selvedge edges of the cloth. Fiberglass drapes (or not) over these odd-ball shapes by the weave being able to move on itself as needed. Cutting off the woven edges (cut about 1/2" off from the edge) frees the weave a bit and can make it easier to get the cloth to lie down as it needs to do. Normally, when we glass over a knife-edged shape or sharp corner, it's done with the weave on a bias (crossing the edge at 45 degrees, rather than at 90 degrees) and you can bend a strip of fiberglass successfully and down tightly over a surprisingly sharp edge that way. In this case, since you're doing an entire hull, that's probably not possible. However, if during the glassing process there is simply no way to get the glass to stay down tight and bend neatly over the wings, you could always cut it, right at the ridgeline. Get it stuck down tight as close to the ridge as you can on both sides and then go back in later to cover the ridge with a bias-cut strip of fiberglass cloth, overlapping the main layers next to the ridge. It would mold to that sharp angle without a problem.

With 6 oz. cloth and the fact that the outside will require more filler coats, I wouldn't be surprised if the boat gains maybe 5-8 lbs. or so. Possibly less, but I doubt much more if you do a good job of getting excess out during the saturation outside and the inside glassing. For a training and recreational boat, I really doubt most people would notice the difference in the way it paddles. You would also gain some strength and abrasion resistance. Those wings have a pretty nasty potential for getting damaged if you hit anything and a bit more fiberglass protecting them probably wouldn't hurt.

 

[wrhester]

Thanks Todd and Paul...you've got me thinking and wanted to throw this out there.
If I use 4oz@ 50 in wide, I could use one piece to cover everything except the wings to the gunwale, I would trim the piece to cover the wings to the bottom edge, leaving the sides above the wings clear. I could then go back and use a smalller piece to cover the upper side of the wings to the gunwales, with overlap around the edge. That should make it easier to hold, yet retain strength, if not make it stronger, around the wings. I like the idea of putting a coat of epoxy down on the wings and doing those smaller pieces on top of that tacky coat. Great idea.

I'm not going to do much to the inside...no way would I spend another 25 hrs clearing that old glass and varnich off. It's in ok shape anyway.

Comparing prices, the Raka epoxy is quite a bit cheaper and the reviews I've read here and elsewhere seem to give it a thumbs up. Looks like I'll get the cloth and epoxy from them.

 

[pklonowski]

Sounds like a plan... please post pictures as you go... we like pictures of canoes!