Materials

Happy Bastille Day!

I started the D4 back in 1999, and set it aside after cutting the frames and panels. I used 1/4" lauan plywood for the panels and 3/8" AC for the frames. The transom and bow transom were made of 3 pieces of lauan laminated with epoxy to 3/4". The lauan from that period was a stiff and good-looking plywood, although the center ply was thicker than the outer plies. The cut pieces were stored and moved around carefully. I can't say the same for the epoxy.

The epoxy was System Three epoxy purchased in 1999. It was stored in garages and storage units with temperatures in excess of 110 degrees in summer and hovering around freezing in winter. I was considering throwing it out and buying more, but after reading that epoxy has a very long shelf life, I tried it first. I am thrilled to say that after 9 years stored in bad conditions, the epoxy performed like new. The pumps had to be replaced.

Because I liked the lauan plywood I purchased 9 years ago for the D4, and because I wanted to build the canoe on the cheap, I purchased lauan plywood again. It isn't the same lauan plywood. The face veneer looks good, but the back veneer is ugly and full of knot holes. The veneers are very thin, and the wood has three equal plies inside. On the minus side, it splits along the middle ply. It bends like wet spaghetti. Still, I think the canoe will do what I need.

I'm using Marinepoxy for the canoe. It isn't as thick as the System Three. I have the medium speed hardener for both. In the heat of a North Carolina summer, neither allows much more than five minutes working time for a three ounce batch.