Re: [Paddlewise] Hull Repairs

> I'm giving an evening seminar at my local kayak club next week on
> fiberglass repairs, alterations, fix ups, etc. I was wondering if what I
> plan on talking about and demonstrating aligns with what other kayakers
> are doing for repairs. Some questions:
>
      >  snippage <
>
> 5. If you were attending a seminar, what would you like to see
> covered/explained/demonstrated?
>

Depends on who the audience is.

If your audience has at least some 'glassing experience, you can safely go
into more detail on any/all aspects of fiberglass repair.  If the audience
largely consists of folks who have never done any fiberglassing work, some
show-and-tell would be very appropriate:
-- show them how resins are mixed
-- let them see/smell epoxy, polyester resins, and gelcoat
-- let them feel/see/smell a batch of resin that 'goes off'
-- let them see cured films of all of the above
-- let them see fiberglass cloth/tape/mat of different weights
-- some advance preparation in preparing cured test swatches of one, two,
and three layer cloth would be instructive.  And if one goes this far, it
would also be worth adding some mat and woven roving for comparison.  If
there are multiple test swatches, folks can play with bending/folding the
swatches to failure (with care - don't want any punctured/sliced fingers.

Adding other senses (seeing, feeling, smelling) into the presentation will
provide much more impact and better recall.

But wait - you said this was an evening seminar.....

DO find the time to stress that human skin and lungs should not come into
contact with any of these substances (even when sanding the stuff), and that
fiberglassing is 95% preparation and 5% 'hurry-up'.

Regards,
Erik Sprenne

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