Tag Archives: 35

Historic Wooden Dories in the Grand Canyon

By Greg Hatten

Cover Photo: Greg Hatten battles white water on a trip through the Grand Canyon in his replica wooden dory, PORTOLA.

On March 21, 2012, river runners from five western states, Canada, Japan and Chile launched five homemade wooden dories, replicas of important historical designs, in an attempt to complete a 24-day self-guided traverse of the Colorado River through Grand Canyon. The replica boats represented a snapshot of river running in Grand Canyon during the 1950s and 1960s, just before Glen Canyon Dam took control of the Colorado River through Grand Canyon. Continue reading →

Sealing and Priming

Lesson 4 in our series on Strip Planking

By Ted Moores

Sealing and priming a surface prior to applying the final finish affects how it ages, and how it ages has everything to do with the way the finish is anchored to the wood. Sealers and primers are often taken for granted; we simply read the can and follow directions. There are so many reasons for using a sealer and many methods for applying them. Let’s look at what we learned while sealing Sparks, the electric launch I built. Continue reading →

Make Your Own Grapnel

By Captain J.R. Watson

A grapnel or grappling hook is a device with curved tines or “flukes” attached to a rope used for retrieving overboard objects. For pleasure boaters, a grapnel should be small, lightweight, and made of non-rusting materials. I think every cruising boat should have one. The only ones I could find were too large or were a folding grapnel anchor, not a retrieving hook. Continue reading →

Auto Fender Repairs

with WEST SYSTEM Epoxy

By Tom Pawlak — GBI Technical Advisor

Ten years ago the rear fender on my son John’s 1991 Honda Accord was damaged just forward of the wheel. It had been repaired at a local body shop, but four months later the same fender was rusting. I took it back to the body shop. The manager apologized and agreed to redo the job, but said there wasn’t much metal for his technicians to work with because the car had rusted significantly prior to the accident. He couldn’t guarantee that it wouldn’t rust again. Continue reading →

Building My First Skiff

By John Wojciechowski

I could envision my two young daughters rowing a skiff boat their dad built, but I had to convince my wife. I like to fish and so do my girls, so a good fishing skiff couldn’t hurt. “Think of all the fish fries,” I told my skeptical wife. When I told my brother that I was going to build a boat he asked me, “Why?” I didn’t discover the answer until after the project was completed. Continue reading →

Recycling & Disposing

By Glenn House — Director of Product Safety and Regulatory Compliance

Over the course of the last couple of years, Gougeon Brothers Inc. has partnered with Waste Management Inc. to implement a comprehensive recycling program that has been both simple and effective. We are now recycling emptied plastic and metal epoxy containers, shrink wrap from bulk packaged items, dispensed adhesive cartridges, cardboard boxes, miscellaneous soft and rigid plastic items, office paper, magazines, etc. Continue reading →

Testing Epoxy to Determine Physical Properties

by Mike Barnard

In this article, I’ll describe our standards for testing epoxy and how we go about testing epoxy to determine its handling characteristics and cured physical properties.

Epoxy Testing Standards

These are the standards we follow no matter which epoxy we are characterizing.

Two-week room temperature cure

After proper metering and thorough mixing epoxy will continue to cure after it has solidified until all amines have paired up. Over years of testing epoxy, we have found that two weeks of curing at room temperature, which we define as 72°F (22°C), is a good indication of its full strength. Continue reading →

Repairing JESTER’s Cabin Sole

Who’s Laughing Now?

By Greg Horvath as told to Bruce Niederer

The following photos detail some recent cabin sole repairs made by the owner and crew of Jester, a 2005 C&C 99. Jester is well equipped and has been meticulously maintained by her skipper and only owner, Greg Horvath. Jester has only sailed in fresh water and is stored indoors during the winter. She is also the boat I’ve raced aboard here in Saginaw Bay as well as around the Great Lakes including the Port Huron to Mackinaw Race and the Ugotta Regatta in Harbor Springs. Continue reading →

Letters to the Editor – White Oak

By Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor

My article, White Oak Redux (Epoxyworks 34), generated two responses we wanted to share. We consider ourselves students as well as tech advisors and so we’re always open to learning something from others. Our readers are generally pretty savvy people, and when they take the time to write us a thoughtful letter, we feel compelled to share what we learn from them with the rest of our readers. Continue reading →

Stray Cat Strut

Restoring a Gougeon Tornado Catamaran

By Andy Davidson

I have just about finished restoring a Gougeon Tornado catamaran. I’ve always had and loved catamarans, and this one had been sitting out in the sun at the Oklahoma City Boat Club for years. Bob, a fellow club member, offered some parts. His plans were to “chainsaw the hulls tomorrow” and put the pieces in the club Dumpster. That was the push I needed. In a moment of insanity, I told him there was no way I could let him do that. Continue reading →