Glassing the Deck

Sample rice paper graphic on scrap plywood

With the decks installed, preparations are made for fiberglassing the deck. "Preparations" almost always means sanding. In this case, there is much sanding, as well as the opportunity to personalize the boats. Pictured to the right is the logo created for the builds. This image is printed on rice paper with a laser printer and epoxied onto the wood under the fiberglass. The epoxy wets out the rice paper and it becomes mostly clear, and the fiberglass coat protects it from damage.  The logo will be applied to the rear of the deck, and I will also apply a compass rose graphic to the front of the deck, again using the printed rice paper method.

carbon fiber accent disguises forward deck scarf joint

In addition to the graphics these boats will have a carbon fiber accent piece on the nose. My preferred finish for the kayaks is a painted hull and a varnished deck. I don't want to say this too loudly, but I am not a fan of the all varnished finish. I like the way the polyurethane painted hulls resemble gelcoat, I also like that the painted hulls cover the scarf joints on the hull panels. My idea to disguise the scarf joint on the forward section of the deck is to epoxy down a triangular piece of carbon twill cloth. I laid a piece of fiberglass tape crosswise on the transition from cloth to bare wood to help feather it in without sanding into the carbon fiber.

Carbon fiber feathered into bare wood. A painted stripe will cover the transition.