The order of the steps in which to build the coaming varies a bit depending on who you listen to. I chose to glass the outside of the coaming as the next step.
Before fiberglassing, I created a fillet between the deck and the coaming. This adds a bit of strength but also creates a rounded edge for the glass to go around. (Fiberglass does not like hard edges.) The fillet was made of epoxy thickened with dust from my earlier sanding. I wanted something that would blend in with both the cedar and the paulownia so I used a mix of dust from both woods. I also added a bit of flour (baking not wood). I read somewhere that plain old kitchen flour acts in the same way as silica, thickening the mix so that it does not run and lightening the colour slightly. It seemed to work well enough, but I can’t find the original reference so proceed at your own risk.
Caption: Front of the cockpit with external glass.
The fillet was applied using a ziploc bag like an icing bag and then rounded with a popsicle stick. I then covered the outside of the coaming, the fillet and a few inches of the deck with a piece of 6 oz (200 gram) fiberglass cloth wet out with epoxy.
Caption: Stern of the cockpit.
I let it set for a few hours and then put on a second fill coat. Next step, the coaming lip.
Tip of the day: When you are sanding the hull. save the dust in ziploc bags or tupperware containers. You can use it later to make putty or fillet material. If you run out, you can easily make more using a belt sander with a collection bag and a scrap of wood.
