Gorilla Glue, TitebondII, Elmers Pro Poly

[watsonian]

Any idea on using these "waterproof" glues rather than epoxy for a small wood canoe that will see occasional light use?

[Noah's]

The poly glues are not as strong as epoxy, but should be ok for light construction. One advantage/disadvantage is that they expand when curing. The good part is automatic gap filling, the bad part is more cleanup.

[Andy M]

I built my 16' stripper of western red cedar and used Elmer's wood glue, the yellow stuff, for all of the strip construction. It held up beautifully during all of the agressive sanding, scraping, etc. during costruction. It color-aged very well as it cured and did an ok job of filling.

I did not use bead and cove construction (I couldn't afford the router bits at the time), just glue and staples with a few small brads at the hard turns. Once it was fiberglassed you could hardly see the few spots where I had gaps between strips, and thats only when you have a strong light shining directly through from behind.

I would definitely use bead and cove on my next canoe. I have already forewarned my long-suffering wife that I intend to build a 17 or 18 footer for tandem canoe camping. My Hiawatha 16 footer is excellent for day and weekend camping use, especially as a solo boat, but its just not big enough for extended canoe camping. It has been down many class I and II rivers in the past 3 years plus one solo trip to the BWCA.

I am using Elmers Pro Poly glue on the 16' day sailer I am currently working on; primarily for attaching the plywood hull (along with screws) to the frames and chines. I may use it in the construction of a hollow mast and boom (any comments / suggestions?). I have used a 2-part epoxy (I prefer the 30 minute set type) for building the frames and box for the keel, and the 2 piece oak stem.

Sorry about the rambling: rolleyes:

Andy