After a winter lull, I recently got back inthe workshop. The pattern is having its first pattern coat primer. Still lotsof work to do before starting to make the mould itself. 

Yes ... Plugs can be a lot of work ... But a really well made plug saves so much work on the rest of the process!

When you go ahead and make a LARGE project like this, everything gets "amplified" ..   (especially the time needed)

.. But with a good mould made from the plug, you can start up a production of the canoes...

Maybe make a bit of money to make up for all the work 

"Sapere Aude"... Dare to KNOW!

The written word is the only truly efficient vehicle for transmitting a complex concept from mind to mind...

103% of all people do not understand statistics...

Do not adjust our mind, theres a fault in reality :-)

Hi, I really admire you dedication for this project. You still have a lot of hard work ahead before you have a usable plug.

Hi all,

Well ... Now he IS kind'a stuck with it, since he has gone all this way, and it CAN be done... I have seen more complicated shapes done this way, but always as multi-part moulds.

So ... .somebody DOES do "direct female moulds"   

Personally I would have made a plug from cheap styrofoam blocks, closed them up with Epoxy and glassfibre .... It would be much easier to work on, and get a perfect shape and surface..

But:   Please keep this thread updated, we would all like to see how the project gets along ...

"Sapere Aude"... Dare to KNOW!

The written word is the only truly efficient vehicle for transmitting a complex concept from mind to mind...

103% of all people do not understand statistics...

Do not adjust our mind, theres a fault in reality :-)

Now I see what you did there, this should be built as a "plug" first, nobody builds shapes like his directly into a female mold


---------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer opinions of others will vary depending on what they are selling

George, here are acouple of pictures of the project. As you can see the stern is extremely narrowand as Dravis mentioned, I will also havegreat difficulty in polishing in the very confined spaces. So split mould itis.

Presently,I am at applying body filler stage. The challenge thenwill be to split the mould after the fibreglass layers will have added rigidityto the structure.

Again, cheers for thefeedback.

Hi again...

From looking at the picture I can already see that you can not make that shape in a non split mold... there are at least two places on both sides where you have the shape going inwards towards the top edge. that will lock the body of the canoe into a single piece mold... even IF you can press the sides together enough to clear the top of the mold, you will have a lot of problems de-molding...

Even if you modify the shape to avoid the inward slopes on the top of the canoe, the very narrow places at either end will be very difficult to release, since you will also have great difficulty in polishing it in the very confined spaces in the bottom "corners" They WILL stick or lock solid ...

I certainly would much rather do this as a split mold, and avoid several problems at once.
You will have another problem with the split mold, you will have a slight edge along the seam of the split mold, but if you make sure that there is room for a bit of extra Gel-coat along the seam, that can be polished away.

I would definitely go for a clear gelcoat in the mold first.  Are you going to use Polyester?

@george:  I do not think the canoe in the picture is the actual one... it is what he is aiming to build, not having one to use as a "plug" to build a mold over, he is building the mold as a female mold, to use directly.. in effect "sculpting" the canoe "inside out" .. or should that be "outside in"

I have made a "plug mold" the same way, for the inside shell of a custom motorcycle seat.   since the underside of the seat shell is going to be the visible side, I decided to jump one step and laminate the seat shell directly over a reusable "plug"  made from MDF and coated with a thick layer of tooling epoxy resin with filler followed by a layer with only a bit of graphite powder and then polished and waxed ...  The "plug mold is looking great, but I haven't had time to try it yet.. 

"Sapere Aude"... Dare to KNOW!

The written word is the only truly efficient vehicle for transmitting a complex concept from mind to mind...

103% of all people do not understand statistics...

Do not adjust our mind, theres a fault in reality :-)

Post the pic of what you have actually built because I don't see the problem you are talking about


---------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer opinions of others will vary depending on what they are selling