The day of truth. Time to 'glass the deck. After futzing for months, it is time. Here you can see the initial laying-out of the cloth for the deck.

Here you can see the cloth draping over the cockpit.

Cockpit, viewed from the rear.

The first thing I did was to cut an X in the middle of the cloth. My idea was to then situate the cloth so that it was in approximately the right position around the coaming.

I soon found that my "X" was too limiting. Stuff just wouldn't work around the cockpit properly. So, in small increments, I increased the size of the hole in the middle. I used a brush to work with smoothing the glass, getting it into the right place. I found that things like to move, so I used some clamps to keep things in place. You can see the pieces that I cut out in the middle of the hole.

Another view of the hole. Realize that I never really got the glass to lay where I wanted it. I figured I'd have to just start applying epoxy, and do the cockpit area last, working with it until it was how I wanted it.

Voila! The deck is glassed. Sorry I didn't stop to take any pictures during the process, but the stuff is goopy and sticky, and one needs to work fast. Now, I did have some problems. The area around the coaming was a real pain in the behind, even after I got things into place.

Here's a closer shot of the cockpit. From a distance all appears to be well. However, if you look closely around the joint, you'll start to see some cloth bubbled with air beneath it. This is not good.

Here's another shot looking at a different area of the coaming. Again, if you look closely (right-hand side, about an inch from the edge of the graphic, and also at the left side around the bend) you'll see bubbles. The big part on top there isn't a worry, that will end up being chopped off anyway once it comes time to make the coaming lip.

And, the front area of the coaming. You can see the bubble at the bend. After futzing with it for awhile, I came to realize that it wasn't going to be perfect. At some point, after it hardens for a bit, I'll cut out the bubble areas, sand the edges a bit, and do some patching. After thinking about it, I'm not too worried — this area will be almost invisible, as the coaming will be cut down a ways, and a lip will be around the outside, virtually hiding this nasty joint. I just need to make sure it is sealed and strong.