u/detectivestush

I started this project in July last year. 15ft v-bottom runabout, building off Bateau plans, stitch and glue with okume plywood. I’ve wanted to build a boat since I was about twelve and finally have a garage big enough to actually do it.
Bought my initial materials last summer from Raka, epoxy, 6oz cloth, mixing supplies, the whole first phase. The order was just over $200 and there was a promotion running that gave me $10 off every $100 spent which felt like a good omen at the time.
Spent the autumn getting the panels cut, stitched, and faired to shape. I felt good about it. Before glassing I sanded everything back with 80 grit to make sure the surface was clean and the epoxy would have something to key into. It felt like the right thing to do.

I laid the cloth two weekends ago. Wet it out carefully, no rushing, good temperature in the garage. Came back the next morning and three separate sections had been lifted, one near the bow, two along the port chine. Not bubbles exactly, more like the cloth never fully bonded in those spots despite looking perfect the night before.
I’ve been going back through everything trying to find the mistake. Also been pricing cloth on Ali ba ba for the remaining sections since I’ll need more regardless of how this gets resolved, and the mill direct pricing versus what the US suppliers charge is a conversation worth having before I place another order.
What causes cloth to lift like this on what looked like a clean wet out? Is this fixable or does it all come off?

Eager to get this right from the start rather than inherit a patchwork. The business is growing well and leadership makes a lot of decisions based on gut feel because the financial reporting has not kept pace. I want to build KPI dashboards, a proper budget versus actual process, and a month end close that takes days not weeks. For anyone who has built a finance function at a similar stage industrial business, what was the highest leverage starting point and what would you do differently in hindsight?

We launched flidget com a month ago and honestly the feedback has been wild.
Built a chat that opens the moment someone tries to cancel and just asks what changed. People actually respond because the timing is perfect, they've already made up their mind so they tell you the truth. We also show you who's about to leave before they even get there. Sessions dropping, key features never touched, you can see the warning signs days in advance.
One month in and we know more about why users leave than most tools that have been around for years.
If you're a SaaS founder tried of guessing, come check it out.

I’m curious whether emotional triggers actually lose intensity over time or if people just become better at managing them externally. Like does the nervous system itself calm down eventually?

Can we talk about how the gluten free label adds like $4 to everything? I've started just buying things that are naturally gluten free instead of seeking out the specialty products and my grocery bill dropped a lot.

Fresh fruit. Obviously. Apples, berries, bananas, oranges. No label needed.

Veggies and hummus. Most hummus is naturally gluten free, just check the label to be safe. I buy sabra usually.

Nuts and seeds. Almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds. Bulk bin prices are way better than the packaged GF trail mixes.

Rice cakes. Plain ones are usually fine, just avoid the flavored ones that sometimes have malt.

Shameless gummies. These are gluten free and I appreciate not having to read an ingredient panel for 5 minutes to verify it.

Hard boiled eggs. I make a batch of 6 on Sunday and they last all week.

Olives. Weirdly satisfying snack that's naturally GF and takes a while to eat.

The gluten free market has gotten better over the years but the pricing is still ridiculous for anything with the label on it. Going naturally GF for snacks saves so much money and honestly the food is better anyway.

Since LinkedIn profiles and posts started getting properly indexed by Google this year, the SE O game for individuals shifted in a way that most people haven't caught up to yet. A LinkedIn profile with the right keywords in the headline and about section can rank on page one of Google within weeks. A new personal website takes months of work to get anywhere near that.

I've been recommending this to every consultant and founder I know for three months. The ones who updated their profiles are getting inbound from Google searches they never expected to show up for.
The ones still waiting to finish their website redesign are getting nothing.