Fiberglass hull repair: Polyester or Epoxy

Heliguy78

Cadet
Joined
Apr 27, 2012
Messages
8
Hi guys,
I am currently rebuilding a 1991 Skeeter Bass boat and have reached the point of re-glassing. Right now it is down to the fiberglass hull only and I have noticed several areas on the bottom that were repaired (externally) due to breaks through the hull and I am in the process of grinding the repair off and fixing it from the inside. The areas in question are aprox. 18"x 2" and 10" x 5", as well as a crack about 3 feet long. Yes it is a lot of damage.I am going to gel coat the hull when finished so I need poly to be against the hull/gel coat right? So my plan is to apply 2-3 layers of 1.5 csm to the cracked areas then add a layer of cloth with epoxy resin over the top of it for strength, and finally glass down the stringers with 1708 and poly over the epoxy cloth. My question is will the poly stick on top of the epoxy cloth. Should I even use epoxy? It has been a lot of man hours getting to this point and I never want to have to make this repair again not to mention the bottom of a bass boat takes somewhat of a beating so I need it to be strong. All help will be greatly appreciated.
 

Bondo

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
70,464
Re: Fiberglass hull repair: Polyester or Epoxy

Hi guys,
I am currently rebuilding a 1991 Skeeter Bass boat and have reached the point of re-glassing. Right now it is down to the fiberglass hull only and I have noticed several areas on the bottom that were repaired (externally) due to breaks through the hull and I am in the process of grinding the repair off and fixing it from the inside. The areas in question are aprox. 18"x 2" and 10" x 5", as well as a crack about 3 feet long. Yes it is a lot of damage.I am going to gel coat the hull when finished so I need poly to be against the hull/gel coat right? So my plan is to apply 2-3 layers of 1.5 csm to the cracked areas then add a layer of cloth with epoxy resin over the top of it for strength, and finally glass down the stringers with 1708 and poly over the epoxy cloth. My question is will the poly stick on top of the epoxy cloth. Should I even use epoxy? It has been a lot of man hours getting to this point and I never want to have to make this repair again not to mention the bottom of a bass boat takes somewhat of a beating so I need it to be strong. All help will be greatly appreciated.

Nope,.... Yer startin' 'n finishin' with Polyester,.... Epoxy has No place in yer build....
 

Teamster

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Nov 8, 2010
Messages
1,923
Re: Fiberglass hull repair: Polyester or Epoxy

Tagging along,.............
 

Friscoboater

Captain
Joined
Jul 3, 2009
Messages
3,095
Re: Fiberglass hull repair: Polyester or Epoxy

Bondo is right. Epoxy is overkill.
 

NSBCraig

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Aug 21, 2007
Messages
1,907
Re: Fiberglass hull repair: Polyester or Epoxy

The big issue is that NO the poly wont stick to the epoxy.
 

Georgesalmon

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Apr 14, 2012
Messages
1,793
Re: Fiberglass hull repair: Polyester or Epoxy

Epoxy has its place. Not here though. IMHO you should use the same type resin as was used to build the hull originally (polyester). That way you will have the same or nearly the same flex and not have any hard or soft spots created from the different combination of materials. Just be sure you abrade the old hull with coarse grinding to get the best mechanical bond you can. There will be little if any chemical bond between the old hull and new resin.
 

xsesiv

Seaman
Joined
Jan 20, 2011
Messages
57
Re: Fiberglass hull repair: Polyester or Epoxy

If vinylester resin is not to much more than poly then I would go with that. Sticks to wood a hell of alot better that poly from my experience/testing. If your having any wood in your boat that is! :>
 
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