fiber glass question

[shipwreck]

what s the right fiberglass materials to use on the stringers and to recover the floor.

what oz mat should use? should i use mat? what inexpensive materials can be used in this process to do right and where to buy without purchasing on the internet

 

[sdunt]

Re: fiber glass question

Take a look at what was used before. As fiberglass materials go the strength from greatest to least is: Roven woving, Clothe, matting.

Mat is primarily used for fill in and to hold large amounts of resin. It is used between layers of wood, like in a transom for lamination. And, matting is used between layers of Woving to fill in the weave and smooth out the surface.

Woving is the strongest, barring carbon fibers and exotics, of the fiberglass re-enforcements. But it also leaves the coarsest surface. So it is a good choice for stringers, lots of strength, you're not that concerned about looks below the floor.

clothe can also be used to help fill in the coarse pattern of woving and is a good choice IMHO for floor covering, etc.

As for suppliers, here's my list:

http://www.uscomposites.com/polyesters.html

http://stores.ebay.com/Tordoff-Supply

I used mainly clothe in my rebuild, but I did not get into the stringers..

Books of interest:

And you can probably find this one at the library:
The Fiberglass Boat Repair Manual by Allan H. Viatses
http://www.amazon.com/Fiberglass-Bo...0255336?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176991609&sr=1-2

Book I got at the library and then bought a used copy on half.com for $3.00
Fiberglass Repair and Construction Handbook Author: Jack Wiley
http://product.half.ebay.com/_W0QQprZ4478978QQcpidZ1186450896

 

[shipwreck]

Re: fiber glass question

thanks i reserved those books from the library

 

[shipwreck]

Re: fiber glass question

another question i have read on in your project post, it answer my question on fiberglass materials used , sorry i did not see it the fist time.

did you fiberglass and coth the bottom and top of your 1/2 a/c plywood new floor or just Wood Preservative it?

 

[sdunt]

Re: fiber glass question

I did not use epoxy, sorry wrong link.. I used and would recommend ONLY US composites B-440 layup resin.

http://www.uscomposites.com/polyesters.html

I ordered the resin in one gallon increments, to get around the Haz mat shipping charges for a 5 gallon bucket.

I don't recall where I got the formula to calculate how much resin I needed, I think its in the "Fiberglass Repair and Construction Handbook" book by: Jack Wiley At least thats where I got my catalyst chart from.

You can actually kind of calculate the amount of resin needed from forumulas, its something like clothe takes the same amount of resin by weight that the clothe weights, but I am not sure on that. Need to double check that.

Mainly I used 7 oz clothe in my repair. Again I only did the transom and the floor, I did not replace stringers. I bought a couple of packages of 'bondo' brand mat locally to laminate the transom together.

If you're really lucky you might find a fiberglass manufacturing company in your area, I struck out, where you can buy five gallons of layup resin real cheap. Even if you can get it for $20 a gallon, just the shipping difference would be worth it. Jim Anderson talks about that in his "runabout renovation" book.

 

[sdunt]

Re: fiber glass question

Based on Jim Anderson's recommendations, and person preferences, I coated all of the plywood for the floor with wood preservative. I fiberglassed ONLY the TOP of the floor. The thinking is that my trailer boat, is dry most of the time, so any water that gets into that plywood can escape through the uncoated bottom side of the floor.

I need to install vents in the floor under the dash area, so that along with my open bilge air can circulate as necessary. under the floor.

The concept of encasing plywood in waterproof epoxy is great, so long as you NEVER have to make any holes in it, like to install seats, etc. Then water has an entry point into the wood. And without any exit point, the uncoated bottom side of the floor, the water sits in the plywood and rots it out.

 

[shipwreck]

Re: fiber glass question

Thanks

 

[sdunt]

Re: fiber glass question

I glassed over only the top of the plywood that is the floor, the bottom is uncoated other than the wood preservative.

Asking questions is how we learn, so no problem. Also keep in mind that I, probably like most others on the board, do this as a hobby. I am the guy who fixes anything, once I research it enough, and that does not make me an expert. I'll share my opinions and experiences, but right now that only covers one boat that has seen one seasons use on the water..

 

[brodie6]

Re: fiber glass question

Based on Jim Anderson's recommendations, and person preferences, I coated all of the plywood for the floor with wood preservative. I fiberglassed ONLY the TOP of the floor. The thinking is that my trailer boat, is dry most of the time, so any water that gets into that plywood can escape through the uncoated bottom side of the floor.

I need to install vents in the floor under the dash area, so that along with my open bilge air can circulate as necessary. under the floor.

The concept of encasing plywood in waterproof epoxy is great, so long as you NEVER have to make any holes in it, like to install seats, etc. Then water has an entry point into the wood. And without any exit point, the uncoated bottom side of the floor, the water sits in the plywood and rots it out.

If you need to make holes in your floor use 3M 5200 Marine silicone. Inject it into the pilot whole then screw away. That should take care of the entry point.