Help with materials (recommendations needed)

[Dysfunctional_Vet12]

So, I am currently rebuilding an 89 Sea Ray 180 from the stringers up as you can see here and I am looking to buy my fiberglass materials soon. I will probably be going through Fiberglass Florida since they are local and I don't have to worry about hazmat fees and shipping (not that it matters really). Anyway, I have seen a few things here and there on amount people are getting but it's all over the place so I need help.

I don't want to buy too much material to start and be left with a lot of extra. I also want to minimize having to keep going back to get more.

My question is to everyone who has been through this before, what would be a good amount to start with?

I had seen This post on from a while back on the same boat, but I've also seen a few threads and videos of others with similar size boats using a bit less.

Here's the list from the thread:
435 Resin 15gallons
5 qts of Cabosil
1lb of 1/4" chopped strand
1 qt microballons (to make your own fairing filler)
25 yards (1 Roll) of 1.5 oz CSM Chopped Strand Mat)
10 yds of 1708 Biaxial cloth
Fiberglass Roller

Thank you in advance for any help it's appreciated.

 

[Scott Danforth]

look at the 4th sticky down at the top of the forum.

suggest you go thru links 14, 15, 19, 2, 3, 4a, and 4b in that order

you are missing gel, foam, etc.
since the fiberglass supply house is local, suggest you buy what you need when you need it.

in Florida, resin will kick quickly, especially in the up-coming weeks.

additionally, until you get the demolition done, the grinding and sanding done and then the wood work done, I would not buy any fiberglass supplies.

resin has a very short shelf life.

 

[Dysfunctional_Vet12]

look at the 4th sticky down at the top of the forum.

suggest you go thru links 14, 15, 19, 2, 3, 4a, and 4b in that order

you are missing gel, foam, etc.
since the fiberglass supply house is local, suggest you buy what you need when you need it.

in Florida, resin will kick quickly, especially in the up-coming weeks.

additionally, until you get the demolition done, the grinding and sanding done and then the wood work done, I would not buy any fiberglass supplies.

resin has a very short shelf life.

look at the 4th sticky down at the top of the forum.

suggest you go thru links 14, 15, 19, 2, 3, 4a, and 4b in that order

you are missing gel, foam, etc.
since the fiberglass supply house is local, suggest you buy what you need when you need it.

in Florida, resin will kick quickly, especially in the up-coming weeks.

additionally, until you get the demolition done, the grinding and sanding done and then the wood work done, I would not buy any fiberglass supplies.

resin has a very short shelf life.

I'm sorry I'm new to the forum and am not sure what you mean by the forth sticky down.

As far as the demo, the transom and hull is clean (save for the deck lip to be used as a reference) and there's a day or so of sanding left.

I'm about to make my template for the transom and get ready for the stringers so I'm at the point where I want to get the material in order.

I did learn the shelf life of the resin is short so that why I don't want to go overboard with my initial purchase. Not to mention the price of resin is skyrocketing pretty fast so I want to get on that before it's upwards of $250 for a 5 gallon pail.

The weather here has been very strange lately and the heat hasn't been turned up quite yet so I want to try to take advantage of that as much as I can.

 

[76SeaRay]

Getting the stringers properly set dimensionally and level takes a bit of time to get them bedded to the hull so unless you are working on it full time you may want to buy smaller quantities to start. I have been buying one or two 5 gallon pails at a time and I have been working on mine since last summer. I am at 25 gallons used so far and just ordered another 5 gallons. However, I am working on a 22 foot with full transom, stringers and floor replacement. I have it shipped from Florida to Washington State and buying more than one pail at a time doesn't save any money on shipping. They are packaged individually and each has a hazmat fee.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I'm sorry I'm new to the forum and am not sure what you mean by the forth sticky down.

Top of every forum on iBoats has a bunch of "stickies" these are the commonly asked questions and their answers

here is the 4th sticky down. https://forums.iboats.com/threads/how-tos-and-other-great-information.283508/

read thru links 14, 15, 19, 2, 3, 4a, and 4b before starting your project or buying materials.

As indicated above, buy what you need. Resin is actually down slightly from where it was a year ago. however not where it was 2.5 years ago. I was paying $16 a gallon for resin

Polyester: gallon: Resins, Polyester & Vinylester & Epoxy - Page 1 of 2

Resins, Polyester & Vinylester & Epoxy

www.fgci.com

 

[Dysfunctional_Vet12]

Top of every forum on iBoats has a bunch of "stickies" these are the commonly asked questions and their answers

here is the 4th sticky down. https://forums.iboats.com/threads/how-tos-and-other-great-information.283508/

read thru links 14, 15, 19, 2, 3, 4a, and 4b before starting your project or buying materials.

As indicated above, buy what you need. Resin is actually down slightly from where it was a year ago. however not where it was 2.5 years ago. I was paying $16 a gallon for resin

Polyester: gallon: Resins, Polyester & Vinylester & Epoxy - Page 1 of 2

Resins, Polyester & Vinylester & Epoxy

www.fgci.com

Thank you very much, this is the type of info I have been looking for. I have become very familiar with Friscoboaters project from years back and that has helped a lot.

A lot of research had been done before even touching the boat. I'm also always looking for more information when I can. If its a job I've never done before I always like to see what I'm getting myself into before I move forward.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Thank you very much, this is the type of info I have been looking for. I have become very familiar with Friscoboaters project from years back and that has helped a lot.

A lot of research had been done before even touching the boat. I'm also always looking for more information when I can. If its a job I've never done before I always like to see what I'm getting myself into before I move forward.

and post pics with your questions before you jump in. we all have been there in the beginning and this is the best DIY boat resto forum on the planet.

we will help.

make a cradle first before you cut the boat apart.

 

[Dysfunctional_Vet12]

and post pics with your questions before you jump in. we all have been there in the beginning and this is the best DIY boat resto forum on the planet.

we will help.

make a cradle first before you cut the boat apart.

I absolutely intend to reach out to the ones who have been here before.It's funny though the boat I have was restored once before but the gentleman fell into some health problems and the boat had just sat for years and rotted away. There is even an old thread on here which he started and that has helped me quite a bit as well.

Unfortunately I did not cradle the boat before I did the demo on it which was something I was thinking about a week ago. I didn't remove the top cap of the boat and was hoping that will not be an issue.

 

[buxmj]

You shouldn't have started a 2nd thread, it will help you and everyone else following your build to keep all questions on your original thread.

Buck.

 

[todhunter]

You can ask the moderators to add a link to the original thread in the first post of this thread, or they at be able to merge the threads. You can ask the moderators to add a link to the original thread in the first post of this thread, or they at be able to merge the threads.

 

[KJM]

I absolutely intend to reach out to the ones who have been here before.It's funny though the boat I have was restored once before but the gentleman fell into some health problems and the boat had just sat for years and rotted away. There is even an old thread on here which he started and that has helped me quite a bit as well.

Unfortunately I did not cradle the boat before I did the demo on it which was something I was thinking about a week ago. I didn't remove the top cap of the boat and was hoping that will not be an issue.

I did mine last year. I didn't remove the cap and didn't make a cradle. Just left her on a roller trailer the whole time. No problems for me, can't speak for anyone else! What are you using for core material on your stringers and transom? What type of resin are you going to use?

 

[JASinIL2006]

If you plan to use polyester resin (I'm assuming polyester, since you stipulated 435 resin), you should have at least 3-6 months before you need to worry about it getting too old. (That assumes it hasn't been sitting on the supplier's shelf for 6 months already....)

 

[Scott Danforth]

If you plan to use polyester resin (I'm assuming polyester, since you stipulated 435 resin), you should have at least 3-6 months before you need to worry about it getting too old. (That assumes it hasn't been sitting on the supplier's shelf for 6 months already....)

not in florida where the OP is unless he keeps it in the house. I have thrown away at least 4 jugs that turned solid due to 95 degree heat

 

[JASinIL2006]

not in florida where the OP is unless he keeps it in the house. I have thrown away at least 4 jugs that turned solid due to 95 degree heat

Good point. I was assuming they wouldn’t be out in the heat.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Good point. I was assuming they wouldn’t be out in the heat.

unless the OP's admiral is like mine..... "dont you even think about it, get that stuff out of the spare bedroom" @mickyryan can confirm..... LOL

 

[Dysfunctional_Vet12]

You shouldn't have started a 2nd thread, it will help you and everyone else following your build to keep all questions on your original thread.

Buck.

I appreciate that, I was very conflicted by this.

 

[Dysfunctional_Vet12]

I did mine last year. I didn't remove the cap and didn't make a cradle. Just left her on a roller trailer the whole time. No problems for me, can't speak for anyone else! What are you using for core material on your stringers and transom? What type of resin are you going to use?

I'm assuming won't run into issues. I took a few measurements that I am able to use to tell me if there has been a shift. I remeasured after reading what Scott Danforth had mentioned and I have no change so I think I am okay there.

 

[Dysfunctional_Vet12]

unless the OP's admiral is like mine..... "dont you even think about it, get that stuff out of the spare bedroom" @mickyryan can confirm..... LOL

She is just like yours lol.

 

[Dysfunctional_Vet12]

Good point. I was assuming they wouldn’t be out in the heat.

Yeah, that's why I don't want to go out and buy a lot of resin at once. As long as I have some at my disposal I will be adamantly putting it into use. I am putting my evenings and weekends into getting this thing together.

At the moment though I have a few automotive side jobs that will fund this whole project including an engine swap on a ram. so it will be almost a week or so until I'm able to put my focus back on the boat.

But at the same time these prices have gone up on me twice already but it is what it is at this point. I'm all in.

 

[Matt's Restorations]

4 Gallons of poly resin is currently going for.$200 delivered ( prime) right now on Amazn. That is the best Deal online I can find currently. If you can't source it locally for a fair price (like me.).