Refurbishing a fiberglass bass boat

[gregoryahayes]

I have a 1980 Terry 15 ft.
After 40+ years of faithful service I have completely gutted the boat and starting from scratch. The boat originally weighed 1500# empty. I live in PA and unfortunately most F&B lakes are limited to 20 hp so weight is of primary concern. I'm using 2" foam for stringers and bulkheads and intend on using honeycomb aluminum sandwiches between two layers of 1708 with CSM as the inner deck and a new single layer of 1708 on the bottom hull over the old hull. I can't afford to use carbon fiber for the inner hull/deck and I want to use Silmar 249 clear polyester resin -OR- a good epoxy resin. Does anyone have any thoughts on how what and why on what my plans are. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[airshot]

Get yourself a used aluminum boat, lighter in weight, and probably cheaper than what your spending in fiberglass ing materials and labor. Also a far better resale when time to give it up.

 

[briangcc]

I'd check the specs on the resin. From what I'm reading that resin is used in surf board construction. No where does it mention its used for boat construction/repairs. To me, that would warrant a call to the manufacturer.

I'm not sure this is the way to go if you're trying to cut weight off a fibreglass boat. I'd be rethinking this more along the lines of what @airshot mentioned above - aluminum boat as a starting point.

 

[Scott Danforth]

My 14' aluminum boat hull weighs about 200# with the seats and oars in it. with motor, fuel, gear, trolling motor, beer, cooler, etc. and me.... Im under 1000# for the cost of the clear epoxy, you can buy a water ready older aluminum boat.

 

[matt167]

In general, fiberglass and any kind of metal is a general no no. Yes foam stringers could work on a limited hp lake that does not get rough water. But it’s the wrong way to go about it. StarCraft, Sylvan, Bluefin all made light weight aluminum boats that will do better with limited horsepower.

 

[gregoryahayes]

Ok thanx to everyone for the valid and objective feedback.