#Trailering wood runabout straps skin#

The glass work I do on the cap deck would also be epoxy and cloth.and then get painted. when I redo all I have to do is fair any gouges, light sand and roll & tip on a fresh coat for another 10 yrs!

A few scrapes and marks from anchor &chain, etc. On my sailboat I still have original Brightside with Teflon finish I put on 8 yrs ago and it still looks fine.

I know epoxy bonds well to poly with glass.and not so the other way around.so I did not plan to use any gelcoat in finish work.I like the paint because for me it's easier to work with and easy to repair.and hold up well over epoxy sheathed wood. I really like the ability to vary setup times and the gap filling properties. I have had some experience with both poly and epoxy (much more with epoxy). Thanks guys for the comments on epoxy vs.

#Trailering wood runabout straps skin#

Also, while safety precautions are still warranted (as some folks have skin reactions to epoxy, and its not advisable to breath it in, I found it to be a lot more 'gentle' product to work with). 15-20 gallons+ of poly on most glass/poly builds). Everyone cites the added expense, but I found that the expense is mitigated by 2 things: Epoxy doesn't have 'haz mat' shipping fees associated with it epoxy goes a very long way (granted, I didn't use cloth, but I sealed alll of the boards on my 17 foot tinny (multiple coats) with only 2 gallons of epoxy vs. We tin-boat owners can get away with blue/pink sheets, noodles, etc., but most glass boat guys opt for the structural properties of pour-in.Īll that being said, I tend to prefer epoxy myself. So, I think that does eliminate gel coat (poly based) from your finishing choices.Īlso, you may want to use 2-part pour-in foam because the foam in many glass boats plays a 'structural' role as opposed to simply a flotation role. However, once you go with epoxy, you have to stay with it (because poly doesn't bond well to epoxy). Its totally a matter of personal choice and budget - as epoxy will work just fine. So, for cost reasons and basic compatibility, most folks go with poly. Most people go with poly because almost all boat construction (especially early glass boats) were poly. After glassine in ply to hull perimeter, the top would get 2 coats of cloth, possibly Dynel for its texture? After sanding & fairing, The top coat of epoxy would be tinted white, then after prep sanding andĭoes anyone see problems with this approach ?. Ply could be secured with to stringer with glue. The ply deck would get 2 coats of no blush epoxy to underside and edges before setting to stringers - no glass. I would recoat all existing glass below floor with epoxy, set epoxy coated stringers, tabbing in & wrap over. With the epoxy I probably do not need to do layers of cms, instead just coat the wood, apply cloth & epoxy and then paint. I noticed with my demo that all of the stringers, wood floor and glass bonds had completely failed and I'm wondering if I go the epoxy route if I will get a much stronger and waterproof construction? Although epoxy is much more expensive I think it is a much stronger bond, more waterproof and gap filling.and am thinking of using epoxy exclusively oman this fiberglass rebuild.

I have notice most builders here use poly with all their glass & wood works. Most of my boat building experience has been with wood epoxy systems as I have restored a few woodys, including my 1956 26' sailboat. Re: Convert 14' runabout into fishing boat for the SW FL flats