Fiberglass Supplies Question...

[Rebel9921]

Hello...

I have several questions regarding fiberglass supplies...

I am going to do a complete A-to-Z renovation of my 1988 Bass Tracker 1800 FS... and I have the website for US Composite saved in my favorite...

Now what exactly should I get regarding fiberglass... and how much??? Fiberglass mats or fiberglass cloth or biaxials?? I know I will need epoxy resin for everything...

I will be redoing the transom, the stringers, and adding couple cross-braces for added strength...

I also will be sealing the plywood then glassing it all over... the transom will be glassed... the new flooring will be glassed... and I plan to build a 61" x 29" x 14" livewell to be installed in the boat too...

Thanks in advance...

[ProcraftMike]

Unless you need to cover a large area in matting, all you probably need is some of the 4" and 6" wide cloth. The best deal at US Composites is the 50 yard roll. You will use more than you think. I re-did the floor in a 14' boat, plus the transom and added a front deck and 8' rod box. I went through about 75 yards of the 4" and 6" wide cloth, doubling up the cloth on the seams and a single row over the screw heads.

I normally don't use matting to cover wood, just the cloth on the seams and over the screws. As long as you seal up the wood good, you don't need to cover it in cloth. It doesn't hurt too, but I don't think it is necessary.

My guess is you will need 2 to 3 gallons of resin. I went through about 2 gallons on my 14' boat project, and that was sealing ALL the wood on both sides and the ends with at least 2 coats of resin.

[northrivergeek]

Well it depends on what your doing ? and how the boat is made ? Are you replacing stringers, transom and floors ?

Do you have the top cap off yet ?

Pictures of the rotted wood would be good, you should cover every stitch of wood in glass, All my stringers, have 2 layers of glass 1.5 oz mat, Floor two layers on the top and one on the bottom.

Transom you will need a layer between each layer of plywood, and glass over all that.

You will need between, 10 and 20 yrs of 1.5oz mat and somewhere between 7 -10 gallons of resin and be prepared to buy at least another 5 gallon bucket.

I'm not sure what fiberglass suppliers you have in your area if any .. check the phone book, but if you can get locally at a glass supply house like I have here Advanced Plastics Inc.. the polyester resin is 98.50 per 5 gallons, 1 gallon is 23.75.
Shipping will eat you up on the resin. ( hazardous material charges )

Mat you can do better on eBay than US composites .. there is a eBay seller that sells by the yard 50" wide for 2.95 per yard, you can get cheaper if you call him via phone number listed on sellers page I got 20 yards shipped right at 60 bucks.

Do lots of research before you dive into this .. to to gain as much knowledge as possible .. you will need temps of around 60 degrees for 4 - 6 hrs minimum , 500 watt halogen lights will help keep warm or quartz heaters and wont get you killed like open flames from propane or other such heaters. Don't lay glass when raining too humid.

I could go on and on .. yes it seems over whelming .. and yes it is messy, but oh soo rewarding when you take your time and don't rush it.. once you mix hardener in the resin you have about 20 mins b4 it starts to KICK aka harden.. you need to have all ready everything cut and ready to glass in, do only a pint at a time , the more you mix up in a container the faster it kicks.

Get a TYVECK suit with hood, a dust particle respirator, and chemical elbow length gloves, and SAFETY glasses sand outside .. the dust gets in and on everything.

I have a PDF how to book I can email you if you PM me your email address its a freebie no cost..

Im on my 7th restore and Im waiting on the rain to stop to put in my foam, floor, and cap back on

[Rebel9921]

Emailed you at your yahoo... hope you got it

Thanks

[Largemouthlou]

Sean, could ya send it to me as well Getting ready to start placing stringers soon

Largemouthlou@aol.com

[lakefolk]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by northrivergeek &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm not sure what fiberglass suppliers you have in your area if any .. check the phone book, but if you can get locally at a glass supply house like I have here Advanced Plastics Inc.. the polyester resin is 98.50 per 5 gallons, 1 gallon is 23.75.
Shipping will eat you up on the resin. ( hazardous material charges )
</TD></TR></TABLE>

excellent advice right there!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have a fiberglass supplier here also and you can buy supplies very reasonable from them. I also got a lot of great advice and instruction from them.

[ranger230v]

Larry, I M sent