BYYB Forums

The weather is finally turning nice enought that I'll soon be able to move the Weekender out of the basement (I hope I didn't glue it ALL together) to the garage. Then I can start fiberglassing and coating parts with resin (polyester). One question is though - Since I want to pre-coat parts while flat and easy to get to, I'll need to mask off the joining surfaces.

Will regular painters tape work? Duct tape? Forget it and lots of sanding?

Thanks

Andrew I use the blue painters tape. It tends to stay in one piece better when removing it.

Are you sure about using poly? The problem with poly is it doesn't stick to the wood well and after time the glass will peel off in sheets. Any water that gets under the glass will not be limited to the hole where it started but will flow under the glass and rot the wood under it. I once owned a boat made this way and it was not good thing. You should seriously consider using epoxy. The cost is a lot more but the poly really won't protect the investment you have in your boat.

Keith

Andrew Read and heed. I think Craig and Keith said it all Bud.

A better choice would be Vinylester if you don't want to go with Epoxy. I don't have any other choice myself since I don't get along with epoxy at all. It is generally priced closer to the polyester than epoxy and has a wider temperature range.

Vinylester is totally waterproof and adheres as well as or better than epoxy. It is less used primarily because it has a short shelf life and isn't a glue-all resin. But when it comes to composites, wood/glass it is hard to beat.

The blue painters tape works fine, just take it off at the tacky stage, don't let it cure and then try to remove it. Pain in the ....... :roll: :roll:

Thanks for the input - I'll give painters tape a try. I was just concerned that the resin might soak through it.

I don't want to get a flame war going here, but I do want to talk a bit about my decision to use polyester rather than epoxy. Many people treat this topic with what almost approaches fervor.
Firstly I want to go on record as agreeing that epoxy is a superior product. It is more waterproof and more adhesive than other similar products. The only flaws that I know of are a longer cure time waiting for the coating to blush, a tendency to degrade in sunlight, a tendency to soften when very warm, and most importantly the risk of developing an alergic reaction to it.
Secondly, I've built 7 small boats to date, the first one, the MiniCup I used epoxy and it ended up being 45% of the cost of the boat. I don't know what prices are elsewhere in the world, but epoxy costs $150/gallon including hardener here. I can get polyester for 1/5th the cost. The boats that I have built using polyester as a surface coating have withstood abuse and weather just fine so far and my fun to cost ratio is much higher.
Thirdly I think many people in the epoxy side of the argument are not recognizing the thousands of boats, both production and home built that were succesfully built out of polyester that are still in service today. The only boat that I've had any problems with was a skiff that I only used paint on - after 5 years it's still usable, but needs annual repair. The polyester coated boats only ever need paint touch-up and they're ready to go. We have all heard stories of fiberglass peeling off in sheets from polyester coated boats and I'm sure that has happened to some people.
The only actual story I've been able to confirm was on a single very old boat that had not been maintained.
Finally - it's my risk - I'm going into it with my eyes open in full possession of all the facts - and this allows me to get on the water at a cost that I can afford.

You should check on raka.com for epoxy. His prices are way lower than what you have quoted and it's a good product. I paid about $35 a gallon when I bought mine. You also get a members discount if you're a byyb member. I don't know if there are any shipping problems to Canada that may prevent you from purchasing from them.
I just wanted to let you know about my experience with poly over plywood, just so you were aware of the problems that can and from what I have read will most likely happen later in the life of your boat. If poly is what it takes to get out there sailing then spread it on and enjoy your boat. Don't forget to send in pics of it on the water for the calendar!

Keith

Andrew what are you are of your freaking Canadian head not using epoxy... Just kidding.

Glad to hear you are making progress. We missed seeing you and your crew last summer after seeing you for the prvious couple of summers. When you finish your weekender and I finish my current project we should meet out on lake erie somewhere. I can bring a load of american cirgerttes that you can sell on the black market and pay for your entire project, if home land security doesn't blow one of us out of the water.

Good luck and keep up the good work.

Jim

Jim - it's good to hear from you. I wouldn't worry too much about homeland security even though I hear they're arming the cutters on the lakes. I figure my new starboard battery should take care of any problems 8)

We will have to figure something out - probably not this season but I will try for next. After all, you'll want to see how your future son-in-law is coming along - hopefully Megan is practicing saying "eh". ;-)

Andrew, I've got a tator tosser I'll have to fire against your cannon. :lol:

FWIW, the US Coasties consider it a firearm if you use aersol to fire it hock: mine simply uses compressed air, an irrigation control valve and a couple of 6 volt batteries....