fiberglassing wood boat

[wildfire]

I've got a Kalish layout boat, that is wood, I'm looking to restore. What I'm thinking of doing is using epoxy resin and cloth to put a skin over the top and bottom. What I'm not sure on:

Is how much of the paint do I need to remove/sand off, before I start fiberglassing?

I was planning on using 1 1/2 oz cloth over everything and then possibly putting two or three layers on the wear points on the bottom.

Does this make sense. I'm figuring this is going to be a lot of work and want to do it right the first time and not have to redo it in two years.

What's happening now without the fiberglass is the paint "splits" in various places and then I have to sand, etc. and redo. I'm using quality marine paint, but it still does it.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[jonesg]

Re: fiberglassing wood boat

When fiberglass technique first came along it was touted as the best thing since sliced bread, no more caulking seams, but it was the kiss of death for wooden hulls that were glassed over. You might want to meander over to the wooden boat expert websites and get a second opinion before glassing.
http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/

 

[Ned L]

Re: fiberglassing wood boat

jonesg, Thank you for saving me the time of having to write that. -Though I would go as far as to say that I would consider sheet plywood boats to be an exception, and glassing them can be done successfully with long term good results. ALL the paint needs to be removed for successful results.
Wildfire - If you can provide more information about your boat, especially the type of construction then we might be able to give you some better guidance. A picture or two would help a lot (you know, that "picture is worth a thousand words" thing).

 

[wildfire]

Re: fiberglassing wood boat

This is the first wood boat I've had and to be honest I don't know squat about them. The boat appears to be very solid and well taken care of and I'm hoping to keep it that way and am willing to learn. The splits are what has me concerned as it would seem it would introduce the wood to water. There may be a better product, paint, out there that I should be using. The paint that is on the boat is Pettit Shipendeck.

Plywood is the material the boat is made of and I "believe" it is a spruce plywood. The seams are glassed, but everything else is wood.

I've tried to attach a couple of pics for veiwing and to give some idea of what I have.

Again, like you said, maybe glassing isn't the way to go. I may just need to be educated a bit on paint type and care.

Thanks again.

 

[Ned L]

Re: fiberglassing wood boat

Plywood can be prone to checking (cracking) though the paint. This is not at all structural, it is more of a cosmetic thing. In the case of a sheet plywood boat, a light layer of fiberglass my be an ok thing (again, pictures would help out here). All the paint would need to be removed. Pettit is a good quality of paint. If the coating of paint is on the thin side that may contribute to the checking. Sometimes a couple of good coats can keep the checks under control.

 

[wildfire]

Re: fiberglassing wood boat

Thanks for the info. I'll try the pic attachment once again.

 

[jonesg]

Re: fiberglassing wood boat

Kayak?

wheres the outboard?

 

[Ned L]

Re: fiberglassing wood boat

Nice little duck boat, somewhat similar to a sneakbox it looks. It looks in nice shape. Any chances you could post a closeup of the problems you are having with cracking? I'd say you could give it light layer of glass, I'd be inclined to maybe do just the bottom, and at that just the lightest glass cloth you could find (don't want to add extra weight). It would be an easy job, as they say - the prep work is 80% of the job.