Is this enough glass?

[Robj]

Hello there,

I just installed new stringers on my 18' bowrider. They are 2 pieces of 5/8'' laminated plywood. They are bedded in a mixture of cabosil, chopped strand and resin. They are tabbed in with 3 layers of 18 oz matt, wrapping the whole stringer, and around the engine, I added a WR tab for extra strength. Is this enough, or should I put on more layers? Originally the stringers only had matt, and not much at all. While I do not want to over do the glassing, I only want to do this once, and the right way.

Thanx for your help and have a great day,

Rob.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Is this enough glass?

Just a couple of questions first.

What kind of resin did you use, epoxy or poly?

They don't make an 18 oz mat, did you mean 1.5 oz mat, or 18 oz roving?

 

[Robj]

Re: Is this enough glass?

Hello,

I used iso poly resin, and I guess it was the 1.5 oz matt (the heavier one) and probably 18 oz wr, it was also quite heavy. Is this enough?

Thanx for your help and have a great day.

Rob.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Is this enough glass?

Mat has very little strength when compared to roving and roving needs to be used for best results. The layup should be more like 2 layers of each, mat, roving ,mat, roving.

If what was in there to start with was just a small amount of mat and it held up OK (just the wood rotting away), then what you put in should hold up.

 

[Robj]

Re: Is this enough glass?

I am quite sure that there wasn't any WR in the original installation, only matt. I do however want to make sure it is done right. If I was to install more WR, then I would need matt WR matt, which I definitely think is overkill. I may add another layer of matt, and use finishing resin to finish it. Does that sound reasonable, or do you have any other suggestions?

Thanx for your help and have a great day,

Rob.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Is this enough glass?

Adding more might be overkill, but you could do it. The best method would be 1 mat and 1 roving, but it really won't need that much more material, if like you said, it was only mat to start with. 4 mat and 1 roving is about 1/4" thick.

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Is this enough glass?

howdies m8..

as long as you applied your WR at the same time as your mat..then your ok as far as I can see ( though..what kind and size of boat will help some 50 ft Hatteras is not the same as 180 sea ray )

but I mean you should have 2 mats and then roving..then mat to make sure you can roll out air properly ( cant roll roving very well and never just use woving over a scuffed or prepped surface..you need mat first )

YD

 

[Robj]

Re: Is this enough glass?

Thanx YD and Ondarvr,

The boat is an 18 foot bowrider. Actually it is 17 feet, with a 1 foot built in swim grid.

I initially tabbed the stringer with matt, then put another piece of matt to cover the entire stringer. A week later I roughed up the matt with a grinder and added another piece of matt to cover the entire stringer, put a 8 inch WR tab, and then another piece of matt over the entire stringer.

As I said earlier there was no WR in the original stringer install, at least none that I saw. I am unsure if there were even two layers of matt, as it was quite thin, but maybe that is why I am replacing the stringers.

Thanx again for your help. Have a great day,

Rob.