oops and no epoxy

[eye on future]

In the hull extension thread oops mentioned he was repeatedly warned away from Epoxy in his extension and I wondered why? I am considering lengthening my 1962 starcraft cabin cruiser fiberglass boat 30 inches as the floor and yet to be checked transom need to be repaired/replaced so I have been doing research on everything here I can find. Tremendous amout of great info. In looking at epoxy and poly resin threads and there seem to be many opinions on which to use, I am familiar with poly resin in truck and trailer repair but not yet in boats before I start this project ( if feasable ) I would appreciate any more info that could be offered by those who have experience in this type of repair. Thanks for your input and answers.

 

[NoKlu]

Re: oops and no epoxy

I have a lot of experience in this type of repair. I watched my brother,oops!, work on his boat for what, almost 3 years now?, and the best advice I can give you is buy a bigger boat. He will tell you that himself. It was way more work and money than he expected. Fix the stringers and transom and be happy with the length.

 

[drewpster]

Re: oops and no epoxy

Sound advice. There comes a point where things just become too much. I have enough experience to say without a doubt, factory restorations are possible, but modifications can kill your motivation. And your check book.

 

[fraannk]

Re: oops and no epoxy

I encourage you to go ahead with the project. We need something to read for another 3 years now that OOPS!! has slowed down on his posting.

Go with the epoxy so we can watch the difference it makes.

Make sure you post a lot of pictures!

 

[oops!]

Re: oops and no epoxy

hello.....

yes you can do it.....is it worth it?.....only if you really want a project.

if you have little or no glassing experience....it will be very difficult.
pros can do things to make it very simple...but first timers get stuck....if it were not for some fantastic pros that came and showed me the light.....i would have junked the job, stuck on some trivial detail.

however....i am sure now i could do it again in a fraction of the time and cost.

and just a little heads up for every one.....i am seriously considering flipping the boat and triple stepping the hull this winter.

why not epoxy?....you will use 25 gallons (minimum) of poly resin..... the cost will send you to the poor farm.
but ....thats not the main reason....poly does not stick to epoxy........so...epoxy will not allow you to coat with gellcoat...and you will also have to fair the boats bottom.....what are you going to use?....an epoxy fairing compound?.....hard as nails to sand.
besides these very important details.....you will never need the strength that epoxy will give you.
even if you stretched the boat 20 feet....you still would not need the strength. glassing the stringers is all the strength you will need even with the extension section.

one last thing.......even tho the big boat i did will be fantastic when the thing is finally painted and the interior is finished this winter..one of the coolest boats on the water..i still keep looking and drooling at the new deck boats with a berth inside.
so long story short, i have this fantastic boat i built allmost form scratch.....and i am looking at newer boats!

if you do decide to take on this project.....we here will offer all the help we can.....if it were not for this forum my boat never would have been built.

cheers
oops

 

[eye on future]

Re: oops and no epoxy

Thanks for the replies, with all that usually needs to be done, work, small home projects, etc. I really don't have 3 years to rebuild my boat and just to think of all the fishing I will miss out on! I will be taking off the deck and getting into the stringers and probably the transom this spring and will be using the info. I have gained on this site having all this info. available at your fingertips certainly makes things easier along with seeing what works and what doesn't. Thanks again.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: oops and no epoxy

The epoxy vs. poly debate is kinda like the debates on what plywood to use or what oil to use in your engine... it comes down to what you believe is good, or more precisely who you believe knows what they're doing uses

Long and the short of it: If money doesn't matter, use epoxy. If your boat was already repaired with epoxy, use epoxy. If you are completely rebuilding your boat for maximum strength and/or using exotic fibers like kevlar or basalt, then use epoxy.

Otherwise with correct techniques, poly works fine, and it'll let you spend much more money on other stuff. To give you an idea, on my complete boat rebuild I've so far used 20 gallons of poly and 30+ gallons of epoxy. Cost of the poly was about $500, cost of the epoxy was about $1200.

Poly is easier to mold with, and less toxic, and can be faster to work with (more flexible cure times). Epoxy stinks less, is stronger, waterproofs better, is usually thicker (harder to wet out glass with) and forgives more mistakes made in prep work.

Do what you like, with proper technique you can do very well with either one. I match the resin to the job myself

Erik

 

[eye on future]

Re: oops and no epoxy

Well I finnaly found time to tear into the floor and someone had put down a 1/2" piece of ply on top of the original floor, which also was 1/2" ply and had one layer of roving on the top side. The original was rotted enough to pull pieces out with my hands, once it was cut down the middle it tore out in two large chunks. Under the floor there are 3 stringers and so far 3 cross pieces, all rotted as well. Over the stringers originally they laid one layer of roving and let it be folded or bent to cover everything. None of the stringers were really sealed against any moisture at all. The roving accross the floor was broken in several places and allowed the hull to flex at these spots which ran from side to side accross the hull. the gellcoat at these areas has small stress cracks in it visable from underneath the boat. I have only removed the back half of the floor to see what was under there. Of course the transom is in need of being replaced as well. It is a 1962 Starcraft and has held up well for all these years and I will start the repairs in the spring.