Epoxy vs Fiberglass

[s/v Jedi]

Epoxy resin stays good for ever I think. The hardener becomes red colored but keeps working too.

The link I provided is for Jamestown Distributors, can't really go wrong there I think; half the world buys their stuff.

[CharlieCobra]

Originally Posted by minaret

Matt by itself, or Matt sandwiched between layers of roving or in the form of stitch Matt? I doubt you've successfully done a Matt only layup with regular starch binder and epoxy.

Oh HELL no, Mat by itself? No way.. We just did a custom stern thruster for a boat and our layup schedule was seven, interwoven layers of mat and roving per layup and vacuum bagged at a time. We would never just use mat.

[minaret]

Originally Posted by CharlieCobra

Oh HELL no, Mat by itself? No way.. We just did a custom stern thruster for a boat and our layup schedule was seven, interwoven layers of mat and roving per layup and vacuum bagged at a time. We would never just use mat.

I use just matt with poly all the time, it has its place. Of course if the matt is sandwiched between layers and put in a bag and/or is stitch matt, you can get away with anything because you don't actually have to work with the matt.

[egent]

When rebedding deck hardware, I have seen recommendation of digging out the deck core a bit and filling in with epoxy then redrilling the hole before bedding and bolting the hardware back down. In reading this thread, is epoxy right for this or would something else be better to use?

Just for the reference, my boat is an 1978 C&C 36

[Caracal]

Originally Posted by Searanger50

So - to put the fox amongst the the chickens - which is best to repair the holes left in the hull when disused through hulls are removed?

Kevin.

Epoxy.

[sailvayu]

Searanger50: LOL I think this is hopeless but I will keep saying it If the boat is built with polyester I would use polyester or better vinyl ester (for below the waterline) for patching the holes and laminating.

Egent: for filling holes like that you are sealing wood so yes epoxy is a good choice.

[Searanger50]

Originally Posted by minaret

If you do repairs to the hull in epoxy, you are forced to finish in paint instead of doing a Gelcoat repair. Why turn a $200 repair into a $20k full paint job? Unless the boat is already painted instead of gelcoated, it makes no sense. Even then I'd only do it for very small repairs, as unless the boat is built in epoxy the dissimilar flex rates will cancel out the superior bonding when considering delam. A big epoxy repair will be much stiffer than the poly hull around it, creating stress risers right at the bond edge of the repair where you don't want it.

Isn't this where the anti-foul goes!!!

[Searanger50]

Originally Posted by egent

When rebedding deck hardware, I have seen recommendation of digging out the deck core a bit and filling in with epoxy then redrilling the hole before bedding and bolting the hardware back down. In reading this thread, is epoxy right for this or would something else be better to use?

Just for the reference, my boat is an 1978 C&C 36

The hull and decks of the Moody 36 are pretty much solid thick GRP.