Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

Epoxy / Fiberglass side strips Bottom question

Hello Everyone,

I will be starting the Epoxy/Fiberglass bottom on my wood boat today and have one question that I can't seem to find clear instructions on.

1) When putting down the fiberglass on the first layer of epoxy, do I lay the fiberglass side strips down first and then put the main fiberglass sheet over the strips or do I put the fiberglass sheet down first and then put the edge strips over the fiberglass sheet?

By the way, I decided not to wrap the bottom edge with the fiberglass under the chines because I already have the chines on and the 5200 marine glue makes it impossible to pull them off without really damaging the boat that hasn't even been in the water yet. I tried to pull one off the other night and got about one foot of the chine loose after working on it for about an hour. That stuff is tough which is good!

If anyone can reply as soon as possible that would be great. I plan on starting in just a few hours.

Thanks.

Troy from Denver

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by lhedrick on March 12, 2010 at 3:20pm

I don't build framed boats so the strips are not something I know about. I do know that if you are building a framed boat with a exterior chine log don't glass over it. Epoxy the glass to the bottom edge then cut off the excess for the bottom and the same on the sides. You want a square edge. The sides and bottom get glass before the chine gets bedded in compound and screwed on. the chine goes on top. You can epoxy coat it before you put attache it.

Too bad you already glued the chine on with the 5200. That stuff is forever. Even the 5300 has too much hold for parts which need to be removed. When the time comes to remove you will need a grinder. The chine should have a compound which will seal but stays soft and doesn't have too much adhesive power. Chines need to be replace now an then.

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Permalink Reply by Randy Dersham on March 12, 2010 at 5:13pm

The strips are made of a lighter weight cloth so they handle the radius of the corner easier. They are to seal the chine seam under the batten before you place the batten. You don't need them if you are not going to wrap the chine corner under the chine batten. Remember, you can't wrap a sharp corner.

The best way to do the bottom fiberglass is to laminate the fiberglass to the bottom before you put the chine on. Then the chine batten can cover the fiberglass edge and protect it from abuse later.

If you are not going to remove the chine then you should feather the edge of your fiberglass bottom to stop near the bottom to chine joint and not go all the way to the edge of the chine. Any knocking of rocks on the chine edge of the unprotected fiberglass will want to pull the cloth away from the bottom. The cloth is tough and even the best laminating job could fail by pulling the plywood panel apart if a rock can get a hold of an edge of the glass.

Feather that glass down and cover it with epoxy.

If you want to remove the chine the best way is to remove the screws then use a jig saw to cut the chine off. Leave about 1/8 of an inch of the chine so you don't damage the side panel. Then belt sand with 60 grit to remove the last 1/8 inch and prep for the new chine. It takes about an hour per side. I think it is worth it to use 5200 and use that method when making the change.

Most of the boats we repair leak at the chine and have some rot because the bedding has failed. 5200 is much tougher than most.