Sources for S-Glass

[Tim Hall]

Hi all, I have a stripper canoe project I'm sourcing materials for. I can't seem to locate any good sources of s- or s-2 glass. I keep finding 27" or 30" widths for 'surfboard' manufacture, but I don't think that's going to cut it for a single lay up around a canoe hull.

Does anyone know of any good sources for s-glass?

Also I'm fairly new to this. I've tinkered with epoxy and glass before, but don't know much about the details of different products. Can anyone explain what might be some advantages or disadvantages to using different weaves, etc. for my particular project? The books I have talk a lot about woodworking, but seem a little skinny on fiber information.

Thanks,

Tim

[rasorinc]

check out RAKA'S products http://www.raka.com/

[Tim Hall]

Thanks, I didn't know they sold fiberglass too...I really like their epoxy, and that's mostly what I've used in the past.

BUT their 6oz. s-glass is again only 27" wide. Does anyone work with this for a canoe with a 30" beam? Even a 22" beam kayak is going have a section perimeter longer than this.

[CatBuilder]

Tim, I'm not all that sure about canoes, but on the larger boats, we do "lap joints" and join the strips of fiberglass together, along their edge.

I am building a 45' catamaran with a 6' beam (on each hull) and I'm using 50" glass - not even twice as wide as the glass you are thinking isn't big enough for your canoe.

That's just how the glass comes. It's not all done in one piece.

The above assumes you are glassing by pulling a long piece of the 27" from bow to stern.

Depending on the design, you can also glass from sheer line to sheer line, around the bilge, using many 27" wide pieces to make up the length of the boat.

You would have to check into this with the designer and order glass with the fibers running 90 degrees to their typical orientation.

Here is a picture of someone doing a hull with the first piece of glass:

[Tim Hall]

Yeah, all the construction photos I've seen look like the mode is to lay up one continuous piece of glass. With such a small vessel this seems logical. The strip construction uses flush butt joints or bead-and-cove (which are ideally faired absolutely smooth), so there's really no construction joint to terminate the cloth at. I just don't want to start piecing things together on my first project to find I have ugly laps in the cloth that have to be faired with compound or something.

[CatBuilder]

Ok, I see. So it is more of an "art" on the canoe and you don't fair them like we do on the larger boats?

So, I guess you have to buy part of a roll of fiberglass from someone. Trouble is, you need so little of it, I can't refer you to my supplier, who sold me like 25 rolls of 50". You need a bit over your LOA off a standard roll, which is 50".

Have you tried all the online sources:

www.jamestowndistributors.com
http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/
http://www.uscomposites.com/cloth.html
http://bateau.com/
http://www.noahsmarine.com/html/c.html

[rberrey]

My s-2 finish glass is 5.7 oz 73" from thyercraft , they have other weights and widths, I have also bought some light glass from us composites. rick

[Tim Hall]

Hey, thanks guys. Some of those links I had not found.

Rick, I once remember reading somewhere to shy away from satin weave because it's more difficult to work. Could be wrong though (?) Any insight as to how it compares to plain weave? Does it soak up more epoxy?

[rberrey]

I dont know how it will work , but it is very lite glass.