Coating a wooden boat

Discussion in 'Wooden Boat Building and Restoration' started by YellowSubmarne, Apr 2, 2016.

  1. YellowSubmarne
    Joined: Apr 2016
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    Location: Brighton UK

    YellowSubmarne New Member

    Hi, I'm attempting to build a nice small boat to go fishing with my dad on. Nothing fancy, just a simple boat (not just a skiff, there will be a small cabin).

    I was wondering what i'd need to cover it (fibreglass and epoxy), where's the best place to get it (cheap as possible please)
     
  2. Jamie Kennedy
    Joined: Jun 2015
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    Location: Saint John New Brunswick

    Jamie Kennedy Senior Member

    Generally speaking, good plywood is expensive but easy to build with. Traditionally it wasn't covered in glass, just paint, but I think if you do it right a layer of 6 ounce fibreglass cloth and resin will add strength and help protect your investment in plywood and labour. Better to do it right, when you build it, than to do it later. Epoxy will give you the best protection, but costs more than polyester resin and can create problems with skin sensitivity for some people. I think if you are building a lot of boats polyester is better, but it is challenging to do it well over plywood. I think for building only one epoxy is better. Either way, once you have polyester and glass or epoxy and glass you can paint it with a few coats of exterior grade polyurethane. It will protect the epoxy or polyester resin from the sun. It doesn't have to be marine grade, especially over epoxy, since the epoxy will provide the moisture barrier over the plywood. For wood trim, you don't need the glass. You a few coats of epoxy and then a few coats of varnish over the epoxy to protect it from the sun.

    Do you have something like one of these in mind?

    http://www.nexusmarine.com/nexus_exteriors.html
     
  3. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    A light sheathing with cloth, will not add any appreciable strength or stiffness, but will offer waterproofing and abrasion resistance. Polyester doesn't stick well to wood and tends to let moisture through it, which eventually causes issues. Vinylester is better, but still not as good as epoxy. Sensitivity can be controlled with appropriate precautions and protection.

    Purchase your epoxy online, from one of the discount retailers. These will be about 1/2 the cost of the major formulators, which the same physical properties.
     
  4. pauloman
    Joined: Jun 2010
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    Location: New Hampshire

    pauloman Epoxy Vendor

    yes there is a reason why fiberglass boats are 100% polyester/fiberhglass resin and not a mix of wood and glass. It seems to disbond after a few years. No so with epoxy.

    paul oman
    progressive epoxy polymers inc
    epoxyproducts.com
     
  5. YellowSubmarne
    Joined: Apr 2016
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    Location: Brighton UK

    YellowSubmarne New Member

    Thanks

    Thank you guys for your help, I intend on making this boat or something similar.

    If anyone knows any plans that i can get cheap or free please post them here.
     
  6. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Welcome to the forum.

    I'd recommend you continue looking for a better design. The one you've chosen is quite old and though free, it'll be much harder to build, given it's BOM and build techniques than a modern design. Simply put, you may want to select a design less than a 1/2 a century old, both in terms of materials availability and design.

    First, make a list of the things most important to you. Use this list to narrow your focus. Thing like cabin shapes and layout should be very low on the list, as these can be easily changed. Thing high on the list should be hull types that suit your needs, enough length and volume to accommodate the people you will bring along, power and speed expectations, etc.

    A 20' cabin cruiser is pretty small, but doable. Don't expect standing headroom. Have a look at bateau.com and Glen-L.com for reasonably priced designs. There are hundreds of choices in this general size range, so look them over carefully, because it's just as easy to build a boat you'll hate to operate as one that you'll love. Styling can be changed, often easily, so don't let this disad your choices. A dated, 1950's look can be made to be a modern machine with a few pen strokes to the cabin sides or conversely, possibly a classic 1920's era cruiser (for example).

    Lastly, don't let the cost of a set of plans hold you back. You'll pay $100 - $200 (USD) for a reasonable set of stock plans, from the major plans houses. You'll spend more than this on the paint you'll eventually cover the boat with, so not a good place to make serious savings, while still having the boat of your dreams.
     

  7. SukiSolo
    Joined: Dec 2012
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    Location: Hampshire UK

    SukiSolo Senior Member

    I'm with PAR on this, re the design. Research which hulls work properly, whilst there are some good ones from that period (late 70s' on), they are ones properly developed and fine tuned. There's a lot of dross unfortunately. Go through all the serious Forums with people using a similar craft and mine the good information. You will find guys with hundreds even thousands of hours experience with the boats and their feedback is useful, compared to thse who just do the odd weekend....;)

    Generally I'd favour a more modern craft. I also note the motor arrangement (of your selected design) as inboard or I/O and you'd probably be looking at transom hung outboard so the weight balance is a bit different. You don't want it to be overly stern heavy. I'd doubt you'd need much more than 25-60Hp either not the 160 mentioned...;)

    As for finishing, 3 or 4 coats of epoxy plus paint is sufficient, but you might want a layer of glass for abrasion. Depends how you look after it and launch/recovery options, plus type of jetties or moorings. Like PAR says, the styling can relatively easily be altered to suit, but I'd get a hull shape that works properly as a priority.

    Here in the UK, the Shetland models have done good service for many years.
    I'm sure there are plenty of decent boats for your intended use. Check out Gary Bull's project (near Pompey) on this Forum, although glass it gives an idea of what can be done.
     
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