What weight fiberglass cloth for a trunk cabin top?

Discussion in 'Wooden Boat Building and Restoration' started by ned L, May 8, 2015.

  1. ned L
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    ned L Junior Member

    I'm not good at selecting fiberglass cloth weight without seeing/feeling it. As the heading says,.... The boat is a 1957, 33ft Jersey sea skiff, the trunk cabin top is about 8ft x 10ft, plywood surface that was originally canvassed and fiberglassed decades ago. It is not a 'foot traffic' surface. I need to strip & replace the 'glass. Is 10 oz appropriate, to heavy, to light?? (Will be setting it in epoxy.).
    Thanks
     
  2. gonzo
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    gonzo Senior Member

    10 oz will be adequate. The fiberglass on those cabin tops is for protecting the surface and not structural.
     
  3. ned L
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    ned L Junior Member

    Thank you! Thatt is just what I needed, and yes just protective, nothing structural.
     
  4. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    For your needs any finishing cloth will do, from just a couple of ounces to 10 or so. 10 ounce is pretty coarse, compared to say 6 ounce, so you'll need more goo to wet it out and fill the weave. Simply put, you can save a fair bit of goo and fairing compound if you use 4 ounce, instead of 10 ounce, though either will do fine, for your application.
     
  5. ned L
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    ned L Junior Member

    Thank you! I was originally wondering about maybe 6 oz but for some reason had discounted that as maybe to light. As I said, I'd know what I want when I see it, just don't know what weight it is. I'm not into spreading goo for goo's sake.
     
  6. gonzo
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    gonzo Senior Member

    I thought that the 10 oz, if laid carefully, would imitate the canvas weave of the original material.
     
  7. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Agreed Gonzo, I use 10 ounce for this very reason, the exposed weave to simulate canvas.
     
  8. ned L
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    ned L Junior Member

    That would make sense, however I think that in this situation the original canvas was filled (like a wood & canvas canoe) to end up with a smooth surface.
     
  9. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Most of the canvas sheathing end up fairly smooth after a second paint job, which fills in the remaining weave pattern. If you want to have the canvas sheathing, you can use TiteBond III to bond it down, then paint of it. The TiteBond will dramatically improve the longevity of the canvas, compared to the lead paint previously employed. It'll still suffer the same fate as other canvas sheathing, but it'll be real canvas. You'll find if you thin the TiteBond about 10% with water, you'll get more working time, assuming you go this route.
     
  10. ned L
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    ned L Junior Member

    Hmmm, .... I hadn't given any thought to the idea of returning to a true canvas job, that might not be a bad idea. Thanks PAR.
     

  11. PAR
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    A real canvas sheathing is over lead paint, which is still available from a few suppliers (try Kerby's in Maine). The more modern approach is as I've described briefly above with a PVA. It'll still have many of the drawbacks of a canvas covered substrate, though will stay stuck longer, because of the better bond of TiteBond III. Some will recommend TiteBond II instead, but don't do it. TiteBond II is water resistant, not waterproof, like TiteBond III and will release if well soaked.
     
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