Philippines Traditional Boat Update

Our proposal was to design the keel out of fiberglass and build a wooden hull around it as the material for the keel (wooden log) was no longer available. Builders were skeptical of leaks as the mating part is below waterline.

Later we found out the Laguna lake builders were building the fiberglass up to and above the waterline. Same method but solved two problem. Leak is mitigated and difference in material expansion reduced. To them, fiberglass is more expensive and they lacked the know how. So whatever is cheaper, they built around it. They were building big bancas. The basnig type.

You can still save your hull if you follow my advice to sand/inspect/repair and follow Rumars advice and glass inside and out directly. It will be fu_gly but you have a boat with extended life. 4 to 5 years maybe.

If you decide to replace the hull bottom with glass, you need a fiberglass man, a wood boatbuilder, and somebody to design the laminate schedule for strength.

 

I may have been 3 gallons high, but hopefully you have gained some wisdom through my efforts.

Again, my boat, I replace the wood as per rxcomposite advice and then put some nasty poison paint on the bottom and some sacrificial runners.

If you have any downtime after repairs, take the boat up a fresh river for a week now and then. Pull the boat once a year and burn any worms with a hot wire and fill the holes with thickened epoxy after they dry a week. Then repaint it all with some worm killing paint.

All the best.

I would like to know what the boat is used for as fishing is my favorite hobby.

PS-polyester resin would probably delaminate on you without exceptional efforts to prevent it...nailheads and new wood, etc. And the wood/glass interface needs to be carefully considered as RX said.. polyester is not beginner friendly either and requires someone local with experience glassing in your climate to avoid errors catalyzing

 

Found my old sketch of how a traditionally built indigenous banca is "modernized built" in the absence of wooden log dugout. Much like traditional wooden boat construction.

The keel is made of timber. about 8" x 10", depending on boat size.