Above: The pool pump repair was 100% effective four months later.
Barry Bew, a sailing instructor at Arethusa Venture Centre, Gravesend, Kent, UK, used his experience as a plant engineer to make an emergency repair to a swimming pool circulating pump. The pump was leaking at joints between the 3″ ABS plastic inlet and discharge pipes and the cast iron pump body. Continue reading
Above: After installing the bow thruster, the fairing compound is sealed with epoxy, and bottom paint is applied to the boat’s exterior.
Island Heights, New Jersey architect, John B. Wilson, needed to install a bow thruster in his 26′ Albermarle sport fisherman, using WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy products. The toughest part of the job was cutting through the 1″ solid hull laminate. After trying several tools, he had success with a Roto Zip™ with a ½” carbide bit by making two ½” deep passes. The only other difficult job was cutting away a portion of the floor in the storage area under the V-berth to make room for the 5″ diameter thrust tube. Continue reading
Above: The Biloxi lugger Alligator. Bob usually cruises at 9.5 knots and averages about 3.5 mpg. Alligator turns out to be fast, safe, comfortable, and fun.
About ten years ago my wife, Ching, and I decided we wanted a comfortable, easy-to-handle, cruising boat suitable for exploring shallow coastal areas. We’d missed this when we lived aboard our deep draft sailboat 21 years ago. We looked at a lot of boats and decided that we would try a powerboat this time. We liked the features found on Biloxi Luggers, also known as “Chandeleur Boats,” a type indigenous to the upper Gulf Coast. Continue reading
Above: A DCPD blend laminate repaired with WEST SYSTEM Epoxy is tested to failure. The laminate required gross deformation before it failed, meaning epoxy is an appropriate repair material for the type of laminates common on jet skis and snowmobiles.
Gougeon Brothers recently did R&D testing on DCPD blend laminates for a manufacturer who wanted to know if WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy could effectively repair them. DCPD blend laminates are injection-molded parts made with fiberglass and dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) blended polyester resin that included an internal mold release agent. The hoods and decks for many jet skis and snowmobiles are made with this material.
Above: With her damaged bulkheads replaced, the Evelyn 32-2 sailboat RUSH is back in action. Several weeks later, the new bulkheads proved they could handle the stress of a heavy knockdown and a major storm during the infamous 2002 Chicago to Mackinac race.
If you race a sailboat long and hard enough, it eventually will reveal its weaknesses, sometimes violently. My friends and I race an Evelyn 32-2 called Rush. Less than a month before the 2002 Mackinaw races, we were competing in the Saginaw Bay Yacht Racing Association, Gravelly Shoals race. Throughout the race, the wind had been building and we were a little overpowered with a full main and 150% headsail. We had completed about 45 miles of the 50-mile race when the starboard chainplate decided it had enough and pulled out of the bulkhead. Continue reading
Above: To simplify mixing G/5 Resin and Hardener for a large project, Grant made a carrying pallet with sixteen holes, sized to hold 1-ounce mixing cups (pill cups purchased at a food service outlet). The pallet was covered with duct tape so glue drips could be peeled away. Note that a mini cupcake pan could be dedicated to this kind of task as well.
Many of us at Gougeon Brothers experiment with WEST SYSTEM® products on personal projects at home as well as at work. We often push products and techniques beyond the limits recommended in our literature. Sometimes the experiment fails, sometimes we discover something very useful. Continue reading
Above: Adagio, Meade Gougeon’s 35′ trimaran in the Chicago to Mackinac Race. This boat is a testament to how many decades wood epoxy structures can last.
The 35′ trimaran Adagio, designed and built by Meade and Jan Gougeon in 1969, survived the harrowing conditions at the finish of the 2002 Chicago to Mackinac race this past year. Continue reading
Above: While repairing Sparty, ceramicist Curt LaCross applies his custom matching epoxy coating.
For over fifty years, “Sparty” has been a familiar figure on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. The Spartan statue was built in 1945 and, at 11′ tall and 3000 lb, it is believed to be the world’s largest freestanding ceramic sculpture. Sparty has survived many an attack by vandals, but it is no match for Michigan winters. Continue reading
These 31-10 Pacific Class sailboats appeared in Epoxyworks in 18, Fall 2001. They were being rescued and restored by a dedicated group in San Diego, California. John Sutphen, who was involved in the project, sent the photo (below) of one of the restored Pacific Class boats under sail: the reward of hard work and dedication.
Above: Scheherazade, the 154’7″ yacht that required testing of large bonded-in fasteners.
Cover Photo: The 154’7″ Bruce King-designed Scheherazade resting on her massive keel at Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay, Maine.
Scheherazade is a 154′ 7″ Bruce King-designed ketch under construction at Hodgdon Yachts, in East Boothbay, Maine. Scheherazade is 60% larger than Antonisa, the last Bruce King/Hodgdon Yacht collaboration, and is the largest sailboat under construction in the United States. Continue reading