Author Archives: ewadmin

Appledore IV makes her way upriver after a cruise on the Saginaw Bay with her restored topmasts in place.

Repairing Rotted Topmasts on Appledore IV

by Randy Zajac

Above: Appledore IV makes her way upriver after a cruise on the Saginaw Bay with her repaired topmasts in place.

The Appledore IV is an 85′ LOA topsail schooner owned by the non-profit organization BaySail, based here in Bay City, Michigan. She is licensed to carry 52, including a captain and crew of three, on educational tours of the Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron. The main topmast and the fore topmast on Appledore IV were found to have rotted wood when they were inspected in the spring of 2006. Once the topmasts were taken down from the boat, they were brought into the Gougeon boat shop for paint removal and further inspection. Continue reading →

Methodist Church window repair

Revisiting a Church Window Restoration

by Captain James R. Watson

Above: The United Methodist Church in Ludington, Michigan where window restoration was completed with WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy.

Those working on projects that use epoxy for restoration and rot repair often ask, “How long will this last? Will the rot return?” At Gougeon Brothers, Inc., we have lots of in-house test approaches that can analyze tension, compression, shear, and fatigue. We can also predict the consequences of ultraviolet, arid, tropical, and cold conditions. Still, there’s nothing like real-world performance over time to tell us how long a repair will last. Continue reading →

Citrus-based hand cleaner is great for removing uncured epoxy from your tools.

Removing Uncured Epoxy from Tools

by Glenn House — Director of Product Safety and Regulatory Compliance

Above: Safely removing uncured epoxy from your tools starts with a citrus-based hand cleaner. Photo by Mariya on Unsplash 

Removing uncured epoxy from tools used for applying epoxy often involves solvents that have strong odors and are flammable. A WEST SYSTEM® user suggested an alternative that does not have these problems: a solution of citrus-based hand cleaner and water. This solution will remove uncured epoxy from tools and can remove epoxy that has started to gel if the tools are allowed to soak for a few hours.
Continue reading →

decayed wood on a small boat

Borate Salt Treats Decayed Wood

by Tom Pawlak — GBI Technical Advisor

Above: Decayed wood on a small boat. Photo by Chester Ho on Unsplash 

Sodium borate is used in a number of commonly used household products from laundry detergent to hand soap. It is also used to treat wood against insect and fungal attacks. Sodium borate is refined from borax, a natural mineral, which is mined throughout the world. One of the largest deposits is in the Southwestern United States. (Think 20-Mule Team Borax™, Death Valley Days radio and TV shows).
Continue reading →

A properly engineered Scootboard chassis. Even without the resources of a well-equipped test lab, Bill Bertelsen, GBI’s test engineer, was able to gather useful composites data using the equipment at hand—in this case, a spring clamp, a ruler, a digital camera, and an 8-year-old girl.

Fortifying a Spare-Parts Scootboard

by Bill Bertelsen, GBI Test Engineer

Above: A properly engineered scootboard chassis. Even without the resources of a well-equipped test lab, Bill Bertelsen, GBI’s test engineer, was able to gather useful composites data using the equipment at hand—in this case, a spring clamp, a ruler, a digital camera, and an 8-year-old girl. ,

“Daddy, can we build a scooter from these old pieces of wood?” Continue reading →

Figure 1—A completed L-7 at the dock. Multi Marine’s new 23' folding trimaran kit features manufactured hull pans. The builder attaches plywood topsides to the pans.

Developing Multihulls

A folding trimaran for DIY boat builders

by Michael Leneman, Multi Marine

Above: A completed L-37 multihull at the dock. Multi-Marine’s new 23′ folding trimaran kit features manufactured hull pans. The builder attaches plywood topsides to the pans.

What is the simplest way for a home builder to build a good, light hull for a catamaran or trimaran? A few years ago, we set about looking for an inexpensive way to construct a small trimaran that we had developed as a prototype. The answer we came up with was unique: to combine a fiberglass molded “pan” with plywood/glass/epoxy topsides. Continue reading →

pot repair

One-Shot Pot Repair

by Tom Pawlak — GBI Technical Advisor

Above: The cracked polyurethane foam planter pot upon which Tom performed this simple pot repair with epoxy. You can see the household cling wrap he used to hold the cracked pot together while the epoxy cured.

My wife Mary and I recently went to the local building center to purchase a large planter pot for our patio. After we had agreed on a nice large terra-cotta beauty, I noticed another large pot that had a serious crack. I asked the associate for a price on it, knowing it would be easy to repair with WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy. He said I would be doing him a favor if I took it away. So we came home with two pots for the price of one. Continue reading →

metal door repair with 410 Microlight

Metal Door Repair

WEST SYSTEM 410 Microlight® to the Rescue!

by Jim Derck—GBI Technical Advisor

Above: Jim Derck describes how he used 410 Microlight in a metal door repair. Image: A knocker on a metal door. Photo by Felix Luo on Unsplash 

At the end of moving day, after many large items had passed through the doorway, our house’s metal door was left with a nasty crease about a foot long. The door was made of steel and had a foam core. The needed repair was just a fairing application with no structural component. Continue reading →

Scheherazade under sail.

Scheherazade Update

Courtesy of Hodgdon Yachts

Above: Scheherazade is a 155′ Bruce King-designed ketch built by Hodgdon Yachts in Boothbay, Maine and launched September 27, 2003. Photo by Onne van der Wal.

Epoxyworks #23, Spring 2006

Cover Photo: Scheherazade, a 155′ Bruce King-designed ketch. Image by Onne van der Wal.

Hodgdon Yachts of East Boothbay, Maine launched the 155′ ketch, Scheherazade. She is a beautiful union of wood/epoxy technology, elegant design, and superior craftsmanship. Continue reading →

1—Statue repairs: Shep after being knocked off his base.

The Limitations of Statues

Statue Repairs with Epoxy

by Bill Bertelsen, GBI Test Engineer

Above: Statue repairs are underway on “Shep,” a molded fiberglass figure that was knocked off its base and belongs in the outdoor nativity set of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Essexville, Michigan.

Creating lasting outdoor art has challenged humans since the dawn of time. One has only to think of the pyramids (still there), Stonehenge (mostly there), the Colossus of Rhodes (long gone), or the Easter Island monoliths (surviving, but then two heads are better than one). In more recent times, there’s Mt. Rushmore, Stone Mountain Georgia, and the Statue of Liberty. The goal is nothing less than perpetuity. But of course, outdoor sculpture needs to be done right or it won’t last. Making statues, e.g., permanent structures that look like people, is particularly difficult. Continue reading →