By Tom Pawlak
Construction of fiberglass tubs and showers uses methods and materials similar to those for building fiberglass boats. Gelcoat is applied to a mold and allowed to cure. Then chopped fiberglass and polyester resin are applied over the gelcoat and worked into the surface. To create a stiff and strong fiberglass tub or shower enclosure, the laminator uses a grooved roller to compact the fibers against the gelcoat. The quality and strength of the laminate depends on Continue reading
Last summer I used WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy to repair a small section of rot in a rough sawn cedar trim board on my house. Before gutter was installed, the trim board was wet frequently, but well ventilated. Only a narrow center section of the #2 grade, 1″×12″ board seemed to be vulnerable. Continue reading
Above: Palmer Hudson with his epoxy rocket, Glory. The rocket was 6″ in diameter and 9′ tall. The 3″ diameter motor was about 22″ long, with somewhere around 623 lb of thrust and a burn time of 2.6 seconds.
Palmer Hudson’s epoxy rocket, Glory was built out of phenolic tubes covered with fiberglass cloth. All construction was done using the WEST SYSTEM® Epoxy and Fillers. Continue reading
This Guillemot kayak (left) is the work of Ed Van Kirk of Constantine, Michigan. Ed built both of these kayaks of redwood and sugar pine, using Nick Shade’s book The Strip-Built Sea Kayak as a reference. The double-seater is a Guillemot kayak, 20′ long with a 30″ beam and weighs 73 lb. The single-seater is a Little Auk kayak, 10′ long with a 29″ beam and weighs 43 lb. Ed has also built a 14′ Wee Lassie Two. Continue reading
Above: Optimist prams built by the SBCSA in the Gougeon boatshop, sailing before the Liberty Bridge on the Saginaw River.
Cover Photo: A new fleet of Optimist prams was built to serve the Saginaw Bay Community Sailing Association
The Saginaw Bay Community Sailing Association (SBCSA) was founded in 1995 by a group of local sailboat racers who shared a vision of a grassroots organization to provide area youngsters and adults a low-cost introduction to sailing. We began that first season with three Transfusion 547’s purchased for the association by Gougeon Brothers, Inc. (GBI) and a half dozen used Optimist prams donated by the Saginaw Bay Yacht Racing Association. Continue reading
Above: The layout of an Optimist pram provides an example of how to go about estimating epoxy amounts.
This formula will help you estimate the amount of mixed epoxy needed to wet out fiberglass cloth (assuming a resin-to-fiber ratio of 50:50) and apply three rolled epoxy coats to fill the weave of the cloth, i.e. “fill coats.” Continue reading
Above: Align stitch-and-glue panels with a dowel rod. The wire connecting the panel edges passes over the dowel section on the inside of the joint, clamping the panel edges to the dowel.
Here’s a tip for when you need to align stitch-and-glue panels that we heard about too late to use on the Optimist prams, but one that we can’t wait to try. The tip comes from Dan Anderson of Fairgrove, Michigan via local boatbuilding instructor John Schmude. Continue reading
John McKibbin sent pictures of his refinished 18′ laminated canoe. He built it back in 1976 using cold-molded, that is, laminated composite construction, with WEST SYSTEM® epoxy. Laminating a hull is similar to making your own plywood on a three-dimensional mold. While it may take more time and effort to make a laminated hull, the results are well worth it. Continue reading
The appeal of well-maintained, varnished wood trim on boats is hard to deny. It evokes our past and we respect the owner because of all the time and effort it takes to apply and maintain the varnish. Continue reading
Above: The completed floating shelf, installed in Brian’s sister’s home and decorated with her colorful collection of birdhouses.
It was only after I said, “No problem” to my sister’s request for a shelf installed on the wall of her new house that she dropped the other shoe. She wanted a floating shelf that would be cantilevered from the wall with nothing visible holding it up. “Simple,” I said out loud, but I was thinking, “how the heck am I going to do this?” I decided to use hardware bonding to install the shelf. Continue reading