Tag Archives: Rob Monroe

12oz fiberglass patches for both the inside and outside were wet out with G/Flex 650.

Patch Holes in Aluminum Boats with G/flex Epoxy

by Rob Monroe

Above: 12oz fiberglass is used to patch holes in an aluminum boat. Fiberglass patches for both the inside and outside of the hull were wet out with G/Flex 650.

When we started testing G/flex Epoxy as a solution to leaky seams and rivets in aluminum boats, we put out a company-wide call for test boats. John Kennedy offered his old 15′ Michi-Craft canoe, saying he would bring it down from his cabin at the end of hunting season. Not smiling, he asked a few weeks later “just how big a repair we could handle.” It turned out John jack-knifed his utility trailer on an icy road, punching a fist-sized hole in the stern quarter of the canoe. Ouch. Continue reading →

Building a Leeboard Bracket

By Robert Monroe

Dave Hatton and I had a January trip planned to the Everglades and the Florida Keys. We decided to use a Feathercraft™ double folding kayak with a sailing rig, but were not very happy with its sailing performance to weather. It has a simple reaching/downwind sail and no effective lateral resistance to give it any bite in the water. It’s a neat boat, but we decided we could improve its performance without too much effort. We would start with a leeboard and look at the rig later. Continue reading →

GBI test lab

The Versatility of Epoxy

By Rob Monroe

From ice boats to racing multihulls, wind turbine blades, and a thousand other projects — ours and customers — working with epoxies and our customers since 1969 has been interesting. The decades of experience in the shops, labs and libraries have given us a pretty good feeling for epoxy technology. We know its strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly we understand and appreciate its versatility.

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fastener load path

More on Hardware Bonding

General considerations for epoxy bonded fasteners in wood

By Robert Monroe

With epoxy bonded fasteners, the idea is to balance the three parts, (fastener, epoxy and wood/hole) to obtain optimum performance. The key information needed is the tensile strength of the fastener, the shear strength of the epoxy and the withdrawal resistance of the wood or backing block. Continue reading →

polyester rots or degrades over time

Polyester Rots

by Robert Monroe

Polyester laminates have been with us since the mid-1940s. They are bright, strong, easily molded to useful shapes, and from all appearances (and advertising) maintenance-free. Contrary to our conditioned distrust of wood, we have come to expect these easy features when we think about Fiberglass Reinforced Plastics (FRP). The waxing and occasional polishing required to keep our FRP bright is not very demanding. FRP structures epitomize easy living. Continue reading →