edandsarahmae02 Posted July 27, 2003 Posted July 27, 2003 well i started this nice little sd-11 build from plans provided by those bateau people in florida... smart me did all my on-line research for resin and then bumped into some locally for about a third the price of west or system three... well i learn now that this stuff i have is polyester resin and i need to know...can i build this little 11 foot sailboat with polyester resin?...or do i need to use epoxy resin for sure? am i unduly worried or will it be a disaster. the boat will be sailed then dry stored..never over night in the water.. thanks for the expertise to answer my concerns Quote
T. Nelson Surbrook Posted July 27, 2003 Posted July 27, 2003 Don't worry, poly will work fine and if you do it right will last for many years. Quote
High C Posted July 27, 2003 Posted July 27, 2003 Polyester resin does not adhere well to plywood. It makes a good, strong coating that will protect the wood as long as it is intact, but it will not cling to the wood nearly as well as epoxy. The main reason plywood had a so-so reputation as a boat building material was because early boats built with polyester resin didn't last. Try the epoxy from Raka at www.raka.com It's much cheaper than West or System 3 and many builders have used it with great success. Quote
Charlie Jones Posted July 27, 2003 Posted July 27, 2003 you can use the polyester to apply glass with. You cannot use the polyester as an adhesive like you can with epoxy. I've had boats glassed with polyester that held up fine. (Before epoxy) One in particular lived on a trailer outside and I fished that boat for about 8 years before I sold it- the next owner used it another 5 or 6, with no problems. Just make sure the wood is well wet out with the resin before you start glassing. Dry glassing doesn't work as well with poly. Having said that, epoxy is far and away a better resin to use, since you can use it as an adhesive, as a filler (with various additives), as a coating and to apply the glass. In the long run, the cost of the epoxy, no matter which you use, doesn't add that much to the cost of a boat, even when building a larger one. For example, I'm to this point on a 22 foot cat ketch , with all interior seams filled and taped and the entire interior coated and I've used less than 4 gallons of epoxy so far. By the way, I worked in the Sears store in Pasadena years ago as a summer/pre Christmas employee. That would have been in 1957 :shock: Place sure has changed since then. Now I live on Matagorda Bay, just out from Port Lavaca. [attachment over 4 years old deleted by admin] Quote
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