Weekender sans Fiberglass

[Herschel Payne]

Has anyone built a Weekender without fiberglass, finishing with just a quality paint?

What were the greatest negatives?

I am considering doing that. I have built several strip canoes with West System so although I know the application is fairly easy, I want to save on the cost, particularly as I am planning on another boat when I finish this and can only devote so much funds to this hobby.

Thanks in advance. Herschel

[HankD]

Just my two cents, but personally I would not skimp on the fiberglass or the epoxy. My weekender hasn't hit the water yet but it's been an unfinished project drifting around for some time now getting rained on occasionally and even getting rained IN a few times. I have a mini cup that is only a little older than the weekender and looking at how the unprotected mini cup has aged compared to the weekender with it's 6 oz cloth and Raka epoxy there is no question in my mind that it was worth every penny.

As fun as the mini cup was to build and sail I wouldn't do it again simply because the glass and epoxy makes it too expensive (used sunfish's are cheap) and without it you either have to take VERY good care of it or consider it disposable. I love building boats but I love sailing them more. They are all a pain in the butt to keep up so my advice is to do everything you can during the building process to lessen the amount of maintenance you'll do on days you wish you were sailing.

Give RAKA a call. I think I ended up with $96 in glass and $130ish in epoxy to do the whole boat.

[Steve Day]

Absolutely give Raka a call. They are just about half the cost of West Systems through West Marine. I was astounded at the price difference. If you call early in the day, the order will be out the door on that day and on your doorstep a few days later.

Their website is: http://www.raka.com/ . When you want to order, call them. They don't do orders thru the website.

Steve

[lewisboats]

Try Progressive epoxy at epoxyproducts.com ...they are the cheapest I have found and the epoxy is just as good. They're basic no blush 2:1 ratio epoxy is $83 for 1.5 gallons. The site is a bit of a pain to navigate though but you get there eventually. Here is a summary page: http://www.epoxyproducts.com/summarymar.html

Steve

[wkisting]

If you're considering using exterior-grade fir (not Okoume or another high-end boat building wood), you must use the fiberglass. The weave doesn't just help seal out water by increasing epoxy-barrier thickness and adding a small bit of abrasion resistance; it also prevents the fir from checking. In my experience, even epoxy-saturated fir will check unless there is a cloth weave (fiberglass) to stabilize the face of the wood and hold it flat. (By the way, "checking" means the face of the plywood raises unevenly and gets a very rough-textured look... on the inside of a hull it is tolerable to some people if they aren't perfectionists about cosmetics, but on the outside it would probably make a very noticeable reduction in performance and would certainly eventually result in rot problems).

[Hirilonde]

(By the way, "checking" means the face of the plywood raises unevenly and gets a very rough-textured look...

Checking in reference to lumber or wood products refers to cracking or spliting.  Checks in a timber frame house can be huge, although in this case it isn't as negative as those in the plywood used to build a boat.

[Herschel Payne]

Thank you everyone. I'll be fiberglassing.

[Frank Hagan]

I worked out the difference in cost in using a good quality, waterproof plywood verses fir plywood, glass and epoxy.  I think it was cheaper then to use cloth and epoxy. 

Making sure the ply you get is waterproof is pretty hard to do; even marine ply doesn't do well with direct immersion for any amount of time.

Solid wood is a different issue, as you can build a clinker boat and dunk it (bailing furiously) until the wood swells and seals itself up.  But a ply boat really does need more protection from the water.

[wkisting]

Checking in reference to lumber or wood products refers to cracking or spliting.  Checks in a timber frame house can be huge, although in this case it isn't as negative as those in the plywood used to build a boat.

Well, yes, that's true, but I was trying to define how I was using the term in order to explain that even mild/initial checking in epoxy saturated fir plywood--which I've never seen lead to full cracks beyond the surface ply--is already a serious problem for a boat because even in the (common) mild stage it results in a rough, uneven surface that would compromise hull performance well before it might (technically) become problematic for aesthetics or structural integrity. But your clarification is valid.

[Bikermouse]

I haven't bought from anywhere else, so I'm not sure about the quality difference, but I got my epoxy from Glen-L, and I've been happy with the quality for the cost so far.  I'm using Poxy-grip and Poxy-shield for gluing and fiberglassing, respectively.  You can shop and compare prices at http://www.glen-l.com.

[Andrew_Butchart]

I'm going to be branded a heathen for suggesting this, but at least here in Canada where I live, polyester resin is "much" less expensive than epoxy.  I used that for my Weekender.

Yes - I will agree that epoxies are much more adhesive and provide a superior coating but there are lots of polyester/fiberglass boats out there too.

[Herschel Payne]

Thanks for all the great feedback. I live in Canada, but I'm leaving for the Carolinas later this month to kayak away the winter. ( Too much snow and ice to paddle here )

So, I've planned to pick up my epoxy and cloth in the U.S. and glass my boat when I get back in the spring.