Boat Building Forum

Find advice on all aspects of building your own kayak, canoe or any lightweight boats

Re: how much resin?
By:Paul G. Jacobson
Date: 10/28/1999, 2:40 am
In Response To: how much resin? (David Blodgett)

> if I use 6 ounce e glass in a 5 layer deck 7 layer hull on an 8 foot
> squirt boat. it adds up yo about 30 yards of 60" glass how many
> gallons of resin should I buy. I'm probably going to use epoxy because I
> have no ventalation in my workshop. (My basment in the middle of winter)
> Thanks
> Dave

Dave,

Do a a bit of planning with a ruler and some paper strips, and I'll bet you could get down to 20 yards of material, and maybe as little as 15 or 16. That alone should pay for a gallon of resin. Of course if your supplier gives a discount for buying 25 yards or more, then see if the discount makes it worthwhile to get a slightly larger amount. It would be silly to pay more for 23 yards than for 25!

The values I have heard for best strength vary a bit, depending on the source, but they seem to be about an even amount of glass and resin by weight. Amateurs have a reputation of putting on too much. I suspect this is because the 'best strength' combination leaves the glass cloth's weave visible. Filling hte weave and leaving a smooth surface requires some additional resin. Some resin soaks into the pores of the wood. Some resin is used as glue. Buying resin by the quart is uneconomical. So, your choice is whether to buy one gallon, or two, or three.

30 running yards of 60 inch wide material, by my calculator, is 50 square yards. If each square yard weighs 6 ounces, then your glass cloth will weigh 300 ounces, if you use it all. That looks like a pretty simple ratio of 10 ounces of resin for each running yard. If you can get away with using 15 to 20 yards of cloth then 2 gallons should do well. If you are really going to use all that 30 yards of cloth, or you want to make other projects, like a form fitted seat, and/or a few laminated wood paddles, then get three gallons. The more you use this stuff the more uses you find for it. If you have a reliable supplier, I'd suggest buying 2 gallons and not getting the third until you see if you really need it.

Just a few opinions

Paul G.Jacobson

Messages In This Thread

how much resin?
David Blodgett -- 10/27/1999, 1:17 pm
Re: how much resin?
Paul G. Jacobson -- 10/28/1999, 2:40 am