"Melandre" writes:

I am renovating a small sailboat (catboat type). I have to build a
centreboard for it so the plan is to shape a 3' X 1' X 3/4'' board and
put a protective coating on it. Would marine quality paint good enough
to provide a protective coating or should I really paint the thing and
then apply resin on it?

If resin is the only decent solution, is there a type that can simply
be applied with a paint brush rather than having to deal with the
fiberglass cloth and go through all the complicated process of applying
it?

Just for a contextual refernce this is just a tiny 11' sailboat which
will be used primarily just to play around at our cabin when the wind
picks up. Probably won't be in the water more than 10 times per
summer.

Andre

Given your contextual reference I would say that a well executed
paint job using quality paint will work for you.

There are some buts though. If there is a big difference in
humidity between your workshop and where the board will live,
and depending on the quality of the plywood used you may see some
warping. Even several layers of quality paint is porous and will
let water vapour in.

Here is where epoxy really shines. Any *solvent free* epoxy
(West, System Three, SP, non-name...) creates a much better
barrier to water vapour than paint does.

The deal with adding a light glass cloth is not so much about
adding strength as making sure you get no spots with a too thin
epoxy coverage. If all your glass is epoxy filled you know
there is epoxy everywhere...

My boat was built using epoxy for bonding, laminating and
coating and it is now twenty years old and still going strong:
http://hem.bredband.net/b262106/

--
Martin Schöön "Problems worthy of attack
show their worth by hitting back."
Piet Hein