I was given a boat in much the same condition. I put it on top of my car,
after having bought a bit of line to setup the main sheet and halyard.

I took it to Highland Beach, Florida (north of Boca, south of Boynton),
and sailed it a couple of times in the ocean. Then, I took it to a
landfill on my way to the Keys for a vacation.

It was worth the effort, and I was glad to dump it at a landfill for about
$5 or so.

1) Don't even bother with this if the styrofoam has water in it; it's not
worth it.

2) Don't bother with the glass and epoxy/polyester. If it's poly, it
won't stick. If it's epoxy, it's a waste of time, money, and precious
hydrocarbons (that's not petroleum you're using, it's men's lives).

3) Use it for a short while, and find a good safe place to dispose of it.
Anything else will be a waste of your time, money, and precious resources.




wrote:
: Please help, I'm in need of some advice. My brother bought a cheapo used
: sailboat at a garage sail over ten years ago. He has since then abandoned it
: and said that I can have it if I want it. A recent visit to a friend's beach
: house in Florida has rekindled my interest in sailing and I'm thinking of
: trying to fix it up. The problem is that it looks cheaper than I remember;
: Styrofoam incased in plastic. Then 10+ years of sitting in the hot Texas sun
: has made the plastic shell brittle in spots. Structurally it seems sound,
: but areas were the plastic has broken away has created a couple sharp and
: jagged spots that could be dangerous. I am thinking of just glassing the
: whole thing, but I wanted to ask a few questions first. First and foremost
: do you think it is worth the trouble? Given my current financial position,
: it is either this or nothing. So I guess I should be asking IF it would
: work? If I try it should I use polyester, or epoxy? Will it melt the
: Styrofoam were it contacts? What weight cloth? Do you think one layer would
: do the trick? Sorry about all the questions. I've done glasswork before, but
: I'm far from being a pro. Unfortunately I don't know the make either. Thank
: you very much for your responses.