On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 02:58:19 +0000, Jason wrote:

A while back i asked about if it is okay to put fibreglass below the
waterline of my 28 foot mahogany lapstraked carver mariner.
Overwhelmingly the response was NO.

heres my next question,
Would just using epoxy to coat all wood surfaces of the hull be okay?
or does anyone see anything wrong with it? i need the quickest,
easiest way to make this boat waterproof so i can get a month out of
it this year at least. it has already been sanded down, just waiting
for my next move.

any help is appreciated.
thanks,
-Jason

The thing about adding a light glass cloth to the epoxy is not strength
but to get an indicator telling you how much epoxy you have applied.
Wetting out the glass will ensure you got a certain minimum epoxy
thickness everywhere. This is much, much harder to achieve without
the glass.

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Martin Schöön * * * * * * * * * *"Problems worthy of attack
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * prove their worth by hitting back"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Piet Hein
================================================== ==================

=?iso-8859-1?q?Martin_Sch=F6=F6n?= ) writes:
On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 02:58:19 +0000, Jason wrote:

A while back i asked about if it is okay to put fibreglass below the
waterline of my 28 foot mahogany lapstraked carver mariner.
Overwhelmingly the response was NO.

heres my next question,
Would just using epoxy to coat all wood surfaces of the hull be okay?

I missed the earlier discussion, but why would you want to coat all the
wood surface?

I assume the previous replies recommended against it because of the lapped
strakes making it too difficult to lay the cloth on the hull.

I think all you really need to worry about is sealing the seam where the
planks overlap and that I assume can be done do with a flexible sealant
and a caulking gun. The wood will flex both from the motion of the boat
and the swelling with moisture. Epoxy might work. I have both epoxy and
polyester sealing seams on my boats but then they are very small so don't
flex, are plywood which is more stable, and are out of teh water when not
in use. You might get away with sealing the seams with epoxy. I spread a
small bead along the seam with a toothpick and do it twice. Then paint or
varnish or whatever. The potential problem with epoxy is that it dries
hard and can crack instead of flex.

Sorry I don't have the definitive answer.

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Martin Schöön wrote:

On Tue, 27 Jul 2004 02:58:19 +0000, Jason wrote:

A while back i asked about if it is okay to put fibreglass below the
waterline of my 28 foot mahogany lapstraked carver mariner.
Overwhelmingly the response was NO.

heres my next question,
Would just using epoxy to coat all wood surfaces of the hull be okay?
or does anyone see anything wrong with it? i need the quickest,
easiest way to make this boat waterproof so i can get a month out of
it this year at least. it has already been sanded down, just waiting
for my next move.


-------------------------------

Use a flexible epoxy paint and not the clear brittle epoxies used for
laminating and repairing etc. That will seal and waterproof but still allow
all kinds of movement of the wood as the uncoated sections expand,
contract, swell, etc. Such epoxies are generally pigmented so you could
paint and be back in the water in 24 hours or so. Come fall paint over the
'epoxy primer' with whatever you like.

I'm just finishing up the restoration of a rotting 1/4 inch plywood dinghy
in this manner - Even with epoxy inside and out, the plywood still has the
flex it originally did (in the non rotted or repaired spots - cleaning the
boat with a modest water blaster literally shot a 5 inch by 5 inch hole in
the bottom and a few smaller holes too!)


paul oman
progressive epoxy polymers


"Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include
a free trip around the Sun every year."
---------------

You know where we can find this flexible epoxy paint? i live in
Ontario.

Does the epoxy paint seal the seams where two planks overlap as well?
or do i have to caulk with silicone stuff as well?
please reply, im itchin to get on the water.
thanks
-Jay



Use a flexible epoxy paint and not the clear brittle epoxies used for
laminating and repairing etc. That will seal and waterproof but still allow
all kinds of movement of the wood as the uncoated sections expand,
contract, swell, etc. Such epoxies are generally pigmented so you could
paint and be back in the water in 24 hours or so. Come fall paint over the
'epoxy primer' with whatever you like.

I'm just finishing up the restoration of a rotting 1/4 inch plywood dinghy
in this manner - Even with epoxy inside and out, the plywood still has the
flex it originally did (in the non rotted or repaired spots - cleaning the
boat with a modest water blaster literally shot a 5 inch by 5 inch hole in
the bottom and a few smaller holes too!)


paul oman
progressive epoxy polymers


"Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include
a free trip around the Sun every year."
---------------

Jason ) writes:

or do i have to caulk with silicone stuff as well?

I've been advised not to use silicone on wooden boats because nothing else
will stick to it. For example, if the silicone doesn't do the job nothing
else will stick to the wood thereafter.

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William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network
homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm
warning: non-FreeNet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned

If you use silicon I don't think any paint will ever stick to it. I've
used sikaflex for seam sealing on aluminum aircraft floats and it
works very well. It'll be messy but lay a thin bead along the joint
then force it in with a plastic squeege and scrape off the excess.
You'd be able to paint the next day. I found 2 places in London Ont
that sell it.

You know where we can find this flexible epoxy paint? i live in
Ontario.

Does the epoxy paint seal the seams where two planks overlap as well?
or do i have to caulk with silicone stuff as well?
please reply, im itchin to get on the water.
thanks
-Jay



Use a flexible epoxy paint and not the clear brittle epoxies used for
laminating and repairing etc. That will seal and waterproof but still allow
all kinds of movement of the wood as the uncoated sections expand,
contract, swell, etc. Such epoxies are generally pigmented so you could
paint and be back in the water in 24 hours or so. Come fall paint over the
'epoxy primer' with whatever you like.

I'm just finishing up the restoration of a rotting 1/4 inch plywood dinghy
in this manner - Even with epoxy inside and out, the plywood still has the
flex it originally did (in the non rotted or repaired spots - cleaning the
boat with a modest water blaster literally shot a 5 inch by 5 inch hole in
the bottom and a few smaller holes too!)


paul oman
progressive epoxy polymers


"Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include
a free trip around the Sun every year."
---------------