Opinions are are a great thing to collect - no one says you have to keep
any of them.
System 3 is less expensive, I use the Gougeon bros. stuff because:
a. they make it so they can build boats
b. I've been using it for nearly 20 years and I know what to expect
c. the technical support that I have gotten from them over the years has
been valuable to me.
Many of those reasons may be of no interest to you and I do not say that
they should.

I know System 3 is supposed to be better at low temperature, but if it
is that cold my old hands do work well either.

If you are repairing a deck from inside, investigate vacuum.
Twilk had the floor to jack from. When I rebuilt the entire foredeck
and then the port side over the galley, I did not. I did do a test suck
so I find out if the edges were leaking more that I could manage. So,
under the foredeck, I put up roughly 4 sqft of plywood, balsa core and
glass in a single pass.

Twilk suggests the cheap venturi pump from the cheap tool store. That
is a fine idea if you have the 1-1/2 hp aircompressor to run it. (The
compressor isn't a bad thing to have in any case.)

If you are working where there are existing holes in the deck, cover the
area with masking tape, cut out the holes, make matching holes in the
core and lay-up. Then you can tape a funnel over the holes and have the
pump and stuff suck from on top and out of your way.

Good Luck

Matt Colie

Twilk wrote:
Drop the west system and go to System 3 epoxy.
Go to their website and read the specs.
Theirs is the best low temp and in my opinion is an overall better product
line. Mertons is priced well and has great service.
http://www.mertons.com/index.html
Read the system 3epoxy manual. Good reading even if you use another brand.
A plastic covered piece of cork covered plywood jacked up from the floor
works well for that kind of repair.
The over promoted west system of the vacuum bagging is not something I'd
try for that project.
Read everything you can on fiberglass repair.
If you must try the vacuum stuff save some cash and get the $10 venturi
valve from harbor freight.
The insane price of over $100 for the west system one is a joke. Try a
few lay ups on the bench and you'll see it's useless. Epoxy dries too slow
for a compressor type vacuum system on large work and the overall system is
not suited for large repairs anyway.
You'll find a nice peanut butter consistancy for the epoxy works well for
the first batch and is pretty much a must for the core replacement part.
If there is a chance for any small holes through the top deck without too
much trouble to fix it makes a world of difference in this type of repair.
I'v done several and it was a dream on the one where I was replacing the
handrail and not only for excretion,through bolts to help hold the bottom
form worked well.
Drop a line if you'd like to get further into this discussion.


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