Jim wrote:
Since the rest of the boat is polyester, why should a patch be stronger
than the rest of it? I do use WEST for little things, but a patch
should be the same material the rest of the boat is made of.


It's not an issue of strength of the material itself, but of bonding
strength. What you are making is called a "secondary bond" meaning that
it's trying to stick to something that's already cured.

Polyester is OK for lay-ups but it's bonding properties are poor, even
to polyester.

It is cheaper, but unless you are really dedicated to squeezing pennies,
and have already wrung the expense out of everything else on the boat,
and don't have any other little projects that epoxy would be best for,
then it's false economy IMHO.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King