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Sunday, 22 December 2013
Sunday, 15 December 2013
Getting to grips with epoxy
A big advantage of having a fiberglass boat is the ease of making structural repairs - epoxy will readily bond to a well-prepared surface. While more expensive than polyester resins, it's good for peace of mind.
While stripping out the forepeak, we found the bulkhead behind the water tank cracked - primarily because of the unnecessary large cut-out. Also, the batten running the width of the bulkhead was not attached to the bulkhead itself. Moreover, the chopped strand mat used to bond the bulkhead to the sides of the hull was not wetted with enough resin and came away easily in some areas - and the gap between the plywood edge and the hull was never filled. All reason enough to fix it properly while we have a chance. Here's what seemed to produce satisfactory results:
While stripping out the forepeak, we found the bulkhead behind the water tank cracked - primarily because of the unnecessary large cut-out. Also, the batten running the width of the bulkhead was not attached to the bulkhead itself. Moreover, the chopped strand mat used to bond the bulkhead to the sides of the hull was not wetted with enough resin and came away easily in some areas - and the gap between the plywood edge and the hull was never filled. All reason enough to fix it properly while we have a chance. Here's what seemed to produce satisfactory results:
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