The journey begins

[sayswho]

Good morning GA family,
This is just a warning of the questions that are soon to be coming. After a couple of years of contemplation, I’m finally setting sail on the boat building journey. I’ve received my kit from Chuck and picked up my first round of resin and glass from Jose at fiberglass supply. I do not have much of a carpentry background so some of my questions may seem basic. There are a few of you that I’ve made personal contact with and I already appreciate your advice and support. I may be PM’ing a few more of you guys in the Washington/Oregon area. My goal is not show quality but well enough to represent the design with pride and be able to get after these fish within a year or two. Thank you in advance.

[Cannon]

Welcome to the club!
Next time you buy resin, consider Ebond. Had I known about them when I started my build, my epoxy bill would have been less than half of what I ended up with! The bill for five gallons with shipping was substantially less than just the cost of Aeromarine

[Brian.Dixon]

Any non-shrinking 'marine' or laminating epoxy will work fine - no need to split hairs about flexibility or tensile strength specs and all that.  Sometimes laminating epoxy will be a bit on the thin, low viscosity side, but unless you're working in pretty warm conditions, I prefer that over being on the thicker side.

The resin has 2 tasks: Hold fiberglass on the boat (the glass carries the load, not the epoxy), and to waterproof the boat.  'Non shrinking' means "no volatiles", which in turn means the epoxy will cure to a nearly nonpermeable state.

My only other adds are that I'd look for a) non-blushing epoxy and b) a low-ratio epoxy.  Non-blushing means you won't have amine blush to always clean off the boat (ammonia and water wash, scrubbies) and low-ratio (like 2:1 instead of 5:1 or 7:1) means it's going to be more forgiving of measurement mistakes.

Brian

[Cannon]

Forgot to put a link for Ebond. They don't state the pricing on their website, but they are good people and will quote you over the phone. This a a big commercial epoxy company, but their pricing is excellent. When I was building, I started out with Aeromarine and after some serious price increases, I started looking for a better deal. This epoxy is easy to work with, fairly thin and is easy to wet out the fabric with. You will find their pricing on epoxy much lower than Fiberglass Supply, enough so you will save a ton of money...
http://ebondepoxies.com/

[sayswho]

Thank both of you for the feedback. I will definitely look into the ebond. I’ve only gotten my first 15 gal of resin so far. I’m not sure how much this will factor into what brand will be best for me but I will be working in a lean-to with just heavy vinyl canvas doors so not sure how warm I will be able to get it.

[Brian.Dixon]

Thank both of you for the feedback. I will definitely look into the ebond. I’ve only gotten my first 15 gal of resin so far. I’m not sure how much this will factor into what brand will be best for me but I will be working in a lean-to with just heavy vinyl canvas doors so not sure how warm I will be able to get it.

I've built boats in those conditions before, and you just "go with it".  When it's warm enough, you work on it.  When not, you don't.  System Three tech support once told me that the epoxy doesn't care .... if it cools off before it's cured, then no worries.  When it gets warmer, the curing will continue...

Brian

[sayswho]

Brian, thanks for the feedback. Jose mentioned that it would work in the cold and final cure once it warmed but he mentioned it being a weaker bond. I may be overly concerned but once I’m done, I plan on fishing “hard”. I’ve been in some ruff seas in my Glasply and have had some serious pounding. Although I bet it will be less severe since I will be nearly 10’ longer.

[Cannon]

Brian, thanks for the feedback. Jose mentioned that it would work in the cold and final cure once it warmed but he mentioned it being a weaker bond. I may be overly concerned but once I’m done, I plan on fishing “hard”. I’ve been in some ruff seas in my Glasply and have had some serious pounding. Although I bet it will be less severe since I will be nearly 10’ longer.

Last ime out, the run both directions was in the 24-30 knot range. Time before that it was 18 knots out, 10-13 knots coming in.
No serious pounding, but jumping off the top of a swell into the trough tends to make your balls hurt and your fillings to loosen...it is all in the control of your throttle hand😜

[sayswho]

😂

[Brian.Dixon]

Brian, thanks for the feedback. Jose mentioned that it would work in the cold and final cure once it warmed but he mentioned it being a weaker bond. I may be overly concerned but once I’m done, I plan on fishing “hard”. I’ve been in some ruff seas in my Glasply and have had some serious pounding. Although I bet it will be less severe since I will be nearly 10’ longer.

Last ime out, the run both directions was in the 24-30 knot range. Time before that it was 18 knots out, 10-13 knots coming in.
No serious pounding, but jumping off the top of a swell into the trough tends to make your balls hurt and your fillings to loosen...it is all in the control of your throttle hand😜

Yeah ... I like the moment in time that comes right after giving her throttle up a big steep one ... and you see the mile-deep trough on the backside just as your bow enters Continental Airspace.... a sphincter tightening experience!  At least the GA is built for it!

bd

[Cannon]

Hahaha! Tends to teach just what the throttle is for😝