Fiberglass 101

Admiral Hun had laid down the law about getting on with fixing the hole in the port side of the cabin of our “new to us” m/v Traveling Star.  The hole was caused by hurricane IKE in 2008 when m/v Reverie (the original name) washed ashore.  A piling had entered the side of the cabin crushing the original settee.

She said that I had to at least get the cabin of the boat “weather tight” before our June 2009 down coast trip.  She said the boat did not have to be pretty for the trip, but it did have to be weather tight. I had considered the boat “weather tight” when I screwed a ¼” piece of plywood over the six foot hole in the side of the cabin.  It was a difference of opinion and I never had a chance of winning. 

Fiberglass is not in my resume of talents.  As a matter of fact just about any experience with fiberglass has resulted in poor results and disappointment.  My lack of desire to do the fiberglass repair has only been overcome by the “CBS” (Cheap Bastard Sailor) in me.  There is no way in hell I am going to pay big bucks for a shipyard to fix this hole in the side of the cabin big enough to step through.  Just the thought of paying a shipyard $85 / hour gives me “swimmers in the head” (and wallet). 

I always spend a lot of time thinking about a big undertaking before I start.  Pondering is sort of my foreplay to a big project. Admiral Hun will be the first to tell you that if I ponder a task long enough, the task will usually end with a satisfactory result.   I pondered the fiberglass repairs to the cabin for about five (5) months.  Admiral Hun was patient while I worked on the tasks of my choice, mostly mechanical and electrical improvements, this came to an abrupt halt.  Admiral Hun had decided that pondering time is over and repair time was to begin.  It was not like I had not been working on the fiberglass repairs mentally. It was just that I had been pondering fiberglass repairs and gathering information on how to actually do the repairs.  It is a good thing that I had gathered enough info on fiberglass repairs to make an attempt.

Earlier in the year I had visited with a dock neighbor of mine “Compadre Bob” who is a master of fiberglass repairs.  Compadre Bob owned and operated a large Hatteras that he has redesigned through the years with extensive fiberglass modifications.  When we arrived in the marina he looked at the hole in the side of the cabin and his response was “Sweet!” he got all excited and assured me that it was only fiberglass and the large hole was “No problem”. 

He gave me a list of materials to purchase and some general ideas on how to make the repairs.  In preparation of the actual repairs to the side of the cabin I planned to hone my fiberglass skills.  I would build a simple project, just for practice.  I decided that I would manufacture an all fiberglass shelf for my new diaphragm bilge pump to sit on in the engine room.  The shelf need to be approximately 7” x 9” with a 4” flange to attach it to the bulkhead.  Compadre Bob had told me magical stories of things like mold release wax, stitch matt cloth, wax paper, and 6 mil plastic.  Armed with limited information and a gallon of fiberglass resin and some leftover cloth from previous attempts I decided to give it my best shot. 

I nailed two boards together at a 90-degree angle (so I thought) in order to form a mold.  I did not have any wax paper or 6 mil plastic so I substituted some Tyvek house wrap (left over from the house construction) and some “press and seal” Saran Wrap (it was completely logical at the time).  I precut my stitch matt cloth to the desired size pre resin mixing.  Precutting was a lesson that I had learned years earlier in previous unsuccessful attempts. I fabricated a small tray out of aluminum foil large enough to lay the fiberglass cloth in while I applied the resin.  I carefully measured out the desired 6 oz. of resin into a paper cup and proceeded to add the 11 drops per ounce of hardener (a specification I got off the internet).  After mixing thoroughly I poured the resin over the cloth.  The 6 oz of resin was not enough to soak the cloth properly.  I hurriedly poured an additional 6 oz of resin in the already sticky paper cup.  I applied the required 66 drops and once again thoroughly mixed and applied the resin.  Using gloved hands I lifted the resin soaked cloth from the homemade foil tray on to the Tyvek covered mold.  With the first of four layers in place it was time to repeat the process.  This time rather than pouring 6 oz to begin with I poured out 12 oz of resin.  Two times 66 equals what? It is really hard to do any type of math while you are covered in sticky resin.  In a panic I fell back on the old standby method of hardener application, more is better.  I gave the container of hardener a random squirt, mixed it up and poured it on to the fiberglass cloth waiting in the foil tray.  I repeated this cycle two more times.  By the time I had the fourth layer was in place the pile of fiberglass resin and cloth was beginning to smoke.  In an effort to dress up the surface of the project I decided to change gloves, tear off a piece of Saran Wrap, and place it on the top of the smoking mass and smooth it out.  As the project hardened I relaxed and pictured this really great very substantial shelf for my new diaphragm bilge pump.  I poured copious amounts of acetone on a rag and began to clean off the resin residue from my upper body and head.  I can really sling some resin when I am in the mood.  Meanwhile I realize that a great portion of the resin had oozed off the project, over the workbench and on to the plywood floor of the workshop.  By this time I was no longer liquid, it was semi hard and sticky.  In true (what the Admiral would call) “Guy” fashion decided that it would be easier to clean up the mess at a later date when it was fully hardened.   I turned off the shop lights letting my first adventure in fiberglass fabrication harden as I went off to the house to shower. 

The following day I rushed home after work to release my project from the “mold”.  The fiberglass project had cooled to room temperature by the time of my return.  I lifted the project from the base and the Tyvek came with it.  Thinking that this was normal I attempted to peel the Tyvek off the backside of the shelf unit only to end up with white fuzzy stringy residue covering more than 50% of the project.  Undaunted I attempted to remove the “Press and Seal” Cling Wrap from the side that I had decided needed smoothing.  The Cling Wrap had actually melted to my project making it almost impossible to remove.  The end result was another fiberglass disappointment.  As a matter of fact the project was so ugly I made sure that it was completely hidden in a black plastic bag before throwing it away. 

Lessons learned!

No matter what do not panic and add more hardener that recommended.

Do not continue to apply more resin to the project if the temperature is elevated or the resin is thickening. 

Gather all the information you can on how to execute fiberglass work properly and then get someone else to do it.