I Am Having B Under Glass For Thanksgiving
And yes it looks like a turkey in the oven
I have done it now, I committed the ultimate sin, and I am okay with it. And may even do it again one day. Is it a messy job? Not really, nerve racking? YES, but not because of the time of tedious nature of it all. but because you know that once the stuff is all done, there is really no returning, no try again. And of course only time will tell if all this effort was not only wasted, but damaging? Maybe, maybe not.
mmmmmm that crispy golden brown glass
WARNING: I ramble here a bit, you can skip over this to below if you want to read about the process. I did set out to try it, and do this restoration-ish to prove a point. That it could be done, and enable one to go classic boating in style on a time and financial budget. And so far, we are into this at around 30 days and still comfortably under the $3,000 budget.
Maybe with some mashed taters
A side note that needs to be pointed out. It’s not really 30 days, but more about 50 hours of labor. Maybe? In between meetings, and other obligations. In other words real life. There are little slivers of time that can be found. I have tried to replicate a real world element to all this. Yes, we have had friends help, and luck has been on our side in some areas, and not so much in other areas. But thats all part of the fun. Letting it all play out.
Okay BACK to the glassing part.
After precutting the glass. And setting it all up, I had the West System epoxy ready. I used the SLOW hardner so I would have time. It was around 60 degrees, and I am VERY happy that I used the SLOW version. This part is the worst and sloppiest part. I got a measuring cup and mixed it by pouring not pumping at a 5-1 ratio. To be honest, it was a bit off a taad bit here and there. But sure beat the pump method in the colder temps, and maybe more accurate since pumping can be VERY slow and dependent on how hard or fast you pump. Measuring it out seemed faster and more accurate. AND IT DID WORK.
Who wants to carve?
I applied the epoxy to the cleaned plywood, that had been previously fared and coated with epoxy, and let dry, now a new wet coat. I did try a roller, at first, a simple plastic spreader was far far better.
Then I layed down the glass, and rolled it smooth, some areas became clear, and so I layered on another coat of epoxy OVER the glass and worked it in so it was ALL clear. No milky areas. And rolled it out with one of those crazy rollers.
And after all this, I did the hardest thing. I WALKED AWAY. And let it all do what it needed to do. Cure. And as of late yesterday, it was all set up, and great. I suppose I will find out all the little tweeks this morning. But it’s done, and I am one small step for mankind closer to Dora than I was the day before. 
Now for the cranberry sauce!
Seeing these pictures brings back memories. When I was a kid in the 60’s my dad bought a dingy made entirely from 2-3″ thick Styrofoam with a Sears 3.5hp motor. After the first summer of my brother and I beating on this poor thing he decided to fiberglass it over the winter in our basement. I still remember the fumes permeating through the house and actually liked the smell. After that the boat lasted for over 25 years of hard use.
The Sears motor was made by Clinton and I think is still running. 25 to 1 fuel mixture, no neutral and to go in reverse you turned the motor around. Dad never through twice about letting us young boys run around in it – different times.
One summer during high school years. dad and I reskinned a 12′ C/D racer skiff Sears kit boat he built back in ’56. 1/4″ exterior plywood over the original white oak frames and then we glassed the entire thing. That boat was a hoot with the 15 hp Evinrude. Still have the boat and outboard in the back of the garage.
Looking good!
I am curious as to what is next? Are you going to run it with a rough glass bottom, gel coat it, paint it, ……….?
I guess I could just wait and see what happens.
Sure looks waterproof.
Many years ago I purchased an 8′ fiberglass runabout with a 25hp Scott Atwater. She obviously didn’t plane off for the previous owner, so he added plywood compartments on either side of the motor to work as cavitation plates. They were semi rotten, so me being a smart thinking 15 year old, I bought a small fiberglass kit and spent about an hour glassing over the wood. My job held up until I traded the boat to my brother for his mini-bike. Still rememeber that wonderful epoxy smell.
You might want to mix lots of micro balloons in epoxy, pour over the weave and squeegee it over with a flexible plastic spreader just to smooth out the bottom. A smooth bottom is very desirable.
Hmmm. Maybe I can find a copy of “Chopped Strand Mat Polyester Resin In A Buckling Mode” for you. Good fireside reading on a cold winter night.
When I got my 14 ft CC kit boat the bottom had been glassed but not finished………no problem I can easily sand it smooth. So I get out my 8in disc sander and some 80 grit which gummed up within 6 Ines, and LOTS 50 and 36…………they all clogged up within 10 seconds……uggg. Out of desperation I got out my regular5in DeWalt disc sander and as I recall 80G and voila it worked. I think it was the slower speed that was the trick.