Fiberglassing 101

[SugarHigh]

I know nothing about fiberglassing. I have a bass boat in the yard without a floor that I want to convert into a center console and add a fiberglass floor to. My neighbor told me to apply a resin over the whole sheet of plywood that I am laying down as the floor and then add a cloth to the topside for a no slip surface. My biggest problem is that I walked into West Marine today and I was overwhelmed with what to buy. There is epoxy resin and polyester resin, and the cheap "marine resin". There was chop mat, strand mat, and woven roving. They sell about 6 different kinds of hardeners and I noticed that the gel coat they sold was in a tiny tube, apparently your supposed to add it to the resin? I thought gelcoat was like a paint that went over top of everything. I really don't know where to start or what to buy. What is a good resin to use? What type of cloth should I lay? How much do I need for a 16' bass boat? Can I do this project in 50 degree weather by using hardener? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Jay

[JW-Tex]

Go back to West Marine and buy the West System book on fiberglass repair...its like $3 or $4. Read it several times. Epoxy will last many years polyester resin will not. Epoxy will cost alot more than polyester resin.

[warthog5]

What JW-Tex metioned is a very good idea. Then if you don't want to go broke when buying the material's. Don't buy them from West "Bend me Over" Marine. Their fiberglass is outragious for real small quanities.

With you just starting out. I'd suggest
http://www.boatbuildercentral.com/about.php

System 3's Epoxy is a good choice.

[Abe's Rocket]

Where do you live? A lot maritime schools /community colleges offer fiberglassing 101 classes. My friend took one at mass maritime...