Fiberglass reinforcement help

[syncronized77]

Hey guys,

I've been looking for the last 2 hours for an easy to follow tutorial on OSE, RRR, RCG, RCU....

And I can't find one!! LOL And yes I've tried Google, but corvettes and real boats keeps coming up in the search engine hahhaha

Can someone point me in the right direction in regards to laying fiberglass cloth to help me reinforce my BJ26 hull?

Thanks in advance!

[G-UNIT]

It's not that diffacult, 1, cut your cloth to the size you want it
2 mix your resin, only enough you'll need each time you lay up your cloth.
3 brush on resin in the area you want to reinforce and then place your cloth on,
after that use a brush or small scraper or an old credit card and smooth out the cloth and get all the bubbles out, and then if needed put another layer of cloth on and dab it till is is saturated with resin, apply more resin if needed, let dry and repeat if needed, also rough up the surface between dryed coats before applying additional coats of cloth and resin.
after your done you can apply more resin only to get a smooth surface but go easy on it so you don't add to much weight like I did, good luck.
ps. those small acid brushes work very well, also stop by a pizza place and see if you can get some of those small plastic cups they use for those stinky fish ect, they work great for mixing the resin.

[syncronized77]

Thanks! Ok so in order....

1. scratch up hull
2. cut FG strips to appropriate length
3. apply resin to hull
4. lay FG strips on sides/bottom/top
5. apply more resin

Do the FG strips have to overlap?

Once I lay the FG strips...do I start to smooth out the bubbles underneath right away? Or should I wait a little bit, just before the resin drys up?

Should the hull be done all in one shot? Or should I do it in sections?

Is there specific areas that need to be reinforced...or should I just try and cover as much area as possible? Not sure how I'm going to get into the sponsons! LOL

Also, can I just use epoxy? I've got some 12min epoxy lying around.

Sorry for all the questions...

[G-UNIT]

yes, get the bubbles out when still wet,
no the strips don't have to over lap.
no you can do it in sections if you wish.
I just reinforced the bottom of the hull because it just seemed flimsey.
I don't think the epoxy would flow very well.
remember you just reinforcing weak sections,
don't go over board and make a tank out of it,
I my self think I put a bit to much on my hull bottom and now I feel the boat is a bit heavy
4.44 lbs w/o batterys,
just reinforce enough so the bottom does'ent flex as much.
good luck.
and remember, if you don't ask you'll never know, and there are no stupid questoins unless you work at a harley dealer ship.

[syncronized77]

gotcha...thanks for the tips.

OK, so I won't bother getting inside the sponsons then?

Do people normally reinforce the transom?

[G-UNIT]

Not that I've heard of, I just dug out the wood and replaced it with a new piece so I had no drill holes in it and started new when I reworked my BJ.

[JackBlack26]

What weight fiberglass and where do you get it from? Will the reglar fiberglass cloth from the auto parts store do?

I have an old BJ 26 Nitro hull that I'm working on and it is a ton of spider webbing cracks and some very thin spots that I want to reinforce. Not to worried about adding to much weight. That's what low KV motors and high voltage is for

[tiqueman]

Personally, I would lay the whole thing up in one piece. If done correctly, you will hardly add any weight. Dont go overboard on your resin. You only need enough to wet it out. Any more than that is just weight and does not do anything for strength. Strength is in the cloth, not the resin. Brush in a layer of resin where the cloth is going, with latex gloves on, get in there and set it in, work it in with your fingers and you should be able to almost wet it out completely. Then take a brush or small foam roller and di[ it in the resin and go aver any smots that are trying to stay dry. Once its all wetted out, use a wadded up tissue or a foam roller and blot or roll out the excess resin. When finished, there should be no puddles and you should clearly see the pattern in the cloth. (see pic)

Auto parts cloth will work fine. Its roughly 70z cloth. ie, the 3M stuff, red white clear package...

[syncronized77]

Another forum member has suggested using adhesive spray, so....

1. scuff up inside of hull
2. cut up strips for length/width
3. spray inside of hull with adhesive spray
4. lay cloth
5. brush resin on cloth

At my LHS they've got 1/2, 3/4, 1.5, 2.5, 3, 5, 6oz cloth sold by the yard from $6.00-6.50. Is there a certain weight I should choose?

[tiqueman]

6oz, one piece, dont need to spray it in. The strip and spray technique is sometimes used using carbon fiber or more so carbon kevlar because its more rigid and more difficult to work with. 6 oz will lay down very nicely in a BJ hull. One piece will give it structural rigidity throughout the entire hull and look tons better than piecing it in. Cutting it up and spraying it is not necessary for what your doing.

[tiqueman]

And Congrats on your Boy Sync!!!!!!

[syncronized77]

And Congrats on your Boy Sync!!!!!!

Thanks!! The Miss's and I are super excited...being our first...

And because of my job I'm lucky enough to get 9 months off for next years boating season...errrrr I mean "Parental Leave"