Peeling 6 oz. fiberglass cloth off the boat with a heat gun
I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. — Thomas Edison
Adding a layer of fiberglass cloth to any wooden boat will add an enormous amount of toughness to it. And if you do it right, the fiberglass is invisible. That’s right — invisible. The problem is in the “doing it right” part.
Fiberglass cloth draped over the bottom before initial trimming.
A layer of fiberglass on the bottom serves two purposes. First, it provides a tough protective layer for rough treatment on a trailer or accidental grounding. Second, it holds a nice, thick epoxy layer that makes the bottom more water proof. Nothing is really water PROOF. But epoxy is pretty close. It takes a long time for water to migrate through unbroken epoxy.
It only takes a few days to add this beneficial protective layer, and now is the time!
We used 6 oz. 0-90 bi-axial woven roving. Let’s break this down. Six ounce means the fiberglass cloth weighs 6 ounces per square yard. 0-90 bi-axial means the threads in the cloth intersect at a 90 degree angle. Woven roving means the fabric has a simple over-and under weave to it. This cloth drapes well and will conform to the shape of our bottom.
Rough-cut fiberglass cloth is wet-out with epoxy.
When you apply fiberglass to anything, it’s held there with some form of resin. In our case, we use epoxy. If you do a good job, the resin fills the weave and displaces the air, making the cloth essentially invisible. It’s really cool how this works.
Trim the edges with a sharp knife while the epoxy is still green.
While the epoxy is still “green” (partially, but not fully, cured), it’s time to trim the edges of the cloth with a sharp knife.
Fiberglass applied.
After the first coat of epoxy cures, we can 2-3 more coats to fill the weave and the cloth will disappear completely.