6. Finishing the Hull - Round Two

The hull where the bad epoxy had been was sanded clean now and it was time to try this again.

I didn't want to take any chances with the epoxy this time, so I drove down to Fisheries Supply in Seattle and bought the best epoxy they had. System 3 has a new line called "Silver Tip" and (while quite expensive) it was well worth not having to worry about whether it would cure.

I debated whether to just fiberglass the middle section, or do the entire hull - I opted for the entire bottom hull figuring it wouldn't hurt to have double fiberglass on the bow and stern. I started by using my 1/8" foam roller and laying down a thin coat of glue.

Then I covered the hull with fiberglass cloth (from bow tip to stern), pulled down on the middle section (I knew it would lay down and stretch slightly once it was wet) and trimmed the extra cloth at the ends.

Then I started saturating the cloth with a top coat of epoxy. I applied this saturation coat with a roller and then brushed it smooth from keel line down to the edge (which I believe they call the "sheer"). I found the brush did a better job helping avoid air bubbles and keeping the coat thin. I did not squeegy (I guess we'll see how that turns out).

Once the cloth covering the entire hull was saturated I worked out the rest of the air bubbles and let it dry over night. The next day I brushed one more coat of epoxy over the entire hull. I was very pleased with the results.