a silk purse from a sows ear - fiberglass on abs

[ogopogo]

I recently traded in some unused air gear for a new Dumas Bluefish (SS 222) kit. As I am concerned about the thickness of this ABS hull and, am advised that mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon-day sun but ABS hulls do not, I would like to lay fiberglass over the hull. I know this is a pool toy (not to be confused with pull-toy) to some, but it's the best I can afford at this point. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[uss silversides]

What if you laid the

What if you laid the fiberglass in the inside? That way you wouldn't have to worry about sanding it on the outside to get a smooth exterior finish.

Jonathan

[anonymous]

A couple of thoughts]

[color=#000000]A couple of thoughts]

[ogopogo]

That may well be a

That may well be a wise suggestion. Unless I radically recut this hull for access, it is a tight work area though. I laid in a glass reinforcement panel up the inside centre and it was a stick and finger thing. I guess as long as at goes in somewhat smoothly, there should not be a lot of reduction in cavity volume. Sanding would be out. I am measuring to determine what sort of wtc I can build and still get through the opening. Full hatch width is 2"" currently. Oval would be nice - slide in sideways and rotate when in although it may be simpler to use a single motor and dual gear drive as you are using in your sub. Has anyone used an oval wtc? I realize it would have to be thicker lexan or other poly. That adds some intricacies for machining, but not out of the question.

[ogopogo]

Davy - we are lucky

Davy - we are lucky in that this kit calls for the use of polyester resin for the seam re-inforcement. It hasn't attacked the abs but I am not really certain how good the bond is. Cold water to warm sun may answer that question - thus my desire to build a proper wtc.

[boatbuilder1]

hello
have you noticed any

hello
have you noticed any warp in the hull using the grp method (glass reinforce plastic) one way to get around this is use less catylizer it will take longer to cure but the added effect of less heat bond issue rough the abs surface with 80 grit paper
or score it with a xacto blade
another way to do the glass work work out in the noon day sun so the hull gets nice and warm then apply the grp and the sunlight will help kick it off faster I have done this a few times and it works just remember to use less catylizer

["horridoh"]

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[ogopogo]

charlie ]

[color=#000000]charlie ]