Fiberglassing the Outside

Last week after the wood epoxy had dried completely, the team had a lot of sanding to do. In an effort to cover every crack and hole on the connecting pieces of the hull, we found that we had laid down much more epoxy than what was necessary. We spent a few long days sanding down the epoxy, especially on the keel, using sanding belts that we attached to wooden planks to sand manually as well as power sanders which helped the process go much quicker.

Once we were able to smooth down and remove some of the epoxy, the team went on to fiberglass the entire outside of the hull. First, fiberglass tape which were simply long and thin strips of fiberglass were laid down on the edges of the hull on top of the wood epoxy. Once every corner was taped, the team glued down large sheets of fiberglass over the entire body of the boat. We used a lot of hardener and epoxy to lay down the glass and even finished an entire bottle of the mixture.

Next week, when the fiberglass dries, the team will continue working and move on to fiberglass the inside of the hull.