FAQ Solving Boat building and Repair Problems with Wood Epoxy

This Epoxy FAQ solves typical problems to save money and effort for boat building and boat repair. How to use epoxy resin, fibreglass, wood and plywood for home boatbuilding. And some boat restoration and racing prep tips.

How to Choose Epoxy or  other resin or glue and fallacies about salt and epoxies that “soak in”

A 30 year review of epoxy for built boats

How the 1970s showed us how epoxy changed things for plywood boats – dramatic reduction in maintenance.

Epoxy vs Polyester Resins

More about why wooden boats and canoes require much less maintenance now – superiority of epoxy resin.

Why Epoxy comes out on top of  Resorcinol vs Polyurethane and modified PVA+ Glues

There are still legitimate ways to use non epoxy glues on boats – where are they best and where is epoxy best?

Preventing Rot Pt 1- Don’t throw salt inside the boat – PLEASE!

Salt inside a light boat just about ensures that rot is down the way – what are the better ways of reducing the risk of wood rot?

Preventing Rot Pt 2 – The  epoxies that “soak in” fallacy

Epoxies that soak into the timber are a waste of money in most cases – this explains why CPES and Everdure have a very interesting use on boats based on their weak wood protection.

Eliminating Screws and other Fasteners – save money and do a better job

Amazing fast building and repairs purely by elimininating permanent fastenings

Are 1 to 1 (1:1) Epoxys any good for boat building

How to recognize when epoxies have been cheapened and performance compromised

Using Epoxy for Wooden Boat Building and boat repair

• Fiberglassing Boats
• Glass Taping Chines
• Glues and Gluing Wood
• Coating with Epoxy
• Laying Teak Deck overlay veneer
• Repairing Wood Rot
• Epoxy Boatbuilding FAQ

Epoxy fiberglass Method 1 – Small Areas

How to epoxy fiberglass chines or joins between plywood boat panels

Epoxy fiberglass Method 2 – Complex Curves

How to do small complex areas on boats and canoes with epoxy/glass – double bias tapes and why does my fiberglass bubble on the corners and edges?

Epoxy fiberglass Method 3 – Large Areas – reducing the emotional pressure of the epoxy going off

Epoxy going off too fast when there are large hull areas to be glassed or coated – it is not hardener speed – it is boatbuilding work practice.

Saving Labour by epoxy precoating plywood sheets

And how precoating plywood sheets or boat and canoe panels saves epoxy and makes sanding easy –

How do I apply epoxy glue fast, accurate and clean

Saving Material and Labour with epoxy by accurately and quickly placing epoxy where it is needed.

Painting and Varnishing

Choosing between paint and varnish and one and two pot for your sailboat, powerboat or canoe – and how epoxy reduces that labour

The secrets of fast plywood boat assembly

Cordless drills for timber structure assembly – speed up your boat building methods

Teak Decks over plywood – methods techniques and a trick

How to use Sikaflex and Epoxy for Teak Decks over Plywood substrate for yachts

Teak Boat Decks and Sikaflex, 5200 etc

Epoxy curing problems

Why is the epoxy still soft two days later?

Preparing timber for gluing or fiberglassing – rough is definitely bad!

Why sandpaper coarser than 100 grit causes bond failures in wood gluing – and sharp tools are OK too – boatbuilding techniques.

Making epoxy flow in cold climates

A lightbox to keep epoxy warm so it spreads easily and pumps well in cold weather boat building

Avoiding starved epoxy joins for scarf and other joints

How to epoxy glue endgrain scarf joins and other gluing for full strength – many failures are from dry joints by not understanding the problems of end grain – boatbuilding techniques

Racing Dinghy Boat Repair and Restoration including sailing dinghy case studies

• Mirror Dinghy stitch and glue Boat Repair,
• Sabre – preparation of an older boat for racing
• International Cadet – redecking
• Scantlings for old boats

Fixing up old boats and making new ones better

Compilation of repair of older sailing dinghies and canoes and bonus finishing information – if you have an old racing dinghy to repair or restore this shows you how.

Step one in Plywood Sailing Dinghy, sailing canoe and Catamaran restoration – deciding if it is a keeper

Racing Dinghy repair and restoration step 1 – Is it a keeper? Restore an old cheap plywood racing boat or ditch it?

Step 2 – Triage – what to fix and what not to fix when restoring an old racing dinghy, canoe or plywood catamaran

Reducing Centreboard Maintenance with Centrecase and rudderbox Padding

International Cadet plywood racing dinghy restoration – change a cheap boat into a fast performer.

Fixing up an old Plywood dinghy – Mirror dinghy (plywood/glass taped seams) – lots of work and choosing what is important to fix and what to leave until later.

Fixing up an old Plywood dinghy – Sabre dinghy – minimising the work and racing sailing Dinghies and Yachts. The low stress way of doing very well !?!

How to remove OIL and DIESEL that has soaked into Timber Boat Hull

Why I hate Silicon sealant on boats

USL Code for finding sizes of timber parts of traditionally built boats of larger displacement such as workboats, ferries, trawlers and cruisers

Can I use Bamboo for small boat spars? Guidance on Open/Oz Goose Website

Wooden Boat Building Advice, General non epoxy FAQ – cedar strip, decks, lightweight small boat building advice

Torture Boards – how to get cedar strip or deck framing smooth so decks aren’t lumpy.

Scantlings for a very light balsa or Paulownia canoe can show us what we can get away with

Selecting timbers to build a canoe or kayak in Australia.  Paulownia, Jarrah, Cedar – good or bad. Epoxy Strip planking and plywood boat building

Join Plywood for Boat Decks – Don’t Copy Housebuilders! Boat Building knowledge

Lightweight timber for lightweight small boats – which timber? Paulownia (Kirri)

Fast building two plywood canoes using Duct tape as an alternative to cable ties or copper wire

In Praise of FAST wooden boat building methods – why I hate boatbuilding

Design and Plan info – Altering or modifying boat plans, Birdsmouth spars, Dory design, Collision, boat strength, Canoe design

Is it OK to shrink or stretch an existing boat design

Honey – I shrank the boat and it don’t work no more – and the folly stretching and shrinking boat designs when building

Old plywood boat designs vs modern designs

Older boat designs (Hartley etc) vs Modern Designs (epoxy technology) – changes in boat building methods to dramatically reduce timber and labour

Buying a Boat Plan and what you should know

How the Small boat plans business works and, perhaps, how to use it to your advantage as a home boatbuilder.

Birdsmouth Spars

Should I build a Birdsmouth mast with butt joints or scarf joints?

Design of specific boat types – the good and the bad

Canoe Design – features of plywood, strip planked, fiberglass canoes and sailing and paddling canoes

Will giving my boat, surfboard, windsurfer, sailboard or yacht a golfball dimple finish reduce drag?

Is it sensible to design a lightweight plywood Dory for rowing or sailing?

Cedar Strip canoes and boats, Epoxy and Impact

Building cedar strip boats strong enough to take impact – canoes and sea kayaks and beach landings, how to avoid overbuilding (expensive and you still have to carry the beast!

Impact strength of wood and plywood boats – how much fiberglass will protect my plywood boat from rocks, stumps, logs and other hazards – How to repair holes in plywood small boats almost invisibly

SAILING and learning to sail – how to get control of the boat.

This Section Sponsored by our
Really Simple Sails Sailmaking

Learn to sail – choosing a first boat

How to choose a first boat – Should I buy new, build or buy secondhand?

TABLE OF CONTENTS – Sailing Lessons

Our Growing list of Free Online Sailing Lessons – more approx weekly

FUNDAMENTALS
Tiller and How to feel the sail

Fundamentals 1 – Lesson on Tiller handling for Sailboats

Fundamentals 2 – Finding the power of the Sail. What it feels like. And a practical simplification of the Points of Sail.

Sailing Lesson 1 Manoeuvres

Tacking And Gybing – Turning Around – Taking the pressure off.

Safe Gybe Technique and Fast Gybe Techniques.

Sailing Lesson 2 Upwind

Basic Sailing Upwind – Light and Moderate Conditions

Sailing Upwind in Gusty Conditions – when a gust hits.

Sailing Upwind in Gusty Conditions – when a gust ends (Technical)

Sailing Lesson 3 Downwind

Downwind Control in Gusts

Some useful sailing tips for beginner sailors

Some basics of learning to sail that often get ignored at the beginning.

How to make it easy to get kids to wear life jackets – and a how the world’s best sailor drowned.

Why wearing lifejackets is essential – and how to get kids to wear their lifejackets!!!

Some more advanced rigging, boat handling and sailing tips and tricks

Video Tutorial – Gaining downwind control and safety  through rig trim.  Applies to unstayed mast rigs, Cat rigs, ketches and yawls

How to Set up lugsail and spritsail rigs (also lateen sails) for excellent performance – focus on balance lugs but applicable to standing lugs and Lateen.

Construction and Building Questions from the Early OzRacer days.

Relate to OzRacer, OzGoose and general boat construction and sailing.

The Sailing Gear Arms Race and the Oz Goose

Why exotic second hand parts of other boat should not be used on low cost boat types

Hull Structure for Plywood Boats

How light can a OzRacer be built of wood and epoxy

? 10kg/25lbs?

The Death of Small Boat Sailing in Australia.  TOO EXPENSIVE.

Designing sailboats to be stiff. Oilcanning and Twisting and the role of torsion boxes – epoxy for wooden boats including  repairs 

Plywood, Thickness, puncture protection

What  are the correct plywood thicknesses for  robust small boats

Peter on how much resistance to puncture does ply really need to have

Centerboards and Leeboards

Leeboards vs Centreboards in Small Boats

Why the centreboard position in scows is different from pointy bowed boats and why it ended up not making a difference to the OZRacer

Are there shallow draft options for the Oz Racer – my local waters are tres shallow

Which is better – a swinging centreboard or dagger board for small boats?

NACA Foils and the performance advantages

Hull Design

Discussion about the extreme aft location of the OZ Racer centrecase

Safety

Capsize and Recovery in OZ Racers and Oz Geese

Why we don’t use mainsheet cleats and design for capsize and economy.

Rig, Fittings and Sail

More on planing and the behaviour of polytarp sails in stronger wind.

Photo Gallery of Rigging a OzRacer or Oz Goose and other lug rigged small boats to show how to get the right sail shape – Sprit Rig – Oz Goose Website

Photo Gallery of setting up a lug rig for efficiency – not an OzRacer or OzGoose but same principles

Sailing tips to get the most out of the boat.

OzRacer, OzGoose and planing – spray in the face – wind in the hair!

Sailing upwind efficiently – how fast in a non trapeze boat

Working out how well your small boat performs upwind – Leeway, tacking angle, pointing angle