How to Fiberglass a Foam Hull -Saving a Snark- Episode 6

[@onemantwohands5224]

Hahahaah you made me laugh at the ten pounds thing lol that’s just good ole “healthy engineering “ at its best 😂❤ loved this video mate cheers 🍻

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

Glad you enjoyed. Cheers!

[@indistinctchatter6677]

I would love to know the weight grade of the fiberglass and how wide and how long the piece is. Great video.

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

I know it is 6 oz cloth. I did mean to measure the roll for width. I still have some on the roll and will try to remember to measure. The boat is about 11 feet so including the 6-8 inches on the transom probably used about 12 feet in length. thanks for watching!

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

And my cloth is 50 inches wide. Measured it last night

[@Ski5000]

Thank you for sharing your work!!! The boat looks amazing and I’ve watched this twice as I just got a snark. I’m probably going to remove the plastic bottom and fiberglass like you did but not sure how much Totalboat epoxy and hardener I should order. Do you remember how much you used for this project? Thank you very much

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

Hi, thank you for the kind words. I always hope that these videos can help the next person. I honestly don’t remember how much epoxy it took. I get epoxy in the gallon size kits. That would be way more than necessary. I am currently building a 11 foot paddle board and I just fiberglassed it. I bet it only took a quart of resin. The snark would be similar. If you got a 1/2 gallon kit, you would have way more than enough. Best of luck, these little boats are a ton of fun.

[@Ski5000]

Thank you so much

[@petersardella4256]

Would you recommend using a brush instead of the plastic applicator, since you switched to that method while applying the epoxy?

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

Yes on the more vertical sides. Otherwise i just can’t control the runs

[@robertcain3426]

A good trick for the filler coat is to add microspheres - Q-Cell etc. It fills the weave better and it sands very easily. Sanding straight epoxy is a pain. Cheers

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

good idea. I haven't done this but I get the thought. in your experience, can this technique be used if you are going for a clear, varnish type of finish, say on cedar strip construction? or will it make it cloudy?

[@robertcain3426]

@@JenkinsBoatWorks You're right, it won't work in that situation because Q cells makes it white and other fillers like West Systems have a filler that's brown etc. If you are wanting a clear wood look, you'll just have to avoid fillers. I suppose you know already not to let the epoxy fully cure before sanding as it gets harder. Cheers

[@robertcain3426]

@@JenkinsBoatWorks Just a side note about using sanding fillers like Q-cells etc, you don't need to add much. Add just enough so that you can still brush it on and tip it off without leaving brush strokes. It's surprising how little you need to make it much easier to sand. Also, don't us fumed silica like Cabosil. I've got a small cat project to make and doing my research have found that, contrary to popular belief, marine ply comes out on top in almost every parameter. Cheers

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

@@robertcain3426 I typically use TotalBoat's Silica thickener. what other product would you recommend?

[@robertcain3426]

@@JenkinsBoatWorks Silica is good for thickening resin for coving and for gelcoat repairs on verticle surfaces. However, it is very difficult to sand. In fact, I would day it makes it more dificult. West Systems make a dedicated product filler for sanding. However, it is just micro balloons. I use Q-Cells applied within a few hours after the laminate has gelled (set up). Cheers

[@kristenkruger3097]

If the plastic had been ok and complete would you still have taken it off or would you just fiberglass over the plastic?

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

that's a good question and hard to say. the interior plastic shell was good, just dirty and I left it in, giving it a good cleaning. Had the outside been very complete and without any tears or holes, etc. I probably would have just cleaned it good, probably not fiberglassed at all. I actually have another Snark that never had a shell. the styrofoam is in fair shape but dinged up some. I'm going to do similar work and fiberglass it which will make it heavier than it was originally but I don't expect it to hurt performance at all. maybe even help it because although may weigh a little more, the hull will be perfectly smooth, so less friction and less resistance.

[@trinitylutheranwellsvillen5202]

@@JenkinsBoatWorks Mine has all the plastic still on it but as I use it, it is obvious its fairly brittle in places. So far t-rex tape and waterproof gorilla tape works well. Do you have any low budget suggestions that might help get more life out of whats there at the moment.

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

@@trinitylutheranwellsvillen5202 not really. Flex tape really is amazing. Once the plastic shell starts to crack and go you run the risk of water getting trapped in there and it will saturate the foam. I had to let mine dry out in my shop for 6 months so if you can keep indoors that would help

[@tylerm1491]

​@JenkinsBoatWorks Do you think I could accelerate they drying process on mine by putting it under some lamps or hitting it carefully with a heat gun? Also what would be a good way to test whether the foam is fully dried out?

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

@@tylerm1491 I don't know that I would use a heat gun. some heat lamps and a fan should help. I honestly wondered if mine would ever dry out. I had the luxury of being able to not be in a hurry about it. the biggest way to tell if it is completely dried out would be seeing how much it weighs. These things are super lightweight when dry. Unfortunately, I don't know what the original weight of these is supposed to be and it obviously varies depending upon if you have the shell and or if you have a forward splash deck. Which model Snark do you have?

[@ThomWard-b4h]

I want to repair the floor of a 14’ Seacrest foam core boat. Use the same process as you did on the hull?

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

Hi Thom, I'm not familiar with that particular boat but I don't see any reason why this process shouldn't work. I think you should test what ever resin you are going to use, in a small place on the foam to make sure that it doesn't eat it. hope that helps. Chuck

[@jeffsmith350]

I thought you are supposed to apply before you put the fabric down. Then Smooth it out. Let dry. Then apply again.

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

Them's fighting words pardner. haha, kidding. I have heard this discussion before when applying glass over wood. Personally I haven't done it that way, either over foam or wood. It just seems to me that it would be very tricky to get the cloth to lay smooth and flat on top of wet epoxy. I suppose if you wanted a sealer coat and let it dry to pretty much tack free but still within a period of time to achieve chemical bond, that would be ok. With this pretty thin cloth, it soaks through just fine and bonded to the foam very well.

[@gangawerks]

I have the Mayflower Snark. I'm trying to fix oar socket on it. Not sure if I should use epoxy. If you have any advice...thanks in advance.

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

Not familiar with the Mayflower version . Would you be trying to attach oarlock to foam? If so, epoxy should work. My experience is that the epoxy does not eat the foam

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

I have another thought. Rowing could put a lot of pressure on the foam. If the oarlock is just glued or epoxied in, you might run risk of a lot of pressure tearing out foam. I think that I would build it up with some wood structure, inboard and out, maybe bolted through and then attach oarlock to that as opposed to directly and only on the foam. I may be over thinking it. I’d be interested to see what you do. Best, Chuck

[@gangawerks]

@@JenkinsBoatWorks yes, to corlite. That's helpful info. I really apprexiate that and will give it a try.

[@gangawerks]

@@JenkinsBoatWorks A couple of people have suggested using wood. I will definitely keep you posted. I'm guessing filling the space with boat bondo and letting the oar socket dry in that is probably not wise. I'm kinda learning as i go along.

[@jojinapigkit4680]

what kind of foam and resin did you use on that project? thanks

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

the hull was already foam. Someone early on in the project, a viewer noted exactly what the Snarks were originally made of but I don't remember the exact name of it. When I did my initial repairs, I used some hardware store gap filling foam and it worked great. See an earlier episode in this series. When I fiberglass this in this video, you will see me use TotalBoat 2:1 epoxy. I did carefully test various products before full usage. I didn't want anything to eat the foam hull. It worked well. Did that answer questions?

[@jojinapigkit4680]

@@JenkinsBoatWorks am asking the kind foam because I want to build too, I know you used epoxy resin on it.

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

@@jojinapigkit4680 oh, ok. This was manufactured hull and my understanding is that it is EPS. Here is a bit of information that I got from another KZbin viewer when i first started this project. Many places say these are made of styrofoam but that is actually incorrect as I learned. Here was part of the message from this other friend: Because the boat is made of EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) polyester resins, glues and paints will damage/melt the foam. Epoxy is the go-to repair product. Note the boat is not made of Styrofoam. Styrofoam is a brand of insulation board (you may find at Lowes or Home Depot). The Styrofoam brand is owned by Dow Chemical and they have teams of lawyers trying to get people to stop using the word Styrofoam when not referring to their insulation panels. The next time you go to a store and look at foam cups (that many people refer to as "Styrofoam Cups") you will notice Styrofoam is not on the label. I would suggest you use the word "foam" or "EPS" when doing the videos to help your viewers recognize it is not Styrofoam and to keep Dow off your back.

[@jojinapigkit4680]

thanks for you time to reply, I love it.

[@shadroid]

Editing. Good information but almost unwatchable because of the slow pace. For instance when you first unroll the fiberglass... that whole sequence took just over two minutes but could have been edited with time lapse and skip-cuts to make it 4 seconds long, and I won't get in to the rest of the video. You have good things to show people, figure out how to edit something like this down to between 5 and 8 minutes. Definitely no more than 12.

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

I agree. It’s something I’ve been working on. Hope you at least got some good out of the video

[@jeff95173]

@@JenkinsBoatWorks editing is an art, for sure. Personally, in an instructional video, I think it's better to err on the side of verbosity. KZbin gives me the control to skip around your video if I want, but if there's some detail or technique I'm trying to understand and it didn't make the cut, I'll never be able to get it. I've watched this full series (I have a Super Snark I'm going to restore with my son), and I think the pace and level of detail in these vids is pretty good. I didn't find myself skipping around TOO much!

[@JenkinsBoatWorks]

@@jeff95173 appreciate your thoughts and comment :)

[@davidcummings6299]

Why would anyone wast time and money on a stupid cheap snark sailboat.

[@thefatass500]

Why are are you even here? Your comment provided absolutely ZERO useful insight! To answer your question, some of us, such as myself, have space limitations and can't store a boat trailer, and we find second-hand ones are reasonable prices. Snarks are light enough for one person to roof rack. How many personal sailboats do you know that are that lightweight? Anyway, if you're gonna bash on how "stupid cheap" Snarks are, at the very least provide alternatives!

[@davidcummings6299]

@@thefatass500 Here you go Naples sabotage El toro Mini fish Sun fish Leaser Force 5 West marine 8 foot tender West marine 10 foot tender McGuire 10 sailing tender OD 11 sailing scow Butterfly sailing scow Many many more out their

[@CakewalkHootenanny]

What a Snarky comment

[@DuffTerrall]

Boat that you have, combined with the joy of taking something that was useless and making it useful.

[@davidcummings6299]

@@DuffTerrall Your right what ever works for you. Put they were more likely to scare new sailors than any thing else “ even in the day “