Fiberglassing a Dumas Chris Craft boat?

[fhhhstix]

Does any body on here have any experience with fiber glassing a Dumas boat? I bought the Dumas Chris Craft Cobra which is my first boat kit and I want it to look as good as the pic. If any body has any experience with this type of kit please share your advice.

Funny thing about this boat my hobby shop does not stock them but when I told the owner what I wanted he looked at me, smiled and said like the one in the corner of the office. Some lady with no clue bought it for her 6 year old son thinking the boat was neat but had no idea that it was a build it your self boat. The owner of the shop even tried to explain to here that it was not like building a model but she insisted it would be fine and ordered it any way. Thanks to her I got the boat I wanted at a real good deal. Here is a pic of the kit I bought.



Thanks
Travis

[nenard]

Hey Travis, check out something called the "west system". Havent used it myself but have heard good thing about it on the boating forums.

[fhhhstix]

Originally Posted by nenard

Hey Travis, check out something called the "west system". Havent used it myself but have heard good thing about it on the boating forums.

Thanks nenard there is a place close buy that sells it so I will go and see if they can give me some advice.

Travis

[Roadmasters]

Travis, i dont think you really need to fiber glass. Just coat it in resin. The wood structure is pleanty strong, you just need something to seal and protect it. West systems is definatly the way to go. Just make sure you find something that dries clear and not yellowish

I used their products to reinforce this old plastic graupner boat. Solid as a rock now!

[fhhhstix]

Originally Posted by Roadmasters

Travis, i dont think you really need to fiber glass. Just coat it in resin. The wood structure is pleanty strong, you just need something to seal and protect it. West systems is definatly the way to go. Just make sure you find something that dries clear and not yellowish

I used their products to reinforce this old plastic graupner boat. Solid as a rock now!

The manual says to fiberglass the out side. From what fiberglass I have used before I am wondering how you wont see the cloth. I am guessing I will try it on something else first.

Travis

[Roadmasters]

i dont see how that would work either... unless the hull is built and fiberglassed and then the mahogony finish on the outside is a veneer. But it seems like a better idea (if its assempled the way im thinking) just to build the hull coat it in a cheaper resin and smooth it out (you can use cabosil mixed into the resin and it makes a pretty good filler. Its abit tougher than bondo to sand.) then laminate the veneer to the hull with a nicer resin that dries crystal clear. Im pretty sure you can get the resin to come out to a pretty good shine. This would also save abit of weight because you dont have all that matt, giving u slightly faster, longer runtimes. If you were really concerned about hitting something or the bottom being weak you could always use some woven roven which i believe is included in the kit since the bottom is being painted so you dont need the same finish as the top with the veneer. This would also keep alittle more weight lower in the boat, giving a lower cg. But if you keep the weight as light as possible in the construction of the hull you have the option to use more ballast in the hull to get the proper ride.

[modelman]

Travis-the "west system" is a good quality epoxy resin and once you paint the cloth with the resin the cloth will be transparent. If you haven't done this before you might want to practice on something else. Spread the cloth over the boat, then brush the resin on and you should be able to work any wringles out of the cloth. This can be tricky to do but like I said you might want to practice on something else if you are worried you might mess it up. I have done this many times and it works good. After the first coat dries you need to lightly sand and apply a 2nd coat of resin but do not sand into the cloth. Just scuff it enough that the 2nd coat will bond. You should be able to sand the 2nd coat smooth without damaging the cloth and then spray it with varnish or something to protect it from the sun.

[fhhhstix]

Originally Posted by modelman

Travis-the "west system" is a good quality epoxy resin and once you paint the cloth with the resin the cloth will be transparent. If you haven't done this before you might want to practice on something else. Spread the cloth over the boat, then brush the resin on and you should be able to work any wringles out of the cloth. This can be tricky to do but like I said you might want to practice on something else if you are worried you might mess it up. I have done this many times and it works good. After the first coat dries you need to lightly sand and apply a 2nd coat of resin but do not sand into the cloth. Just scuff it enough that the 2nd coat will bond. You should be able to sand the 2nd coat smooth without damaging the cloth and then spray it with varnish or something to protect it from the sun.

Cool I will give it a shot on a practice piece and see how it works.

Travis

[modelman]

Travis-I failed to mention the west resin doesn't sand very good. It gets really hard but tends to gum up unless you let it cure awhile. It likes heat if you need to sand it after setting overnight. I usually just waste a couple of pcs. of sandpaper to knock the top off and then it sands pretty good. Just remember not too much sanding. If you sand into the cloth then it will show up slightly.

[Mrfish55]

Seal the hull with one coat of resin first(glass resin or West System epoxy) then when that is set cover it with 3/4 oz cloth ( not matt) and another coat of resin. What system you use will determine the whole process, west system epoxy is stronger and clearer, but given the scale of the model regular fiberglass resin will work, you will not be putting it on thick enough to notice any significant yellowing, the fiberglass cloth becomes invisible once saturated with resin but as was already mentioned be carefull not to sand into it or it will show, also IMO regular resin is easier to work with than the West epoxy, One other thing if you do go with regular fiberglass resin make sure you get unwaxed resin. Temperature and humidity will affect setting times so make sure to accurately measure the resin and catalyst, makes a big difference to how it sets. Nice boat, good luck with the project.