[ Boat Building Projects ]

Best Type of Epoxy

There are many types of epoxy out there. Our personal favourite is System 3 out of Washington state. They make a whole range of products.img_0998 When we added 5 feet in the middle of our boat in 2013 we used only Silver Tip laminating epoxy. It is great stuff, easy to mix with its 2 to 1 ratio. We used plastic 1 cup and 1/2 cup measuring cups from the local Dollar store for most of our batches. Carllie was the prime mixer. It also very thin (not quite like GRP resin) but it evens wets out biaxial and mat really well. Gets new sticky residue (blushing) when drying in moist and cool conditions. They also make a product called Quick Fair which is a 2 part premixed filler for final fairing. It is easy to mix and gives a consistent thickness and dries at 70F in 3 hours so you can start sanding.Tags:

About Author

Garett Hennigan

Garett Hennigan is a mechanical engineer who in partnership with his wife, Carllie, built a 28 foot catamaran, Light Wave, in 1999. He has sailed extensively with his wife through Mexico, Hawaii and now back in the Pacific northwest with over 20,000 sailing miles and over 5000 hours of boatbuilding experience.

4 Comments

  1. Hi,

    I came across your site while browsing around looking for information on epoxy suppliers in the PNW, I was wondering where you purchased your epoxy, I live in Nanaimo and am about to start a major refurbishment of my sailboat which includes fixing the leaky deck core. I will be using a fair amount of epoxy and would like to compare the cost to West System. And of course a recommendation from someone who has completed such a fantastic upgrade means a lot.

    Thanks

  2. Love to see you build your own cat and enjoy the cruising. I plan to build a cat, around 40′. Really like to visit you folks for some head up on cat building.
    Dale Peng and Liping Li from Ladysmith.

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