epoxy boat before fiberglassing

[bobmc3]

Going to start on the Merrimac this week but as I read the plans I am a little unclear wether or not I need to apply a coat of epoxy before I lay the fiberglass on or if I can put the faberglass cloth directly on the wood and then wet it out. If I do need to coat the wood with epoxy first, do I have to wait until it cures to apply the cloth? Any clearification would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks a bunch
Bob

[Oldsparkey]

Put a coat of epoxy on the wood 1st. Let it cure and then give it a light sanding.

The epoxy will saturate the wood and create a tooth for the other epoxy to bond to when you glass it.

The sanding is to remove any whiskers that might appear ( wood fibers swollen with the epoxy ) they hook the glass and cause runs in it so a light sanding gets rid of them. If you run your hand over the epoxied wood before sanding and glassing you will see what I'm saying.

Then glass the boat.

Chuck.

[bobmc3]

Thanks chuck, I was always a little foggy on that one. Cant wait to start the build. If I can figure out how to post pic I will throw a few up in the builders log.

Bob

[jem]

I typically don't do the "sealer" coat. I just lay the cloth on the hull and then wet out the cloth with a small foam paint roller.

But either way is acceptable. Just don't wait too long between applying the epoxy and then the fiberglass because amine blush issues.