JENNY STEAR C/O SPIRIT YACHTS
E
poxy resin is a moisture-resistant coating and a powerful
adhesive. The Michigan-based Gougeon brothers were the
first to fully harness its structural properties. They created a
formulation in the early 1970s designed for coating wood,
initially for the building of a fleet of ice-yachts, and named it
West System. This product has been a staple of the boat building
industry ever since. While it now has many formidable rivals,
such as the SP range of epoxies from Gurit, International’s
Epiglass and the US-based System 3 (I have used them all,
to great effect), the Gougeon brothers’ formula has proved
the longevity of the chemistry.
Epoxy resin is a versatile labour-saver, especially for
protecting hulls and making repairs, and one of the best ways to
discover its full range of abilities is to go on a course.
Southampton-based Wessex Resins arranges two a year at its
Romsey facility, where it formulates many of the products on
site. With 25 like-minded delegates, you will learn how to create
structures using fillets, how to engineer lasting repairs, and how
to mix a variety of fillers that will stick to anything that isn’t
shiny. You will also learn about the various
reinforcements and additives such as
woven rovings and microballoons. The best
bit is that you have an unlimited supply of
free product on the day, and can make
messy, fast-curing mistakes in the
classroom rather than on your boat.
Knowing what a product can do
encourages long-term labour-saving
applications. For example, epoxy can be
used to insulate a bronze seacock from thesurrounding planking to avoid galvanic rot. The adhesive nature
of the epoxy will seal the end grain and add further security to
the installation. Nuts can be captured within a substrate for
invisible fastening, rotten timber can be stabilised while still wet,
and deep cracks permanently glued and sealed. A wide range of
additives allows you to create a filler in any density for almost
any application, including major structural repairs.
Epoxy does have some drawbacks – it’s comparatively
expensive, it breaks down quite quickly in ultraviolet light so
needs overcoating, and some skin types react badly to the
formulation, but once you get to know what it can do, and what
it needs in return, the repair and coating options are endless.
“A hull made from resin-infused cedar strip planking is
remarkably light and stiff,” said Nigel Stuart of Spirit Yachts.
“Once treated with a modern paint system, a wood-epoxy hull
can be as low-maintenance as a GRP equivalent.”
A spin-off from the epoxy revolution has been the copper-
resin antifouling systems, such as Coppercoat from AMC,
C-Guard or Armourguard from Reactive Resins. These aren’t
usually recommended for a traditional
planked hull as there is too much
movement, causing the rigid coating to
crack and split, but on metal or composite
hulls there has been some good feedback.
The trick, it seems, is to apply the
coating in the right way (golden rules 1
and 3) and to ensure that the boat is
regularly used. Some formulations also
benefit from gentle abrasion every so
often to expose fresh copper.EPOXY RESIN
“The best bit is you
have a supply of free
product and can
make fast-curing,
messy mistakes in
the classroom rather
than on your boat”Epoxy resin has caused a revolution in boat maintenance and learning how to use it will prove a huge labour-saver