TOPIC: Spider cracks v. stress cracks

Chris:

I agree 100% with what gil, Waterwings and the other FG Members are telling you about the IMPORTANCE of wearing a respirator when you are doing ANY painting, sanding or glass work on these boats!

I have attached a photo below of what I wear ANYTIME I am working on my boats here. As you will see, I wear a "Tyvek" Suit which you can purchase at any good automotive/boat paint and accessory store for around $10-$15 dollars. I like the higher end respirators too and mine have replaceable filters on them.

Some may think this is "overkill" but personally, I DON'T!

Here is the photo for you:

NOTE THE TAPE at all 4 cuffs: ankle & wrists. Particularly when using any means of sanding/grinding that generates glass dust.

Nice pix ^^^

jbcurt00 wrote:

NOTE THE TAPE at all 4 cuffs: ankle & wrists. Particularly when using any means of sanding/grinding that generates glass dust.

Nice pix ^^^

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Thanks Jbcurt!

Tons of helpfull info! Thanks gil thats a great tip and i am gonna try that out. The whole bottom and up the sides are completely spider crack covered and i do like the idea of not spending two years grinding and fairing!!! The links are great on that show boat resto ,i have watched alot of that guys projects. He keeps it fun and educational for sure. After watching the 3 episodes i am almost thinking clean,sand,heat,epoxy,sand,clean, and then apply one layer of s-glass 6 mil over the bottom and sides then prime and paint. Sounds like a bit of work and money,any thoughts good or bad?

bc buehler wrote:

After watching the 3 episodes i am almost thinking clean,sand,heat,epoxy,sand,clean, and then apply one layer of s-glass 6 mil over the bottom and sides then prime and paint. Sounds like a bit of work and money,any thoughts good or bad?

A layer of glass would probably help, but you'll be locked into using epoxy & glass if you use epoxy to crack fill. Large flat(ish) areas of hull would be easy to do that way w/ out loads of fill & fair after.

Many vintage hulls & caps weren't faired very well originally, quite a bit of wavy glass. Know how 'OCD' you plan to be before you start. Same for pinholes that will probably fill when you shoot high build primer.

The cap w/ lots of detailing & bodylines will be much more challenging to easily cover w/ a layer of glass and fill/fair after. But again, know how far you want to go before starting the fill & fair.


My FireFlite's bow cover has sagged slightly across the beam of the boat, so I'll need to realign that too before attempting to fill & fair. Else it'd be a rather large dished out bow cover.

Thanks for sharing all your knowledge jbcurt! I am willing to live with minor flaws on this build, trying to make sweet waves by indepedence day 2014! Wish me luck, so busy at work its hard to find time to slide into my tyvec and respirator up for a weekend of grinding. And its still only ten degrees out there in my back yard

Ever lay another layer of epoxy and mat on the UNDERSIDE of the deck? I need to take the deck off to do the stringers and transom, so it will be easy to do. Also thinking of an additional wood athwartships brace epoxied in near the bow. Many G-3 sag (cup/depress) just back from the bow.

Mat isn't usually used w/ epoxy. Epoxy doesn't have styrene in it to break the binders in mat. Some is epoxy compatible but if I were using epoxy, rather then poly, I'd coat the backside & edges of the deck (floor) plywood very very well w/ 2 coats of epoxy & no cloth/mat. Which is all brand new construction and will be getting coated on the topside w/ a layer of epoxy & glass.

On the underside of the bow cap (cover), you're going over old fiberglass and supports. If using epoxy, I'd probably use epoxy & a 6-8oz cloth on the backside of the bow cap to add rigidity & support. After a good rough & scuff. If the bow cap has sagged, the supports may need to be cut free & reattached or replaced as well.

Thanks, again. My deck is straight, but I am heavy so I want to keep it straight once I use it and climb up on the bow.

another photo in a sister ship at the last Glasspar meet and greet.

seabuddy wrote:

another photo in a sister ship at the last Glasspar meet and greet.

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Hey, that looks like my G-3!! LOL!

and the good looking guy next to me is YOU1

Nice boat red!! Man that thing looks slick in the water.as usual I agree with jbcurt on his advice, 6-8 oz. cloth will get it done nicely for you with epoxy. I have never worked with anything but epoxy, but i love the ease and strength of it, so if you add a few layers you will add the strength you desire.Still a rookie working away at his first resto, but with the help and encouragement of the pro's here i am sure to succeed! No doubts in my ability, just loving me some old glass and what better place to be than here learning what I need to succeed. Thanks gent's.

Well, it is too cold for my buddies locally to come out of hiding. Tried Friday and had to go to the Baltimore New Boat Show to talk boats. Some interesting stuff!

bc buehler wrote:

Nice boat red!! Man that thing looks slick in the water.as usual I agree with jbcurt on his advice, 6-8 oz. cloth will get it done nicely for you with epoxy. I have never worked with anything but epoxy, but i love the ease and strength of it, so if you add a few layers you will add the strength you desire.Still a rookie working away at his first resto, but with the help and encouragement of the pro's here i am sure to succeed! No doubts in my ability, just loving me some old glass and what better place to be than here learning what I need to succeed. Thanks gent's.

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BC:

Thanks for your kind words about our G-3 Sir! My Dad ordered the boat brand new WAY BACK in 1959 and left it to me after he passed away. It is definitely a rare "one-family owned" G-3 and we intend to leave it eventually pass it on to our Son.

If you want to reinforce the underside of the cap at the bow I'd recommend this. Use cardboard tubes (Like Christmas Wrapping Paper comes in) cut in half as forms and then use 6 oz biaxial cloth to overlay the tubes and then use the epoxy to laminate them in place. Two layers of this and Two of you will easily be able to stand on the bow. It's amazing what a semi tubular form of glass will do for strength!!!!

Red G-3, wow thats incredible that your dad ordered that sweet machine way back and you still have it in the family! Thats an all american story right there, you must be proud every time out on the water. It does look killer, i would love to see more pic's of your boat. I can only imagine how fast she is with that nice merc out back,very cool! I also agree with flamingo, nice easy and cheap way to go about a repair/upgrade. I am going to use his suggestion on a spongy deck i have as soon as it gets back to positive temps. outside. Thanks again. Brian

bc buehler wrote:

Red G-3, wow thats incredible that your dad ordered that sweet machine way back and you still have it in the family! Thats an all american story right there, you must be proud every time out on the water. It does look killer, i would love to see more pic's of your boat. I can only imagine how fast she is with that nice merc out back,very cool! I also agree with flamingo, nice easy and cheap way to go about a repair/upgrade. I am going to use his suggestion on a spongy deck i have as soon as it gets back to positive temps. outside. Thanks again. Brian

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Brian:

Thanks again Sir!

Yes, you are right, I am very proud that my Dad took such good care of our G-3 and was so thoughtful to leave it to me after he passed away. He was pretty hard on my Brothers and I growing up not letting us EVER leave the G-3 in the water or outside in the weather. I didn't really understand all that way back then, but now I know why he did it. The boat was garaged it's entire life and that is why it looks like it does.

You asked about pictures of our G-3. I will get a link up here for you of a thread on another classic boating website showing pictures and explanations of the complete refurbish.

Here is one photo I like showing a "birds eye" view:

Brian:

Here is a link for you and other members showing some detailed BEFORE and AFTER pictures of the "refurbish" we did to our 1960 Glasspar G-3 after I got it from my Dad:

www.classicglasspars.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&view=topic&catid=2&id=23809&Itemid=535

If you want, I can e-mail you some more. Just let me know Sir....

Good idea, MyFlamingo!

Thanks for that link red60! I read all 7 pages and loved it! That is a beautiful boat, and an even better story. You obviously did your homework, and your passion shows in the results! You thanked all your friends, helpers, and supporter's I think that's a testiment of the kind of guy you are. Sure is a beauty, and it's nice to see all the water way's you have had her out on, very inspiring! Also thanks for being so detailed, makes it easy to understand and again very interesting. Your Dad must be proud, it sure sounds like he loved that boat and you are carrying that tradition on very well! Great job. Brian

bc buehler wrote:

Thanks for that link red60! I read all 7 pages and loved it! That is a beautiful boat, and an even better story. You obviously did your homework, and your passion shows in the results! You thanked all your friends, helpers, and supporter's I think that's a testiment of the kind of guy you are. Sure is a beauty, and it's nice to see all the water way's you have had her out on, very inspiring! Also thanks for being so detailed, makes it easy to understand and again very interesting. Your Dad must be proud, it sure sounds like he loved that boat and you are carrying that tradition on very well! Great job. Brian

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Brian:

Thanks again for your nice comments about our G-3! I am so glad to hear you enjoyed the link to the "refurbish" of the boat. I KNOW we are VERY LUCKY to have an G-3 in the shape our boat was in. The fact that the transom had no rot in it still amazes me to this day! Our G-3 also has it's ORIGINAL windshield which is also very rare along with the rear red "deck mat" which we have NEVER seen in another G-3. Again, I credit it all to my dear old Dad who MADE US take care of that boat and took excellent care of it himself!

I also wanted you to see a picture of our Son finally driving it with his Wife this past summer at Falls Lake, N.C. My Wife and I plan to pass it on to him eventually. That would make our Son the THIRD GENERATION user of our G-3.

Here is the picture Brian:

Here is one more photo of our Son "flying by" my Wife and I in our other Glasspar, a 1960 Seafair Sedan:

Hey Chris (seabuddy),....sorry to have "hijacked" your thread Sir.

No worries!

Red, your son has a nice big smile driving your boat! Cant blame him, thanks for sharing your experience and happy boating to you. Seabuddy, I am glad you started this topic it has shared much needed info for me and im sure others as well! And flamingo i have noticed has great cost effective ideas that also seem to be very well thought out and surely a safe bet. Thanks to all and keep up the good work. Brian

I sure am learning a lot. This board has some good answers.

This G-3 project that I am in has more snow this year than last. Slow going in freezing weather.

Looks like I am going to be taking the deck gelcoat pretty well off. I just can not get comfortable with anything else, if I want a good job.

Seabuddy, i am your snow buddy! In my home state of Michigan we have set an all time consecutive low temp record and the most snow to date on record. I have three boats tarped off and honestly one appears to be no more than a big hill covered in snow. All i can do is accumulate materials and good information at this time. Waiting for good temps and the sun shining, and glass dust in the air! I am also going to be grinding down gelcoat to glass, i feel your pain/passion. Happy building.

Well, one potential inside work space just did not happen.

Wow what a Beautiful Boat. Thankyou for sharing.

squallkingtom,

WELCOME ABOARD.

Also you are correct. = GEORGIOUS BOAT.

yours, satx

I do not know why I did it, but I looked at two G-3 Glasspars yesterday.

I know why Chris - You've been "bitten" by the Glassic bug. It may subside now and then, but the only real cure is to get one! Take your time and find one that makes sense for you, and pull the trigger.

You are so right!