Hello And Epoxy Question

[Alan Shook]

First of all hello to everyone here. I am fairly new to boat building and have been reading this forum this forum for a while and finally signed up! Last summer I built my first cedar strip canoe, a River Runner from Gil Gilpatrick's book. I used the West System epoxy from West Marine mainly because that is what he used in the book and I had good results with it. Now I am building the Puddle Duck and I have found several brands that are less expensive like Silver Tip, Marinepoxy and System Three on Boat Builder Central website. I am wondering if anyone has used these and if I would have good results with one of these compared to the West System?

Thanks, Alan

[kc8pql]

I used >75 gals. of System Three to build Alaya. It's good, mainline brand epoxy. SilverTip is also System Three..

[Dannybb55]

West is a great product, System Three is also as good, I have used many gallons of each and have had good results with both. If you can, find some Garamite to thicken it for making glue as opposed to glass fibers. Garamite does not float around in the air like glass and mess up your lungs.http://www.garamite.com/
Danny

[David G]

All of the brands you mention are perfectly fine. RAKA is also a commonly used brand.

[the_gr8t_waldo]

the duck punt, being such a nice cheap, reasonable, build there's no reason not to look for products based on price. personally i like areopoy listed in Aircraft Spruce n Specility. you're not building an hairloom. you're builting a memory!

[John How]

I am building my third boat with marinepoxy, I love it. No blush using the medium hardener anyway and never failed to set and cure though I mix carefully by weight. A very good less expensive alternative to the name brands.

[wdbeyer]

I'm with John, Marinepoxy has been good to me as well. 2:1 mix, no blush, and at a good price too.

FWIW I've gotten all my fillers and thickeners form US Composites at good prices.

[RodB]

System Three General Purpose resin is hard to beat... very dependable especially in less than optimal conditions (cold and high humidity)...

At least 20% less than West and very good performance with three hardeners ... easy to dial in for any conditions.

They sell online and have very reasonable prices on fillers and cloth.

RodB

[coopercdrkey]

I am using AeroMarine epoxy and their various thickeners and I find them most acceptable.

They don't seem to offer the range of fast / slow hardeners as West, but in Florida, that is seldom a problem.

[wizbang 13]

I have used several over the decades, but settled on WEST , mostly because of its' universal availability.
That said, I have more money than I used to
But , the sooner you find one brand and stay with it , a certain type of mistake will cease to happen . That is , the confusion of pumps, hardeners, ratios and kick off times and viscosity familiarization.

[Alan Shook]

Hey thanks to everyone for the replies and information! I live in western North Carolina and the humidity can be very high at times. Which hardener should be used if it is humid? I used fast with the west and had good results, that was in the fall when humidity was lower. One other question, approximately how much resin will the 14' Puddle Duck take?

Thanks, Alan

[jimkeen]

I'm with John, Marinepoxy has been good to me as well. 2:1 mix, no blush, and at a good price too.

FWIW I've gotten all my fillers and thickeners form US Composites at good prices.

I have used close to 30 gallons of US composite epoxy (slow), at VERY good prices, on my latest build. I have been extremely satisfied with the quality of the product and the customer service. Check it out

[kc8pql]

But , the sooner you find one brand and stay with it , a certain type of mistake will cease to happen . That is , the confusion of pumps, hardeners, ratios and kick off times and viscosity familiarization.

+1 on that. Any of the brands here will work fine. We all tend to like the one we've used the most and are the most familiar with.

When it comes to choosing a hardener for the conditions, the best advice is to follow the manufacturers recommendations for their formulation.