Hugo du Plessis. Fibreglass Boats. 4th edition Adlard Coles Nautical, London, 2006 CONTENTS Introduction vi Section A - General principles 1 Principlesof fibreglass boatbuilding..................1 2 Materials.............................................11 3 Tools and working conditions..........................24 4 Health and safety.....................................27 Section B - Understanding how fibreglass can fail 5 Physical failure......................................35 6 Destructive influences................................41 7 Fatigue...............................................47 8 Factors of safety.....................................49 9 Effects of heat.......................................53 10 Fire.................................................55 Section C - Turning a bare moulding into a boat 11 Glassing-in..........................................63 12 Joins................................................68 13 Stiffening...........................................75 14 Bulkheads............................................94 15 Attaching fittings...................................98 16 Sealants.............................................107 17 Hardspots and stress concentrations..................113 18 Double shell mouldings...............................121 19 Sandwich or cored mouldings..........................125 20 Wood and fibreglass..................................145 21 Fibreglass and other materials.......................149 22 Access...............................................151 23 Weathering...........................................153 Section D - The gel coat - that shiny fibreglass look 24 Gel coat.............................................155 25 Nasty little lumps...................................163 26 Can the gel coat be saved ?..........................184 27 Replacing a gel coat.................................190 Section E - In the beginning-moulding 28 Conditions for moulding..............................201 29 Moulding.............................................204 30 Moulding faults......................................210 31 Mouldless construction...............................214 32 Thickness............................................217 33 Mechanisation........................................226 34 Inspection and quality...............................229 Section F - Maintenance and use 35 Design for low maintenance...........................234 36 Maintenance and cleaning.............................247 37 Overloading..........................................251 38 Painting.............................................256 Section G - Repair 39 Temporary repair.....................................259 40 Minor repair.........................................264 41 Major repair.........................................267 42 Every crack tells a story............................270 43 Testing..............................................274 Appendix - Equivalents..................................280 Index...................................................283