Yesterday I did the fiberglass work on the Venture. Working with this stuff is so distasteful that I seriously considered not doing, stripping the hull and taking the boat to be scrapped, then building a wooden boat replacement. In the end I couldn't deal with the idea of being so wasteful and started mixing up epoxy resin.
I had ground down the holes in the deck so that I could layer in the fiberglass patches already. So I taped up the wholes from inside the cabin to create a bottom and wet out the hole with epoxy for bonding then added a layer with fairing compound so I could shape it from the underside should I go that far, but I seriously doubt I will. Then came layer upon layer of chopped strand and mat fiberglass. After that had gotten somewhat solid but still green, I put a layer of epoxy thickened with fairing compound so that I could create a smooth sanded surface.
I was lucky that the day was cool and a slight breeze kept the smells from just saturating me. Checking this morning it all looks pretty good. At the mast step I added extra layers of glass for strength.
I may start sanding later today.
I am very much considering cutting down the mast height a bit. I don't race and want a boat that will be easy to use. I think the mast was about 24 feet long and a 21 or even 20 foot mast would be that much easier to rig at launchings. The reduced sail area would be a bit but I am not to overly concerned. I still have to scarf the mast back together so nows the time to make these choices.
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