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321
FAO
Fishing boat FISHERIES
TECHNICAL
construction: 2 PAPER

Building a fibreglass 321

fishing boat

Fishing boat construction: 2 - Building a fibreglass fishing boat

FOOD
AND
AGRICULTURE
ORGANIZATION
OF THE
FAO

UNITED NATIONS
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FAO
FISHERIES
TECHNICAL
PAPER

321

FOOD
AND
AGRICULTURE
ORGANIZATION
OF THE
UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 1991
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resin spray no~zle · and applied together to t-he mould surface. A contrasting· coloore.d thread
(e.g. red against the white of the roving) gives a colour tone to the sprayed chopped strand so that
when the experienced operator judges the colour apprOpriate to the required weight of reinforcement
per square metre he ceases operations and consolidates the laminate by roller. These 11 chopper 11 guns
need to be cleaned every time they are used to prevent resin curing in the fine nozzles and spray
head. As this is laborious, the machine should be kept in use continually and only cleaned out at
the end of the working day, This tool is used whece there is a high constant workload.

Injection Moulding

This is used for small precision items. High quality tooling is required possibly in steel to
withstand the pressures and cycles required of the moul,d. Boat hulls up· to 10 m have been made
using conventional reinforcements in matched male and female moulds with resin injected between them
thus removing the need for hand consolidation. Equipment costs are very high.

7. SIMPLE CONSTRUCTION

7 .1 FRP Applied to Core Hate rial

FRP can be tised other than with a mould. For example, if an owner required a vessel with a
non-standard d.eck layout, his l."equirements could be accommodated by moulding that part of the deck
which remains standard and usi_ng it as a foundation to which ·new structures could be attached either
in wood or FRP. On a simpler level, fish tanks, hatches, ice containel"s, et-c., can all be made by
coating a plywood or plastic foam core with l."esin and reinforcement. Balsa wood can also be used
when it is prepared fol" such a purpose but is more prone to w_ater a~sOl"ption than other cores.

The requirements for use as a core are that the material have a surface to which the FRP will
form a ·mechanical bond, and that the core material is dimensionally sti:ible so that it will not
distort and consequently throw off the FRP sheath. New plywood is. the only form o~ wood whiCh can
be expected to give a reasonably sound bond which will last. The bond is mechanical (gluing effect
between two dissimilar materials) rather than a chemical bond which implies a
joining of the
ffiaterials on a molecular level. To assist the bond, surfaces should be roughened so that l."esin can
grip as well as possible. Ply and balsa should be pre-coated with an unreinforced resin to which
the reinforced layers may obtain a good bond.

Corner joints may be simplified by butt jointing and coating the internal and extern·a1 a_ngl·es
with a single layer of glass tape. This is then left to cure. Such a joint will hold shee.ts of ply
and foam in shap·e while the main reinforcing sheath is applied. In lightweight construction it IIlay
be strong enough to be all that is necessary. Another material to which FRP forms a good and
reliable bond is PVC in solid form _e.g. PVC pipe. This prnperty is useful when making· tanks and the
like, as PVC l)ipes and ducts, etc., can be. bonded directly to the FRP.

The construction of on-board insulated fish containers for canoes is a good example of a small
production run where the insulating material its.elf (sheet polyurethane foam) has been bonded
together to give the basic container shape and then coated with a protecting and strengthening FRP
skin.

7. 2 Haking a Simple Plug and Hould

Simple moulds may include small pol."table moulds fol" items such as buckets, hatch covers, chairs
or fish boxes. The simplest mould is a flat panel, FRP mouldings from which can be· used for a
customized wheelhouse for example, Any mould:

- Must be rigid to retain its shape and resist distortion;

- Must possess positive l"elease angles which do not resist release;

- Hust possess a surface layer which· will release the moulding when appl"opriate pressure is
applied (see Figure 21).

The plug should always be regarded as disposable and only to be used once; so repair WOl"k to
cover any blemishes made during construction is governed by smoothness of the finish-and not by any
visual or long lasting quality, e.g., a little res~n putty Would grip slotted screws long enough for
the mould to be made. When it has-been made smooth the whole unit can be given 3 coats of wax and a
coat Of PVA (Poly Vinyl Acetate) release agent before the.gelcoat is applied.

By corivention, plug and mould gelcoat is usually black and is a hardel." finished surface than
hull gelcoat, This is because it is subject to repeated overcoating, but does not have to be as
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