Stitch and Glue Boatbuilding Materials Guide
We carry a wide selection of materials used in the composites industry. This often times can make sifting through our offerings difficult, for this reason we have put up this page to help you find the right materials for your project. Please, if you have any question do not hesitate to call us or e-mail.
Most stitch and glue boats are sheathed on the outside with what is referred to as 6oz glass. 6oz fiberglass cloth actually weighs about 5.6oz per square yard and commonly comes in two different styles. Style 7533 is the most common, it is a plain weave fiberglass fabric which means that the yarns are twisted before it is woven. 3733 is a fiberglass fabric that has the same aerial weight as 7533 but it is a flat weave, meaning that the yarns are not twisted before weaving.
The style 7533 with the twisted yarns tends to wet out easier, especially when doing multiple layers and does not seem to fray as easily. Style 3733 is less expensive, more difficult to wet out in multiple layers, but lays a little flatter and requires slightly less resin (depending on skill of course). We stock both styles of glass in 30”, 38”, 50”, and 60” widths.
Glass fabrics are located here.
For small boats such as dinghies and kayaks often just a light weight fiberglass tape is used. In larger boats a knitted fiberglass tape is used. Many plans & designers will refer to it as a biaxial fiberglass tape, bias tape, or use nomenclature such as DB120 or DB1708. These are heavier fiberglass fabrics that have all the fiber on one plane orientated in the same direction and on the other plain turned and orientated in another direction. For taping the seams of stitch and glue boats double bias, meaning that the fibers are orientated at +/- 45 degrees, is what is used. Knitted fiberglass fabrics however have not been designed for use as a cosmetic fabric and often in areas where the seam will be seen it is top coated with a lightweight fiberglass tape or cloth.
We stock double bias fiberglass tape in 12oz without mat (DB120) and in 17oz with mat (DB1708). The 12oz is typically 6” wide and the 17oz we normally stock in a variety of widths. If we don’t have the width you need we may be able to get it.
The catalog page for knitted products is here.
Most stitch and glue boats are made from wood, being so we strongly recommend using an epoxy system to do the gluing and laminating. The reason for this is that nothing sticks as well to wood as epoxy. System Three Resins has introduced a line of epoxy solutions that are specifically designed for building wooden boats. This is their SilverTip Epoxy series. The beauty to the SilverTip line is that it includes pre-mixed filleting compound, a pre-mixed fairing compound, and an excellent laminating epoxy. We have found that the pre-mixed filleting compound reduces mess, reduces waste, and saves time, making the boat building experience easier and more enjoyable. WEST system has the 105/207 combination that is a resin system with UV inhibitors and non-blushing that makes working with it easier and helps the resin hold up better to UV damage.
System Three Epoxies can be found here.
West System Epoxies can be found here.