reinforcing the hull of mirror dinghy for fishing use

**SilverSniper** · 20th August 2012, 08:31 PM

Hi all,

I have an old mirror dinghy that I mainly now use for estuary fishing - although I still occasionally sail it for kicks.It makes a perfect and very comfortable little one or two person run about and I really love it.

When I inherited it last year I was concerned by all the checking on the (unpainted) hull, so I coated the hull in epoxy resin and 200gm fibreglass cloth, which seemed to work ok and aided my peace of mind no end! The main hazard where I fish is submerged timber, which is hard to spot and if you don't see it, it rubs up hard against the hull

I'm going to use it again this summer, but intend painting the hull this spring to cover up all the glass cloth. Before I do, I'd appreciate some advice on whether it would be worth adding another coat of 200gm fibreglass cloth, or whether there is another product I could use for reinforcement? Adding weight isn't really a concern, as this boat isn't used for racing.

thanks

**vk4** · 20th August 2012, 10:27 PM

Another layer of glass probably won't do a great deal, to really do anything you would have to add another layer of ply wood,

Glass & resin , of this type really only seal and give abrasive protection to the hull , with a bit of stiffening , additional layers will give a little extra protection, but not a lot.

Jeff
vk4

**SilverSniper** · 20th August 2012, 11:17 PM

ok thanks Jeff,

Guess I won't bother then, the hull isn't in bad nick and all the edges and joints were taped so they have two layers already.

**PAR** · 21st August 2012, 11:05 AM

A layer of Dynel or better yet Xynole will dramatically improve abrasion resistance, much more so that 'glass cloth. Xynole is my recommendation, as it's 6 times as abrasion resistant as the same weight cloth. It costs about the same as 200 gm cloth and though it does use a fair bit more resin to wetout, it's the bullet proof material to employ, unless you want to spend $50 a meter for a high tech man made fabric.

You could also install sacrificial rub strips of a hardwood. These would be 20x50 pieces lightly tacked to the hull shell over a bedding. They'll get beat and chewed up over time, but they can be popped off and replaced as required.

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