Fibreglass boats
Practical Action
Plastic buckets (5 L) and bowls (1 L)
A graduated pipette (for accelerator and resin)
Weighing scales to 20 kg
Barometer (if the ambient humidity exceeds 65%, greater care must be taken during
curing)
Hacksaw 18/24 point blades
Rasp 250 mm half round
Files 250 mm flat, half round and round
Knife and standard blades
Hole saws 25 mm – 100 mm
Rubber mallet 1 – 2 kg for mould release
Wet and dry abrasive paper 100 – 1 000 grit
Wooden sanding blocks
Pad saw handles to accept hacksaw blades
Spirit levels 250 mm and 750 mm
Plumb bob
Chalk line
Squeegees metal, rubber and plastic for resin and putty spreading
Masking tape (12– 50 )mm. Scissors tailoring quality for reinforcement cutting
Measuring tape - 5 m
Plain wooden sticks for mixing
Cotton rags
Small pieces of wood for scraping off excess resin from brushes
For all but the smallest and simplest boats, the following electrical tools are also used
Electric drill -13 mm chuck industrial quality
High speed twist drills 3 – 18 mm
Jigsaw industrial quality with metal-cutting blades
Angle grinder hand held with 100 mm disc
Grinder discs (carborundum for cutting and grinding)
Grinder discs disposable aluminium oxide 40 grit
Material requirement for an 18.5-foot flat bottom boat
Material Quantity (kg)
Mirror Glaze Wax 0.150
Wax Polish 0.200
Gel coat Resin 23.000
Moulding Resin 155.000
CSM (Chopped Strand Mat) 55.000
Catalyst 1.850
Accelerator 0.050
Acetone 7.000
Pigment Paste 2.900
Brushes, Plastic Buckets etc
Timber & Plywood
Hardware
Total Cost of Material (GRP) Rs. 49,000
Total Cost of other Material/items Rs. 3,664
Average sale price of boat Rs. 94,500
Preparation of material
Mixing resin or gel coat
Resin is stored in drums in a cool, shaded
place, preferably in a separate resin room.
The drum in use will be laid horizontally off
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Credit: Practical Action South Asia