BoatworksToday · video

What this video covers

Andy permanently closes four portlight openings on a 1970 Paceship Yachts Westwind 24 by glassing them over with fiberglass backed by laminating polyester resin.0:32 The hull laminate at the openings measures under a quarter inch (roughly 5 mm), so Andy grinds a full-thickness taper — approximately two inches wide around each opening — to create a feathered edge for the new glass to bond to.5:08 He chooses non-waxed laminating polyester resin over epoxy specifically because polyester allows successive layers to be added the next day without sanding between sessions; epoxy would require sanding every inter-session bond line.2:40 The backer pieces are wet out on vacuum-bagging plastic (impervious to styrene) rather than standard 6-mil poly sheeting, which styrene would melt.1:51 Andy uses a discontinued Festool RAS 115 angle grinder running at 1,500 RPM — far slower than a standard grinder — for controlled taper grinding with roughly 75–80% dust capture.6:49 Backer pieces are aligned with tape, bonded with structural putty, and set with non-waxed resin so the next session can proceed directly to laminating without additional prep.12:18 The practical takeaway: matching resin type to the work schedule — polyester for multi-session layups, epoxy when a single uninterrupted session is feasible — eliminates unnecessary sanding.

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