Building a Fiberglass Dinghy or Two
I am going to show you how I build two fiberglass dinghys. This is not a design site. Mainly, I am going through step by step how I did it. There are professional sites that tell you how to fiberglass but they leave out some of the pitfalls you may encounter.
First, you have to decide what you want, what are your requirememts. For mine, I wanted stability, hence the flat bottom and wide pram bow. If you want something that is easy to row or a traditional looking dinghy you would want something completely different. There are sites that have plans you can purchase etc. Once you decide, it is time to go to work.
I did two because I wanted one for the boat I am building (www.waterfallcentral.com) and one for my home in Alaska (treegap.com). I was replacing a hardbottom inflatable because too often I would go to use the skiff and it needed air or when it was hot it was too hard and I thought it might blow up (not a real problem in Alaska). Not to say hard bottom inflatables are bad, the are very good but mine was showing wear from the beach and it was time to replace it.
When fiberglassing the hulls it takes two people, one to apply the resin and one to roll out the bubbles, so if you have a buddy that also wants one it is a great way to build two.
Let's get started.
First, you have to decide what you want, what are your requirememts. For mine, I wanted stability, hence the flat bottom and wide pram bow. If you want something that is easy to row or a traditional looking dinghy you would want something completely different. There are sites that have plans you can purchase etc. Once you decide, it is time to go to work.
I did two because I wanted one for the boat I am building (www.waterfallcentral.com) and one for my home in Alaska (treegap.com). I was replacing a hardbottom inflatable because too often I would go to use the skiff and it needed air or when it was hot it was too hard and I thought it might blow up (not a real problem in Alaska). Not to say hard bottom inflatables are bad, the are very good but mine was showing wear from the beach and it was time to replace it.
When fiberglassing the hulls it takes two people, one to apply the resin and one to roll out the bubbles, so if you have a buddy that also wants one it is a great way to build two.
Let's get started.
