Epoxycraft
Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Epoxy Basics
  • How To
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Woodworking
    • Boat Building
  • Trade Secrets
  • Projects
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Woodworking
    • Boat Building
    • Motorsport
    • Aviation
    • Architecture
  • Meet The Maker
  • News
  • Contribute
  • Contact

Projects: Building a Haven with a modern foam and epoxy hull
31st January 2017

Building a Haven with a modern foam and epoxy hull

Before joining the West System International team, Area Sales Manager Gary Thompson honed his boat building skills and epoxy knowledge with a course at the Lyme Regis Boat Building Academy. Here, Gary proudly recounts the building of his Herreshoff Haven daysailer.

How did the project come about?

I was keen to top-up my wood working skills and gain some commercial boat building experience so I enrolled on a 6-month course at the Lyme Regis Boat Building Academy in 2011.

At first, I wasn’t sure which particular boat I wanted to build but I settled on the Joel White designed Herreshoff Haven 12 ½ daysailer. I’d seen a Haven built at the Academy in sheathed cedar strip plank which turned out to be absolutely gorgeous – I just loved its lines. It’s also relatively easy to launch off the back of a car, so it was the ideal boat for me.

The only problem was that due to the limited time available on the course it would be impossible to build the Haven in it’ s specified carvel planking. So when I heard a talk by course leader Justin Adkin on the quick and lightweight benefits of foam and epoxy construction, I was completely sold.

Which WEST SYSTEM products did you use? How did they help?

There are a lot of different technical elements to building this way and WEST SYSTEM® epoxy was used in every stage of the process.

The hull skin material was made by joining high density foam sheets and sheathing them with 200g/m² unidirectional cloth on one side. The sheets were screeded with a layer of WEST SYSTEM 105 Epoxy Resin® and WEST SYSTEM 205 Fast Hardener® thickened with WEST SYSTEM 409 Microsphere Blend in order to prepare the cloth for laminating.

The same epoxy mix was used for screeding the outer and inner hull to fill any gaps between the foam before sheathing with a layer of 450g/m² Episize™ Biaxial Fabric and finished with Episize Peel Ply. Once it was cured overnight and the peel ply removed, it left a consistent surface finish which allowed us to see areas that required filling and fairing.

peel ply As well as gluing the hog, keel, transom, bulkhead and foredeck – which was laid in 5 pieces – with WEST SYSTEM 105 epoxy and 205 fast hardener, all the timber deck structures were coated with a straight mix of epoxy resin to give them extra durability. A total of 67 pumps of epoxy was used just to do the foredeck.

The thing about using WEST SYSTEM epoxy is that it’s a proper system – you can mix it with different hardeners, fillers and additives so it’s very versatile and you don’t need to buy lots of different products. You get very comfortable working with it and that gives you greater control.

What was the most rewarding part of the project?

It sounds a bit clichéd but the whole build was rewarding because of the effort we put in. I had great help from the team and there were a few occasions when we worked into the small hours of the night but we took the time to really do things properly. I wanted to build a boat that would last a lifetime and we definitely achieved that.

What advice would you give to other boat builders?

The key to any major job to be carried out with epoxy is, plan, plan and plan. Everyone needs to know their role. WEST SYSTEM epoxy is fantastic at correcting mistakes but it’s better to avoid them in the first place. If you rush things or you’re unprepared, you’ll end up with problems.

Oh and another tip – for a clean and tidy finish on hard to reach fillets, use a piping bag to apply the epoxy, or a sandwich bag with the corner cut off. I only learned that since joining West System International and now I tell everyone.Herreshoff

Learn how to use a piping bag for filleting and filling in our Trade Secret.

For the full range of WEST SYSTEM products, visit the West System International website.


Share on


Back to projects

Subscribe to our newsletter
Our unique epoxy knowledge and experience, delivered straight to you

Events

Future dates TBC

What is epoxy?

Epoxy Projects

UK Chandleries Open – January 2021

As England, Scotland and Wales enter another lockdown, you may have started work on those home projects. Whether it’s boat maintenance and repairs, a restoration or a brand new build,

Creating an Artisan Gold Ring with Canadian Maple and Epoxy

You may be surprised to learn that the UK is home to some of the finest gold around. Mark discovered this as a child when his father, Edward, would take

Heritage 9.9

Castagnola Launch Heritage 9.9

Castagnola Shipyard has launched the elegant, custom-made Heritage 9.9. Able to reach a cruising speed of 34 knots, the 10.91m custom-built luxury yacht is a fine example of what happens

Nick Zammeti Gets Creative with Epoxy and Liquorice Allsorts

What happens when you give Youtuber Nick Zammeti lots of epoxy and bags of Liquorice Allsorts? You get one incredibly funky table! Nick is well-known and loved in the industry

Meet the Maker – The Resin Reserve

Resin artist, alchemist, resin-gineer. Kate Ede of The Resin Reserve has always kept us in awe of her marvellous and beautiful creations. Inspired by patterns in nature, Kate is a

Split Film Festival Trophies

Creating the 2020 Split Film Festival Trophy

The Split Film Festival is one of the oldest film and video festivals in Croatia, showcasing new films and radical works of all styles, themes and genres. The festival celebrated

Hot Box

How to keep your epoxy warm in winter: build a hotbox

Winter is a challenging time for epoxy products. Warmth is needed to keep the resin fluid enough for dispensing pumps to work well and cold ambient temperature can greatly reduce

How to Work With Epoxy in Cold Weather

The frosty mornings and dark evenings are drawing near. There are projects that need finishing, but what do you do when epoxy and cold weather don’t get on too well.

Mas Snowboard

Snowboard Enthusiasts Taking On The World With Incredible Designs

To many a holidaymaker, Turkey is a haven of golden sand beaches, historic landmarks and party towns. However, it’s not just those looking to top up on their tan that

Class Xero Yacht

Class Xero Combines Coffee and Epoxy in Sustainable Yacht Design

Image credit: Alec Smith - https://www.imagemundi.com Craig Palmer, based in Worthing, is looking at opportunities to bring the marine industry together in a collaborative way. In the middle of building

Craobh Woodwork

Bringing a New Lease of Life to Reclaimed Scottish Timber

Tucked away in the highlands of Scotland is the small village of Culbokie, home to Craobh Woodwork and artisan Bruce Neill. Specialising in producing bespoke timber products from the highest

Final Bar Design

Cheers! Leeds Furniture Maker Creates a Bar Worth Celebrating

James McKay has been a creator since his early years. His fascination for creativity guided his interest into art, design and technology during his school years. James went on to

  • Home
  • Epoxy Basics
  • Projects
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Woodworking
    • Boat Building
    • Motorsport
    • Architecture
    • Aviation
  • Trade Secrets
  • How To
    • DIY
    • Artists
    • Board Sports
    • Boat Building
    • Woodworking
  • News
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contribute
  • Contact
West System
Pro-Set
Entropy Resins
Subscribe to our newsletter
Copyright © 2021 Epoxycraft | Website by MAA