How To: Dinghy Park essentials
We asked David Johnson, Sales Director at West System International, technical expert and sometime yachtsman (that last one is his own description!), what WEST SYSTEM® products he would consider to be dinghy park essentials. That is those products that you should have with you in the dinghy park this summer, whether you’re away for a weekend of racing or out for some fun with the family. These key products could make the difference between getting you back out on the water or ending up sitting in the Club House.
1/ WEST SYSTEM G/5 Adhesive is known as the ‘Five Minute Epoxy’ for its fast cure time. It’s an easy two-part, fast setting resin/hardener system. It will adhere to most prepared surfaces including wood, fibreglass and most metal. It cures in just 4-5 minutes so is perfect for quick repairs. Not just for the dinghy park, we’re keeping some of this handy at all times!
2/ The WEST SYSTEM 105-K Glass Fibre Boat Repair Kit is a must for the dinghy park. It contains everything you need to effect a repair, from resin and hardener to glue brushes, peel ply and even nitrile gloves.
3/ For emergency repairs to a spar or spinnaker boom, David recommends having WEST SYSTEM SIX10 Thickened Epoxy Adhesive and about 10m of 175g/m² 100mm wide Plain Weave Glass Tape in your kit bag. We love the point-and-shoot convenience of WEST SYSTEM SIX10. Its self-metering coaxial cartridge dispenses a gap-filling structural epoxy that bonds tenaciously to wood, metals, fibreglass and even concrete. The tube comes with a static mixer that lets you lay down a bead of thickened epoxy with any standard caulking gun.
4/ Another great combination of products for emergency repairs would be WEST SYSTEM G/Flex 655 Epoxy, a 100m roll of WEST SYSTEM 874-100 83g/m² Peel Ply Tape (100mm wide) and 10m of WEST SYSTEM 732A 175g/m² Plain Weave Glass Tape (100mm wide). G/Flex® is a toughened two-part epoxy that is engineered for a superior grip to a variety of materials including metals, plastics and fibreglass as well as wet and difficult-to-bond woods. G/Flex 655 Epoxy Adhesive is conveniently pre-thickened. West System International sells handy G/Flex repair kits, find out more.
That’s our kit bag sorted then!
David’s top tip however involves a bit of advance preparation. He suggests making a pre-laminated sheet of glass fibre with WEST SYSTEM peel ply on both sides. This can then be cut with scissors to make a high strength patch to bond and cover a hole or area of damage. “This could not be more useful” says David. He also adds that gloves (Nitrile) and safety glasses are “an essential before any kind of repair work,” and encourages people to use their imagination to effect a cure outdoors such as using a “hairdryer to provide localised gentle heat for instance when it’s cold,” and “an umbrella to provide shade and extended working time when it’s too warm.”
For How To videos from West System International’s technical team demonstrating key epoxy techniques visit https://wessexresins.co.uk/support/how-to-videos/
