Tools used in the sailboat restoration
This page lists the tools that I used in the restoration project. I may have missed a few but I should have most of them covered. I will describe what I used the tool for, and what it worked best for. This was a learning experience for me so some of the tools were not the best choice for the job.
Although carpet knives are very sharp and their curved blade makes them great for cutting various things, they do not work well on fibre glass. The point quickly becomes dull and you end up with a useless carpet knife. A scoring knife, on the other hand, works great for cutting fibre glass.
I used a razor for cutting cardboard. This was primarily for making templates of various pieces which I later could create with my jig saw.
Using a sanding disc on my hand held grinder made the task of removing old resin and fiberglass from the hull super easy. Be sure to wear eye protection and a mask though because there will be a lot of flying dust.
A scoring knife is typically used for scoring arbrite before snapping it. Well the same principle seems to work for fibreglass. When removing the old stuff, you can score it first and then you will get a nice clean break. Note that you will probably go through a blade or two because fibre glass is not very friendly to work with.
Use sparingly since you need to remember that the primary ingredient in fibre glass is glass. Try not to hit the hull or any part of the boat you are not replacing.
A fast way to shape wood to the curve you need. One thing about working on boats is that there are a lot of curves. Very few edges are square.
Common sense pretection when working with power tools.
I am not sure how effective these are but they at least make you feel like you are doing something to protect you lungs from all the glass dust floating around.
I used the chisel primarily for scriping off dried resin from places it should not have been. For example, when you resin a piece of wood to something, when you go to do the next piece there is often some extra resin from the previous joint that has squeezed out and is now in the way. A chisel and sometime a hammer, are needed to remove this so you can continue the building project.
Another must have when working with wood. Useful for removing burs and sharp edges. The belt sander is still the way to go for the bigger jobs.
As I mentioned earlier on this page, a boat rarely has straight edges. If you are cutting a long subtle curve, a skill saw is best. For tight corners, you need a jig saw or a band saw.
For long cuts. Note that you can make gradual curves with a skill saw and the result will look better than a gradual curve using a jig saw.
When multiple long, straight cuts are needed, a table saw is the only way to go. I used this for getting my cedar strips the right width and thickness. Remember what they taught you in high school though... always use a push stick to get the last bit past the blade.
I did not use this very much since most cuts I did needed to have some level of curve in them.
Typically when working with wood you use a pencil, but by using a felt marker it allows you to mark resin, fibre glass, or whatever the surface may be.
Use a paint brush for applying resin, glue, and eventually paint. If you buy your brushes from a fibre glass store they are really cheap.
You will need lots of these unless you want to spread the project over a few years. Fortunately my neighbor is an avid wood worker and had a wide variety of clamps that I could borrow. Pipe clamps for the long distances and small clamps for the hard to get places.
Prevent piece of fibre glass from getting into your eyes. Very important when power sanding or grinding.
When working with resin, be sure to get a box full of disposable gloves. It is a real pain to try and clean that stuff off of your hands after each glueing session.
For making yourself think you are not breathing in all the fumes and fibre glass dust.
For sweeping out the dust and debris from the area you want to glass.
These are not needed that much since almost everything is glued together. The riggings are mounted with screw though.
For making things the right length.
A saw for cutting precision cuts.
A traditional saw for doing quick small cuts.
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