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Since you asked Downtown42, I will show you how a boat is built from the gelcoat to the inside lamination...

Just remember, this was over 15 years ago. Some things I would do differently today as the technology has changed.

Here ya go... Inside S.B.I.


First wax and prep molds with a releasing agent.

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Then tape off the mold if you are doing multi-colored gelcoat, then begin to spray the gelcoat on. Once the gelcoat starts to harden you can then proceed with a skin coat of fiberglass.

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Once your skin coat has hardened, you then can proceed with the structural glass layers, in this case is 1708 45+45-bi-directional glass with an Epoxy-based Vinyl Ester resin.

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Now is the time to fill in the Strakes with a Fiberglass Reinforced putty in order to make the hull flat inside to prepare it for the BALSA CORE LAMINANT.

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Once that is complete and all is very smooth and even, it is ready for the bonding layer of glass for the Balsa Core.

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Once the core has been placed into the bonding glass, then you fill in any voids around the core and begin to lay in the final laminants over the core.

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In this particular boat there will be three isolated, water tight storage compartments below the floor. The stringers are already glassed in place along with the bulkheads and finish off with white gelcoat prior to laying the floor in. This boat is intended for HIGH HORSEPOWER therefore TRANSOM KNEES were added to the hull.

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At this point the forward bulkheads were fitted and the floor glassed in, finished off with a bright white gelcoat.

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This is a different hull that was being fully cored sides and bottom per the customer's request.