I have read just about all there is to read on the web about epoxy vs polyester but have seen very little about vinylester systems.

Im wondering if anyone has any tips for doing transom and stringers with vinylester any difference in layups or anything? Is any of the prep work different? Im assuming vinylester is compatible with a polyester boat.

Worked awesome in my boat. I did a couple small repairs with some cheap poly resin and after doing the stringer in vinylester I re did the other spots. Bonds much better.

Prep, layup, etc with vinyl is about the same as with poly. But vinyl has less shrinkage, is less brittle and I think has better secondary bond characteristics than poly (from what I remember), also better when it comes to water absorbtion/blistering. It is somewhat more expensive than a good poly, but less expensive than epoxy. It has alot of epoxy characteristics, but still gelcoat compatible. I used it on my transom when I rebuilt my boat, but switched to poly (and a local supplier) for the rest of the boat, I used about 35 gallons total.

Unless you really feel you need the additional strength of the vinyl, a good quality poly will be more than sufficient.

I used it on my project. Transom, stringers, bulkheads etc.....

I like the fact that it seemed to have a longer time before it gelled compared to poly. It gave me a bit more time to work.

when i asked glassdave about what resin to use on my boat he said most of what he does in his shop is vinylester

It looks like the way to go

yep, VE's the way to go with most stuff. Better work time and carries great physicals with elongation that is closer to glass fiber making it a great match. I use mostly vinylester for pretty much everything except where I need ultimate strength then its epoxy. make sure you are very strict with the mix ratio 1% by weight at 70 degrees get a cheap digital scale if at all possible

The VE is great. What sucks about epoxy is that when you use it you have to continue using it and top coating it has added steps as well. With VE or polly you can gel right over it.

Go to harbor freight and buy the 10# digital scale...it actually works very well. A previous tip from dave...all you have to do is move the decimal to get your 1%. Another quick tip is to get mixing buckets (paint section at home depot, lowes, menards, Sherwin Williams) and pour your desired amount of resin in one, then take an empty one and place it on the scale, zero the scale then replace it with your full resin bucket. Makes for an accurate measure of the resin. Take a mental note of your numbers and then zero the scale again and add your MEKP.

an if ya hafta do a lot of it like me ya get a real quick system imbedded in your head where you dont have to weigh the resin at all lol

I do all weights in grams
use the 1 qt cups like from home depot with 4oz separations on the side
empty cup - 35 grams (irrelevant with this method)
4oz = 150 grams
using this info i mix most quantities in multiples of 4oz and this allows me to only have to weigh MEK, for that i can use a small digital pocket postal scale (also from HF for like eight bucks)
i also buy small 1 oz paper cups (the kid size Dixie ones that hang in a dispenser by the bathroom sink) just for weighing mek,
The 1qt plastic cups arent actually 1qt but go up to 24oz on the side, if you fill up to the lip/line just above that it is almost exactly 1000grams and that equals 10 grams of mek
all of this makes it pretty easy to just weigh MEK on the fly by doing it systematically, keep track in 150 gram increments and just move the decimal two places to the left.

Yeah i think it just makes more sense than epoxy especially because as i understand 1708 is really the best thing to use especially for a novice at glassing

1. Epoxy is too thick to drive the resin into the mat effectively
2. To use epoxy properly i would need 1708 with a binderless mat or just not use 1708 all together
3. I would need binderless mat to bed in the transom or the middle layer between the plywood
4. epoxy is expensive as f***