Before considering the different fibreglass boat building techniques, you will need a basic knowledge of the materials you will use to build your boat. On this subject, we are not going to get too technical other than to explain the rudiments of the materials and techniques. If you want to know more, there are many good books available and evening classes or other courses where you can enrol for hands-on experience or sound out your local fibreglass materials supplier who should be up to date with the latest materials and techniques.
Fibreglass is easy to use and is an incredibly versatile material with uses from industry to the household enabling us to mould complex shapes, repair and construct almost anything. Our interest concerns the building of boats and this introduction is for that purpose only however, the more informed you are about the various types of resins and glass reinforcement materials and their particular applications, the easier it will be for you to successfully assemble a boat. Glass fibre construction is known by different names in different places. In English speaking Europe and Australasia it is called fibreglass; in the USA it is known as fiberglass. Some refer to the finished product as FRP which stands for Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic. Others use the term GRP standing for Glass Reinforced Plastic. The fibreglass or more correctly glass fibre is only one component of the finished product. The other main ingredient is the resin.
Born in Victoria Australia Bruce was educated at Eltham High School & then studied yacht design through the US based Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology. Bruce entered the marine industry and for several years operated a boat yard in Brisbane where he completed an informal boatbuilding apprenticeship.
Site: http://www.bruceroberts.com/