: When I chose to build from plans I have a friend in the boat repair business.

: The plan was to save a buck getting supplies wholesale. This isn't working
: out too well.

:My West System epoxy I got from him was a deal for West
: System. But that stuff is more expensive than the MAS I can get from CLC.

That's one criterion people use when making purchasing decisions.
West Systems epoxy is the benchmark. If you are using it when working on other people's boats you can always claim that you use the best materials available. It is good marketing.

: Now the cloth I got is 3 times more expensive that what CLC offers. I was
: happy with what I got from CLC. Is there a reason for the high cost of the
: other stuff?

Probably shipping costs, and volume. Youcould do your friend a favor and lead him to some retail places which would sell him glass cloth for less than his current supplier. If he is buying for resale he'll get the same tax advantages as buying 'wholesale', but depending on your state and their sales tax laws the way to make this happen will vary. A local acountant will know, though, whether he'd file foe a refund, or give the vendor a tax number at the time of the purchase.

:Are there higher quality brands that we don't need?

Yes. There are higher quality products available. But the brands may be the same--and most of the time you won't know the brand, anyhow. For example, S-glass is generally stronger than E-glass. There are a gazillion different mixtures of minerals that can be melted to make 'glass'. Some impart color to the mix, others make it stronger, or more ductile, or change the melting point. If you take anyof these glass recipes and make fine threads from them you can spin and weave these strands to make fiberglass cloth. You can deal with just one recipe and get a wide range of results by making the strands thicker or thinner, by varying thethickness of the thread made from the strands, and by changing the weaving pattern of these threads.
PGJ
: Kim