: Only the surface of laminating resin remains un-hardened. The
: purpose of this characteristic is to allow chemical bonding
: between the layers of a fiber reinforced laminate, and to do
: this more or less irrespective of how soon subsequent layers are
: added. The final layer in the laminate is applied with waxed
: resin, so the finished product is chemically bonded throughout,
: and the finished surface is hard. If non-laminating resin is
: used in initial layup, the quick hardening and waxed surface can
: defeat chemical bonding, particularly on large projects where
: completion of each layer takes a long time.

: As Bill points out, polyester resin is a relatively poor adhesive,
: so the strength of a polyester resin laminate depends critically
: on achieving tight chemical bonding between layers.

Btw, down and dirty and cheap, also expecting the boat not to last forever, you can use polyester at least over plywood and have it work on a small boat that's allowed to dry between uses. I've got a couple old, like 20 years old, plywood dinghys that I built that have held up relatively fine using cheap B/C plywood with Bondo to fix the surface imperfections and make filets and using polyester resin and glass cover.

Will they be as pretty and hold up just like an epoxy wood boat?, no, but they are cheap and they work.

Bill H.
: AE