Anyone knows of some UK resin producers? (not resellers)

[GregOddity]

If there was a way of getting large quantities of cheap resin, the dumspter diving Cherub Class would have been onto it years ago. My own home built boat's nationals winning mast had fallen off an RS600 and sat on the bottom of a lake for years until the tide went out and it was "upcycled". Matrix Mouldings and ECF tend to be the cheapest. However, if you have no experience of using epoxy as I think you mentioned in your post (apologies if wrong) go on a course or spend time with someone who knows what they are doing and buy them many beers for their expertise, you will spend far less on courses and beers than you will with wasted epoxy. And I certainly would not be learning to use epoxy on a yacht you intend to take across the pond.

Epoxy, additives and good quality cloth (not crap CSM mat) are murderously expensive, and probably for a good reason. You are going to see a significant chunk of your budget dissapear on that. Cost me probably a couple of hundred quid in materials just to redo two small bulkheads on my Sabre 27. Running a good radiused fillet eats epoxy and additives at an alarming rate, and you have tens of metres of them to do.

No doubt you don't want to hear that, so I'll leave you with this, rumour has it that peel ply is exactly the same stuff that tailors use to line suits, so you may be able to save a few quid there.

I'm ok with epoxy, carbon fibre Kevlar etc and a few more. it’s actually the Fibreglass and polyesters I never worked with. I do know that "A" chunk of our change is gonna go and be glued to the hull. Oh no I have no problem listening to reality. I have a problem with being dismissed or reduced and ridiculed by no matter who or seeing someone the victim of it. I care VERY deeply about that.
Reality is something we cannot avoid. Were going to have to pay for it one way or another, there are no free lunches.

Adding that Matrix mouldings don’t think I had that one.

Ps, rumours are always interesting

 

[Iain C]

Well in that case you'll be fine. Polyester resins are much easier to work with than epoxies, just nowhere near as good. In terms of actual fibreglass, CSM is horrible crap stuff, I'd be using 45/45 biaxial to tab bulkheads to the hull and twill weave for going around intricate shapes. It's far easier to cut and wet out than CF, kevlar or squashed wasp, and won't trash your power tool motors if you need to sand it.

With regards to the ridicule thing, I still think from experience your project is not remotely viable in terms of timescale and cost, but I genuinely wish you all the best.

 

[Keith 66]

As far as resins go, if you want good performance Vinylester is the way to go, halfway between polyester & epoxy in performance, excellent chemical resistance & easy to use. It uses Peroxide catalyst same as polyester but is far higher performance.
Last boat i built was laid up with Atlac 580. Smells nice too. Some say it stinks!

 

[GregOddity]

Well in that case you'll be fine. Polyester resins are much easier to work with than epoxies, just nowhere near as good. In terms of actual fibreglass, CSM is horrible crap stuff, I'd be using 45/45 biaxial to tab bulkheads to the hull and twill weave for going around intricate shapes. It's far easier to cut and wet out than CF, kevlar or squashed wasp, and won't trash your power tool motors if you need to sand it.

With regards to the ridicule thing, I still think from experience your project is not remotely viable in terms of timescale and cost, but I genuinely wish you all the best.

It's more the timescale that's grinding on us, but hey I never seen one made on schedule anyway
As soon as I have a bit of time I’m going to have to play with Polyester to see how it performs. I'm guessing it's basically like any other polyester except on the release of heat since it's only mm of thickness, I did participate a good many years ago, on the build of the moulds and to cast clear polyester for fuselage domes on a prototype (layered). I’m guessing it’s the same stuff more a less and less complicated.

I hear you on the CSM. For the bulkheads tabs I think I'm going that way. I'm dealing with the "rests" of CSM left from the tabs and it's not fun.
The ridicule thing is like soup, too much salt and no one eats. Never salt the soup. Just enough does the trick.

 

[GregOddity]

As far as resins go, if you want good performance Vinylester is the way to go, halfway between polyester & epoxy in performance, excellent chemical resistance & easy to use. It uses Peroxide catalyst same as polyester but is far higher performance.
Last boat i built was laid up with Atlac 580. Smells nice too. Some say it stinks!

I'm still dabbing into the wonderful world of fibreglass resins, I’m going have to look that one up. The smell, I've yet to see one that doesn't, but some sort of nice smell would actually not be all bad.