Homemade Fish Box?

if its just foam and thin fiberglass you may not be able to put too much weight on it (sit/stand) you may want to add in some alum or metal stiffeners. it wouldnt be a bad idea between my rod lockers if it could double as extra front deck

1) acquire a few sheets of 2" rigid roofing insulation (with paper backing, not foil)

2) cut the sheets to the size box you want (bottom, sides, top)

3) assemble the pieces using nails to temporarily hold it together (just push the nails in). it helps if you build a jig of some sort to get it square)

4) on the inside, use bondo or thickened epoxy to fill the inside joints and give you a rounded joint. on the outside, sand down the square edges to round off

5) lay up inside and out with chopped strand mat or woven roven and general purpose epoxy, several layers. you'll want to reinforce the edges and seams with strips

6) lay up the top, same way, both sides

7) paint the inside with food grade paint. either pait or sand and gelcoat the outside

8) affix SS hinges to the top and box, i usually thru bolt them thru a backing plate

9) glue a foam strip around the inside of the top where it hits the box as a seal

10) stand back, crack a beer and admire your cleverness

either 3 layers of 1.5oz chopped strand mat or 1 layer woven and one layer chopped strand

you should have a cgrand sticker on it...

quote:

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you should have a cgrand sticker on it...

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If you start making "cgrand" stickers put me on the list.

West System ice chest

I'm planning to do one soon. Found these "plans" the other day. I'm not planning to do plywood on the inside, just outside for some rigidity. Fully expect this to cost way too much and be way too heavy, but want to learn how to lay glass and make it look nice.

That thing must weigh 1000lbs

I don't doubt it

if glassed correctly over 2" rigid insulation, you do not need the plywood. i have about 6 homemade boxes in various sizes, all of them are at least 15 years old and get heavy use

all the plywood is going to do is add weight (these boxes are already heavy) and wood that can eventually rot if your glass barrier gets cracked

fiberglas is very forgiving. just a couple of tips

1) make SURE your surface is clean, no dust, no dirt. vacuum it well and wipe it with a tack rag

2) make sure all your edges and joints are rounded

3) pre-cut your mat, with generous overlap

4) dont mix your hardener too hot unrtil you get a feel for the process, you do not want it to kick before you are ready

5) go heavy on the epoxy until you get a feel for it. make sure your mat is wet/wet/wet with no white showing and no air bubbles

6) go slow, it will take a while for you to get the mat wet enough to lay down at the corners and whatnot

7) after your first layer kicks, get your grinder out with a flap disc, and sand the shite out of it...no shiny spots remaining. then vacuum, tack rag, and go again