Fiberglass Cloth & Tape
Shop fiberglass tape and cloth at West Marine.
Fiberglass cloth and tape are reinforcing fibers that create structural strength when combined with polyester, vinylester or epoxy resin. These materials are used in a wide variety of boat building and repair applications. Examples include hull layups, reinforcing hulls and decks, repairing cracks and holes and patching up damaged areas.
Types of Fiberglass Cloth and Tape
West Marine sells fiberglass as chopped strand matt, cloth, tape and roving.
Chopped Strand Mat
Chopped strand mat is a flat sheet of randomly orientated fibers that leaves a flat, rather than a rippled surface. This material works well as an external layer, as well as between other layers of cloth.
Fiberglass Cloth
Fiberglass cloth woven much like the oxford weave of a shirt, wherein the weft threads pass over and under the warp threads in a 90 degree pattern.
Fiberglass Tape
Fiberglass tape is woven like fiberglass cloth and available in various widths and lengths. One difference between fiberglass tape and cloth is that tape has a non-raveling edge unlike the edge of fiberglass cloth which easily unravels and comes apart. Fiberglass tape is used for creating champers, fillets, tabbing bulkheads and for other purposes.
Fiberglass Roving
Fiberglass roving consists of large bundles of fibers woven in a coarse fabric that is used for flexible strength, and for building up thicknesses of laminates. Generally, roving and mat are alternated for several layers to create the desired thickness.
The weight of fiberglass cloth, tape and roving is quantified as the material’s weight per square yard.