Paint Versus Fiberglass

Traditional boats like the 14-foot Wright Skiff lived in the water, and still do. 

They were hauled out from time to time for repairs, bottom painting, and inspection.

Your Wright Skiff was designed to live in the water, too, so that the bottom planks can expand and "fill in the gaps" to prevent (or at least slow down) water intrusion.

Given that many of today's boaters don't live on the water and must trailer their boats, or may have a boat lift to keep them out of the water when not in use, some of our builders choose to fiberglass the bottoms of their boats.

There are a lot of positives to fiberglass and epoxy, such as keeping the boat dry, not having to bale, and trailering. But there are also many disadvantages, such as the cost of materials, working around the weather, the expertise required to apply fiberglass cloth and epoxy, and cleanup (i.e., the mess).

If you can keep your boat in the water, we recommend not fiberglassing the bottom. For those of you who want a challenge, stay tuned for directions (the first draft, of course) in late 2026 or early 2027.

A special thanks to Patrick Matte and Chad Blevins, from Family Boat Building Week 2026, for being our test cases!