The first fibreglass/polyester resin boat was built in 1942 by Ray Greene of Toledo, Ohio. It was built using Owens Corning fibreglass fabric and American Cyanamid resin. The first rudimentary glass fibres were produced in 1932, and polyester resin in 1942. These early glass fibres and polyester resin formed the basis for the composites industry.
Today, the composites industry is extraordinarily complex, with many unique fabrication techniques, resin systems and reinforcements. Until that time, legacy materials such as steel, wood, and concrete were the chief building materials for most endeavours. As fibreglass boat building got more popular in the 1950s, an idea was hatched to build a pool out of fibreglass; and thus, the fibreglass pool industry was born. Fibreglass offers strength, is light weight, and low maintenance.
The same basic fabrication materials used for boats were utilized. Initially, there was much skepticism about this “new” material called fibreglass, because at the time, concrete dominated pool construction. The same reluctance held true for boats in the transition from wood to fibreglass. In addition, the pool installation techniques were not refined, leading to problems.
Addressing the cobalt problem
Until the 1980s, there was a lull in the installation of fibreglass pools because of perception and a lack of marketing. Also, during this period, there was a major problem with cobalt (black) spots on the surface originating from blistering, and pools that were not set correctly caused problems, and some bowed inward.
Towards the end of the 1990s, there was significant improvement with respect to installation techniques and fabrication materials. Fabricators were searching for ways to eliminate the blistering (cobalt) problem.
