Mike Conway

The term "fiberglass".  That's the name Owens Corning gave it -  they made the glass reinforcing.  In most countries it's called GRP -- glass reinforced plastic.  Polyester resin is the plastic part and the glass is the reinforcing.  Like steel rebar in concrete.  And yes, you can set glass cloth in epoxy resin but that's not the same as "fiberglass' -- as the term is used in the U.S.  Also polyester resin normally doesn't sand, only specially waxed polyester resins do.  Stick with epoxy is my recommendation.  And do what others have already done like the beautiful wood tug hull that was shown several entries back and that was done in epoxy and very light weight cloth.  Epoxy is also resistant to water vapor.  That's not the case with fiberglass (which is polyester resin and glass.)

Be  careful using epoxy resin.  Use gloves.  You can become sensitized to epoxy resin -- maybe not the first time or two but after repeated exposure.   Then you can do what I did and break out in giant hives as big as dinner plates.   I don't think breathing it is a hazard -- or not that I've ever heard and it doesn't bother me.

Easing or slacking a line over a belaying pin (or even around a winch drum) is often called surging.

The Scharnhorst was a battle cruiser instead of a battleship.  A very interesting book is "The Death of the Scharnhorst" about its sinking by a British battleship and several cruisers.  One of the cruisers involved (the Norfolk, I think) is permanently moored in the Thames where you can board it.  It may be the last big gun British warship from WW II in existence.  But read the book, by all means.