"DSK" wrote in message
...
Maxprop wrote:

Some people hate foam core, though.


I'm curious--why?

Because, man, it's CORED! It isn't 3 inch thick solid fiberglass like
Mamma used to make... you know, back in the good old days when they didn't
really know how strong the stuff was.

Ah, gotcha.

It provides hull rigidity, it's closed-cell meaning it won't absorb
water like end-grain balsa or ply, and it's temperature stable. What's
the downside?


It can delaminate if overstressed or not bonded correctly in the first
place. It needs to be cut back in the way of any thru-bolted fittings.

Aside from that, it's too light, when everybody knows that boats should be
heavy!

Even with the foam core my boat has a disp/length ratio of over 400. I hate
to think what it might have been had the hull been 1" solid FRP.


I've met a lot of boat designers over the years, the boat show is not a
good place to talk intelligently to them. They've just been thru a wringer
for the past X weeks (maybe months) getting ready and now they're all
jazzed up to try and move product. A few notable exceptions were Roger
Dongray, the Cornish Crabber/Shrimper designer, and Jerry Douglas the
chief designer for Catalina (he introduced me to his friend Frank Butler,
whom we've met on several successive occasions). However I'd like to note
that while Jerry Douglas seemed quite interested in the Johnson 18 and
came up with several ideas on the boat, Catalina/Capri never implemented
any of them and let the class die.

I met Frank Butler at a show about twenty years ago. He was amiable,
informative, excited about is products and eager to speak with potential
customers. A few years ago I heard him speak at a seminar in Chicago. He
was cynical, obnoxious, and appeared depressed. Perhaps success isn't all
it's cracked up to be. ??

Max