Jack Rogers -you) writes:

....the main reason this boat needs to be light is
psychological. When some kid gives my son a hard time because he's
sailing a wooden boat, my son can truthfully tell him that the woodie is
the same weight as a glass boat, but stiffer and tougher! Some people

when plywood boats like the Optimist are built in fibreglass they usually
come out heavier. being overweight may not be a problem. being underweight
may be as people don't like racing against lighter, faster boats.

if the boat is to be built heavy of thicker plywood for toughness the
stiffness of thicker plywood may prevent it from bending to the shape of
the hull.

Skene's Elements gives the weight of fibreglass as 96 lb/cu ft, fir
plywood 36 lb/cu ft, fir lumber 32 lb/cu ft, and all the mahogonies
beetween the fir lumber and fir plywood.

something to note. sorry if it's been considered, I haven't read all the
articles in the thread.
--
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Jack Rogers -you wrote in message ...
Hello--

I'm building an optimist dinghy for my son out of okoume plywood. He'll
be racing it, so its important that the boat come out at the class
minimum weight. Can anybody recommend a glass tape (and supplier) to use
on the seams? I want something light weight that won't soak up a bunch
of epoxy. This is a tiny boat (7.5 ft) sailed by kids, so loads are
relatively light.

Thanks for any advice!

Jack


ARrRrrrrgggg! I can't take it anymore... Go to Raka.com, get their
phone number and call Larry, talk to him about 3.5 oz tight weave
cloth. Use a layer inside and one or two if you wish outside, on the
seams... you will never know it's there, it is as strong as regular
6oz cloth and thin as paper. It is very hard to wet out, do it before
you lay it up... do not use prethickened adhesives... that is a post
that is in the works too, it will make some very unhappy, but not as
unhappy as I was when I used it this summer. And a note to engineers
and hippies-- Don't make me pull this rig over...

Scotty.. These are boats folks, not lollipops, watch what you tell the
newbies to do...

....and fill the weave w/ filled epoxy. Neat epoxy is a heavy filler.
Same inside.



Paul Oman wrote:

SNIP

use 3 inch wide tape - let the weave of the cloth show thru instead of trying
to 'hide' the cloth weave with coat after coat of epoxy...

On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 06:16:02 -0500, "Reynaud" wrote:


"Jack Rogers" -you wrote in message
...
Hello--

I'm building an optimist dinghy for my son out of okoume plywood. He'll
be racing it, so its important that the boat come out at the class
minimum weight. Can anybody recommend a glass tape (and supplier) to use
on the seams? I want something light weight that won't soak up a bunch
of epoxy. This is a tiny boat (7.5 ft) sailed by kids, so loads are
relatively light.

Thanks for any advice!

Jack

In a lot of my projects I use ordinary denim cloth in 8 oz. works easier
than fiberglass also stronger.

Stronger?



Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a

"Religious wisdom is to wisdom as military music is to music."