All fiberglass composite construction
 

I've noticed most of the major bass boat mfgs have gone to all fiberglass
composite construction. After see more than a few rotted out wood transoms
on boats a lot less than 20 years old I can understand why. It seems like a
lot of them are down here in the desert. You would not think it, but the
heat and the dry seem to be harder on the wood than anything.

Anyway, are there any sources for those types of materials for one off
construction for backyard builders?

All I have seen so far for totally rot free construction for the small boat
builder is aluminum. Not an easy backyard technique for somebody who hasn't
gotten some training on aluminum welding and a decent invest ment in a good
heliarc welder. (Durafix rods not withstanding. LOL)

Yes, I have been reading all about encapsulation and sealing all
penetrations etc, and I appreciate the offciandos on wood construction, but
I am not asking about that. I've read this group and most of the websites
for the a couple of years now, and I am fascinated by boat building
techniques.

I am asking about all fiberglass composite construction, and if there are
reasonable options for the backyard builder.


--
Bob La Londe
Fishing Arizona & The Colorado River
Fishing Forums & Contests
http://www.YumaBassMan.com





--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

All fiberglass composite construction
 

On Sun, 3 Dec 2006 12:15:10 -0700, "Bob La Londe"
wrote:

I am asking about all fiberglass composite construction, and if there are
reasonable options for the backyard builder.

Closed cell structural foam as a core material for the hull and
stringers, solid fiberglass in high stress areas such as the transom.

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=221

http://www.atlcomposites.com

All fiberglass composite construction
 

Bob La Londe wrote:
I've noticed most of the major bass boat mfgs have gone to all fiberglass
composite construction. After see more than a few rotted out wood transoms
on boats a lot less than 20 years old I can understand why. It seems like a
lot of them are down here in the desert. You would not think it, but the
heat and the dry seem to be harder on the wood than anything.

Anyway, are there any sources for those types of materials for one off
construction for backyard builders?

All I have seen so far for totally rot free construction for the small boat
builder is aluminum. Not an easy backyard technique for somebody who hasn't
gotten some training on aluminum welding and a decent invest ment in a good
heliarc welder. (Durafix rods not withstanding. LOL)

Yes, I have been reading all about encapsulation and sealing all
penetrations etc, and I appreciate the offciandos on wood construction, but
I am not asking about that. I've read this group and most of the websites
for the a couple of years now, and I am fascinated by boat building
techniques.

I am asking about all fiberglass composite construction, and if there are
reasonable options for the backyard builder.

www.bateau.com's online store sells Renicell foam in 2" thickness,
which is a high density foam specifically designed for composite
transoms. If you're looking to build the whole boat in foam/glass be
prepared to pay roughly 2x as for a plywood/composite boat.

Evan Gatehouse

All fiberglass composite construction
 

"The Elements of Boat Strength: For Builders, Designers, and Owners" by Dave Gerr (Chapters 2 .. 6) gives complete instructions for fiberglass construction. The disadvantage for the homebuilder is that one either spends a large amount of money and labor on a female mold or a large amount of labor on achieving a good finish. Materials are available.

Roger

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message .. .
I've noticed most of the major bass boat mfgs have gone to all fiberglass
composite construction. After see more than a few rotted out wood transoms
on boats a lot less than 20 years old I can understand why. It seems like a
lot of them are down here in the desert. You would not think it, but the
heat and the dry seem to be harder on the wood than anything.

Anyway, are there any sources for those types of materials for one off
construction for backyard builders?

All I have seen so far for totally rot free construction for the small boat
builder is aluminum. Not an easy backyard technique for somebody who hasn't
gotten some training on aluminum welding and a decent invest ment in a good
heliarc welder. (Durafix rods not withstanding. LOL)

Yes, I have been reading all about encapsulation and sealing all
penetrations etc, and I appreciate the offciandos on wood construction, but
I am not asking about that. I've read this group and most of the websites
for the a couple of years now, and I am fascinated by boat building
techniques.

I am asking about all fiberglass composite construction, and if there are
reasonable options for the backyard builder.


--
Bob La Londe
Fishing Arizona & The Colorado River
Fishing Forums & Contests
http://www.YumaBassMan.com





--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

All fiberglass composite construction
 

"The Elements of Boat Strength: For Builders, Designers, and Owners" by Dave
Gerr (Chapters 2 .. 6) gives complete instructions for fiberglass
construction. The disadvantage for the homebuilder is that one either
spends a large amount of money and labor on a female mold or a large amount
of labor on achieving a good finish. Materials are available.

Roger

http://home.insightbb.com/~derbyrm
"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 3 Dec 2006 12:15:10 -0700, "Bob La Londe"
wrote:

I am asking about all fiberglass composite construction, and if there are
reasonable options for the backyard builder.

Closed cell structural foam as a core material for the hull and
stringers, solid fiberglass in high stress areas such as the transom.

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=221

http://www.atlcomposites.com

All fiberglass composite construction
 

Bob La Londe wrote:

Everybody else mentioned foam, which can soak up moisture
and is difficult to work with.

You can do hand layups with honeycomb core materials like
Plascore and NidaCore. The reps from those companies will
tell you vacuum bagging is required, but it isn't so.

I've built with hand-layed Plascore several times. It's light,
it becomes stiff (with sufficient glass) and it will not soak
up water, no matter what.

All fiberglass composite construction
 

Bob La Londe wrote:

Everybody else mentioned foam, which can soak up moisture
and is difficult to work with.

You can do hand layups with honeycomb core materials like
Plascore and NidaCore. The reps from those companies will
tell you vacuum bagging is required, but it isn't so.

I've built with hand-layed Plascore several times. It's light,
it becomes stiff (with sufficient glass) and it will not soak
up water, no matter what.

Sandy Pittendrigh
http://montana-riverboats.com

All fiberglass composite construction
 

Some foams are closed-cell. Core-cell is widely used in high-end boats.
It's available from Jamestown, Noah's and Defender.
As the original poster has settled on "all fiberglass", i didn't advance
it.


"Leaks" wrote in message
ups.com...

Bob La Londe wrote:

Everybody else mentioned foam, which can soak up moisture
and is difficult to work with.

You can do hand layups with honeycomb core materials like
Plascore and NidaCore. The reps from those companies will
tell you vacuum bagging is required, but it isn't so.

I've built with hand-layed Plascore several times. It's light,
it becomes stiff (with sufficient glass) and it will not soak
up water, no matter what.

Sandy Pittendrigh
http://montana-riverboats.com

All fiberglass composite construction
 

Bob La Londe wrote:

Everybody else mentioned foam, which can soak up moisture
and is difficult to work with.

Only if you don't know what you are doing, in which case, you
shouldn't try to build anyway.

Lew

All fiberglass composite construction
 

Lew Hodgett wrote:

Only if you don't know what you are doing, in which case, you
shouldn't try to build anyway.


......maybe my "foam is difficult to work with" comment was a mistake.

But I do like plastic honeycomb core a lot better than sheet foam, in
general,
for a variety of reasons. Substantially better compression strength
and durability is one such reason. Honeycomb core is easier to dovetail
together too, in order to make extra-wide or extra-long panels, prior
to
the actual layup.

For panels used to make seat tops and/or dory bottom panels,
an equivalent amount of fabric and resin, applied over honeycomb core,
makes a stiffer, stronger panel than the same layup applied over foam.
.......in my experience anyway. I'd call it better stuff.

All fiberglass composite construction
 

Leaks wrote:


.....maybe my "foam is difficult to work with" comment was a mistake.

But I do like plastic honeycomb core a lot better than sheet foam, in
general,
for a variety of reasons. Substantially better compression strength
and durability is one such reason. Honeycomb core is easier to dovetail
together too, in order to make extra-wide or extra-long panels, prior
to
the actual layup.

For panels used to make seat tops and/or dory bottom panels,
an equivalent amount of fabric and resin, applied over honeycomb core,
makes a stiffer, stronger panel than the same layup applied over foam.
......in my experience anyway. I'd call it better stuff.

When it comes to hull foam, there is Airex and foams that when they
grow up want to be Airex, IMHO.

Same can be said about Divinycell for decks.

After that, it is a whole different world.

BTW, must admit that I'm not up to speed on CoreCell as of yet.

Lew

All fiberglass composite construction
 

Lew Hodgett wrote:
Leaks wrote:


.....maybe my "foam is difficult to work with" comment was a mistake.

But I do like plastic honeycomb core a lot better than sheet foam, in
general,
for a variety of reasons. Substantially better compression strength
and durability is one such reason. Honeycomb core is easier to dovetail
together too, in order to make extra-wide or extra-long panels, prior
to
the actual layup.

For panels used to make seat tops and/or dory bottom panels,
an equivalent amount of fabric and resin, applied over honeycomb core,
makes a stiffer, stronger panel than the same layup applied over foam.
......in my experience anyway. I'd call it better stuff.

When it comes to hull foam, there is Airex and foams that when they grow
up want to be Airex, IMHO.

Same can be said about Divinycell for decks.

After that, it is a whole different world.

BTW, must admit that I'm not up to speed on CoreCell as of yet.

Lew

Lew,

Don't try CoreCell - you'll never go back. It's 20% more expensive
and much better. You'll not want to use anything else. It machines
beautifully with sander/grinder/router with rebates for overlaps.
It's easy to thermoform. It doesn't offgas like the PVC foams when
post curing. It's way more ductile than the rigid PVCs but not as
flexible as Airex. Very damage tolerant to slamming like Airex.
Airex isn't used that much these days because its shear strength isn't
as good.

If you look at what custom high end sailboat builders use, Corecell is
the #1 choice.

Evan Gatehouse