On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 23:26:11 GMT, Gene Kearns
wrote:

Again... this has more to do with opinion than anything else. I have
seen very few boats that have failed structurally... in fact... I only
have proof of one.... a Trophy that sunk off Wrightsville Beach, NC a
few years ago, while taking part in a fishing tournament. It was a
dealer boat and I got pictures of the thing when it was dumped back at
the dealership.... Yep, you guessed it.... chopper gun...

I'm in agreement, although I must admit that I beat the hell out of an
MFG "tri-hull" back in the day and that was all chopped glass.

Bluefin, over in Bristol RI, uses a combination hand lay up and
chopped glass approach - the chopped glass is used to build up
strength in areas that don't need cosmetic hand layup. I've talked to
their engineer and he makes the point that from a practical
standpoint, there isn't much difference beyond costs.

I do know that my Ranger is all hand laid except for the transom which
is an extruded under pressure fiberglass mat/resin sandwich - the damn
boat is solid as a rock which is part of the problem - there is no
flex in the boat at all. That extruded transom is so hard, it's cut
with a high pressure water jet and a bitch to drill into.

As in most things, there are compromises to be made no matter what
brand of boat.