Chuck Gould wrote:
Harry Krause wrote:
You keep expressing a concern regarding the term "composite."
Yes, well, the question wasn't about "composite," but composite *what*?
I asked you that several times, and you never provided an answer.

I can appreciate the use of foamboard as the filling of a fiberglass
sandwich in the transom, but not in the hullsides or bottom. The only
materials I think suitable for the fiberglass "hull" are the various
cloths and resins, not foam or foam boards or fillers.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -



"Foam" is a poor choice below the waterline, but few of the
specialized cellular structures I see included in dry layups can be
properly characterized as a foam. With trade names like Corecell,
Divinycell, and others, these materials are normally introduced in a
flexible dry sheet, speicifically engineered to allow the most
efficient and uniform distribution and penetrataion of resin during
the vacuum infusion process There are channels of varying dimensions
cut through the material to allow the resin to flow. As a general
class, they do not absorb water. A "foam" core never really became in
integral part of the laminate to the same degree that the modern
"composite" materials do.

Yes, Chuck, I know about these materials and how they are used. I've
seen them used in boat construction. That's not the point. They're foam,
albeit in "foamboard" form and I wouldn't buy a boat in which they were
used in the hull, aside from the transom and perhaps way above the
waterline. They're fine for decks, and for "furniture" in the cabin,
though.

There's no doubt foamboard makes for a lighter boat.