On Nov 6, 7:06 pm, Vic Smith wrote:
On Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:34:07 -0000, wrote:
On Nov 5, 6:10 pm, Vic Smith wrote:
On Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:01:52 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing

wrote:
On Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:35:20 -0500, HK wrote:

I have no objection to modern materials in the hull, but I'd not buy any
boat with foam in between the hull skins.

Why?

I've read that pounding eventually destroys the foam's
structure/strength, leading to excessive hull flex.
Yep. That's what I remember reading.

--Vic

I'd like to see some data, pictures, etc. backing that claim up!
Whoever wrote such sounds just like some old fart that's afraid of new
technology no matter what!

You're right, I misremembered. Though I did find one example, it was
a defunct sub-par mfg using sub-par foam, so it doesn't count.
What I should have said is that pounding often causes delamination of
FRP from cores of any type if the mfg/workers aren't top quality.
Another issue with cored hulls is water intrusion, which can
cause/accererate delamination.
There are weight/strength/insulation benefits to cored hulls.
Its up to the owner to decide what trade-offs he will make.
Buying a known good quality boat is important, but I've read that
most Boston Whalers and Carolina Skiffs have to some degree
waterlogged cores. You can easily verify that.
Some of that water gets in because owners don't seal their work
correctly, and some leaks are from the factory.
Anyway the integrity of a cored hull poses different issues than
that of a solid FRP hull.
I can understand why some people won't have a cored hull.

--Vic- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Yes, cored hulls are different from composite construction, though.
You can make a composite out of more than one of anything! Come to
Atlanta, and I'll show you a pedestrian bridge I participated in that
was designed by GT students and the structural frame is made
completely out of composite material. Very sturdy, half the weight of
a steel structure. There are many, many lightpoles in use today that
are carbon fiber composites, and I dare say that if you made one out
of FRP construction, it would snap like a twig!