Recent Article on Boat Construction Materials, etc . . .

[tpenfield]

I happened to come across this recent article in Boating magazine that discusses various aspects of boat construction, including, backing/substrate materials, woven versus 'knitted' fabrics, kevlar, carbon fiber, resins, and core materials.

The article is geared towards someone considering a custom built boat and the title is somewhat off target, but I found it interesting and thought that I would share.

Learn the Truth About How Boats Are Built | Boating Magazine

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Recent Article on Boat Construction Materials, etc . . .

Interesting article, thanks

 

[pckeen]

Re: Recent Article on Boat Construction Materials, etc . . .

Hmmmm. So assuming you are restoring a boat for the long term - what do people think about using plywood vs. a polymer backer board for a transom replacement? If you were to use a polymer, what would you use?

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Recent Article on Boat Construction Materials, etc . . .

Hmmmm. So assuming you are restoring a boat for the long term - what do people think about using plywood vs. a polymer backer board for a transom replacement? If you were to use a polymer, what would you use?

IMO, plywood is the best build... light weight and strong. there's also different grades and types for the build you want.

For a long term build in either a fiberglass or aluminum boat build I'd use the kiln dried CCA pressure treated marine grade plywood. It won't rot even if it gets wet and has a 40 yr. life expectancy. It is kiln dried after pressure treating so there no moisture to inhibit resin bonding or absorption. The CCA pressure treating chemicals don't affect aluminum like the newer ASQ pressure treating chemicals do, so it's safe for aluminum boats too.

I have second and third choices too if anyone is interested.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: Recent Article on Boat Construction Materials, etc . . .

This topic has been discussed "Ad Infinitum" here on the forum. The costs of composites for the average DIY'er just does not make sense for the average rebuild. When you take into consideration that using normal Ext. Grade plywood, when properly prepped and encapsulated in resin and glass, (either Poly or Epoxy) and then properly maintained and cared for, will last multiple decades. My boat is 52 years old and still operating on the original stringers, deck and transom. If you are going to keep the boat for "LIFE" and want to try to guarantee there will Never be any issues regardless of the type of maintenance and care she is given AND you don't mind shelling out the extra dollars to pay for the Composite Materials, then by all means do so. They will perform as advertised. If you want to save several hundred dollars in material costs and then take the time in the future to care for your boat properly then again, they are not really needed.

Take into account, all of the above is just the singular opinion of one...

P.S.

I liked the Article but...I'm a WOOD guy at heart!!!!

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Recent Article on Boat Construction Materials, etc . . .

Yea, I thought that the author's dissing of plywood as a structural or backing material was interesting. Also, favoring VE resin over the traditional polyester resin . . . then there is the issue of woven versus knitted/stitched fabrics.

Probably makes sense from a new boat perspective, but for a DIY repair/restore the synthetic core materials are crazy expensive. I did use VE resin in my recent restoration of my 24 footer. Other than the awful fumes, VE was great to work with, I much prefer it to Polyester resin.

Also interesting is the comment about Kevlar as a material being ill-advised. I recall several boat companies over the past decade starting to use Kevlar and marketing the boats as such. Although, I believe there was not a significant amount of Kevlar in the hulls. :noidea:

 

[zool]

Re: Recent Article on Boat Construction Materials, etc . . .

I had an older Hydrosports 24cc that was supposedly Kevlar...it held up really well in offshore pounding, and i believe its still in service...but I cant really say i noticed any real difference from other quality built cc's of that era.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Recent Article on Boat Construction Materials, etc . . .

Yeah, the new composite materials and techniques like resin infused hulls are pretty amazing. They're very popular down here in FL for high dollar (+$30k), super light weight flats skiffs and big offshore boats, but not really practical for DIYers just yet. Although, there is a growing DIY resin infusion community. Lots of folks are fabing up components and/or entire hulls themselves by making large custom made panels and then bending and bonding them together the same way you would sheets of plywood. However, there is a steep learning curve though as the material are very expensive and resin infusion is essentially an all-or-none process. Once it starts there is no stopping and if there is a major flaw you have to pitch the entire hull. There is also a mountain of waste crated in the form of used tubing, vaccum bags, etc... I'm sure they'll have some more user friendly kits in the near future, assuming we aren't just using 3-D printers to make boats, which is already being done in some labs.

Here's a cool link to a skiff being made using resin infusion. It's a pretty ingenious process and the entire hull can be laid up and infused in less than an hour with a good team, and all with virtually no fumes or wasted resin. Bye, bye chopper guns and hand layups.

http://eastcapeskiffs.com/2-minute-boat-build/

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Recent Article on Boat Construction Materials, etc . . .

That video is way cool. I sort of wonder how they get the resin infusion to migrate fully under the core materials (green foam) that they layed down. It must work though . . .

I tried to do some of the vacuum infusion when I built my 8 foot pram . . . couldn't quite get it to work, as it takes a bit of engineering. definitely makes for good strength to weight ratios . . .

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Recent Article on Boat Construction Materials, etc . . .

I think a lot of it has to do with practice and the fancy composite core materials they use. Many of them have little pores/gridlines cut in to them which allow the resin to flow more freely. I've also noticed that some folks prefer to draw the resin from the edges towards the center. I was just reading an article the other day where they mentioned they they are now using the same process to make very large hulls in excess of 100', which must mean their confidence is really growing. The article said they can complete an entire hull in just a few hours rather than days, and of course the guys in the shop love it because there are very little fumes compared to the old days. It seems to be paying off in the long run too as many of the composite skiffs like Hells Bay, Hewes, East Cape, etc... seem to be holding their value well, especially the early Hell's Bay models which have quite a growing (and pricey) cult following.