ondarvr
Supreme Mariner
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2005
- Messages
- 11,527
Re: Why not balsa?
Most of the boats being discussed here are relatively small and were built to a price point, plywood offered a low cost, readily available and easy to work with product that was also more durable than Balsa. Plus while the plywood was used for a core, it also supplied strength itself even without glass, so it was more versatile. Transom skins could be fairly thin and still hold up well, and the plywood floor only needed glass so it could be waterproof, not really for the strength the glass added.
Balsa adds cost by increasing the number of steps needed to make the boat, plus more training is needed to use it correctly and on these small boats there were limited areas where it could be of any great benefit.
When these boats are being re-done the easiest method is to stick fairly close to the original design and products used, because for the most part they worked well, the biggest shortcoming was workmanship in the production plant.
I've been reading a-lot of posts over the last six months and have noticed nobody uses this. Instead opting for ply but why? I use to work in a FRP plant, we would make everything from yellow iron parts up to nacelles for wind energy (that's the part which houses the motor and such). These same parts would be in the elements 24/7 and under a-lot stress and I mean a-lot. We used to encase a lot of metal brackets or more accurately called stiffeners but never ply. The cost and weight ratio was always a problem. I always wanted to ask that question when I worked there, but all the old timers where either retired or dead from the era when they used to make boats. Any ideas?
Regards
Most of the boats being discussed here are relatively small and were built to a price point, plywood offered a low cost, readily available and easy to work with product that was also more durable than Balsa. Plus while the plywood was used for a core, it also supplied strength itself even without glass, so it was more versatile. Transom skins could be fairly thin and still hold up well, and the plywood floor only needed glass so it could be waterproof, not really for the strength the glass added.
Balsa adds cost by increasing the number of steps needed to make the boat, plus more training is needed to use it correctly and on these small boats there were limited areas where it could be of any great benefit.
When these boats are being re-done the easiest method is to stick fairly close to the original design and products used, because for the most part they worked well, the biggest shortcoming was workmanship in the production plant.
