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Tuesday, 16 December 2003
Composite Boat Building:
Foam Core Sandwich:
This method has a lot in common with sheathed strip: a core material is sandwiched between skins of fiberglass.
A hull jig is built from widely spaced molds with some longitudinal battens. This jig is covered with sheets of foam and the foam is covered with layers of fiberglass in polyester or epoxy resin on the outside. The hull is turned over, molds are removed and more layers of glass are laminated inside. The resulting hull shell is light and strong.
Special boat building foams must be used: plain house insulation foam will not work! The outside skin must be thick enough to resist puncture and for that reason, foam sandwich is not ideal for small boats: plywood-epoxy is a better choice in boats less than 25' (7,50 meters).
Cost is slightly higher than sheathed strip but hulls are lighter for same strength. The method is well proven and extensively used in a wide array of applications from aerospace to military boats. It requires more skills and better working conditions than sheathed strip.
Specifications must be calculated by an experienced designer.
Materials for this building method are sold at BoatBuilderCentral.com. |
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Thursday, 28 August 2008
