Faster Wooden Boats

[kristymatheny9]

Hi Youngi,
Your comments on the Carbon are interesting, especially looking at it’s value and weight. The idea of substituting the glass with carbon would be to make a wooden boat stiffer for longer. My percieved difference between a Wooden and glass boat is durability. So,this in theory would make the boats more durable, but its probably not worth the effort by the sounds of things.
As for a New wooden boat and New glass boat being different, I think you have answered that question, so long as a wooden boat is built well, then it should be as fast as a glass boat. This is also shape dependant, which is where CNC cut patterns would be helpful.
When you head over to WA it would be great to catch up and have a look at my ply boat build. Also, Perth is a good place to build a boat, generally its low humidity and hot, so its just starting to come into building season..
Cheers,
David

[heymacaulay]

I’m in WA in less than 2 weeks. we have 40 foot container of Sabres, Sabre moulds, Minnow and Pacers. For a small business of only 3 we’re pretty chuffed to be filling containers that size for within Aus. Even more chuffed to have our old Pacer clients rushing back as their imported ones have caused them heartache…..a lot.

so keep some good rum in your cupboard and I’ll see you for sure.

re glass and carbon….both will make timber stiffer. carbon the most stiffest….but when its fatigue point is reached it is literally instantly.

best analogy is….2 windows………1 made of glass…..1 made of polycarbonate. Both clear and see through. bounce a tennis ball off each and the glass one will bounce back further every time. keep throwing the ball continuously and same result…..until…. smash ………glass one has reached fatigue failure point. polycarbonate one will go as long as you do. It occurs from a syndrome of “micro cracking”. this is the same issue in moulded foils. They micro crack over time and will be softer at the end of the season compared to the beginning which makes it hard to control your constants. This is a similar issue in ply boats as thickness is beyond the work capacity need. Laminated timber foils with epoxy glass never reach this fatigue point. Who ever invented trees did some amazing things. In 470’s I have foils still winning at world level after 20 years.

Which makes me think that maybe it is possible to do something better in ply.hmmmm….. Ther are places like Bondall that laminate anything to polyfoams for structure and insulation. I’m not sure what the thinnest 2 ply is available but concept:

1 veneer grain at 0 degrees and A-bonded to 2nd veneer at 90 degrees then A-bonded to 6mm Gurit foam then A-bond veneer at 90 degrees and last veneer at 0 degrees. this would leave you with an unbelievable Panel with no join either as outside veneer would be continuous. It wouldn’t measure (yet) as it as its not plywood but if you put a layer of glass on it becomes FRP. But it doesn’t bend the same as Plywood does but current ruling is allowing non plywood bends into plugs anyway so with that precedent set and plugs being made out of mdfs and various alterations then maybe this panel will pass….. sorry…thinking as I write.

I would surmise that with the other things that are getting through you would have no problem with this and is infact possibly already legal. have to think about that. a lot of people get their own Plywoods custom made as a lot of the production Aussie ones have issues. I’m sure this could be done by yourself just with a vacuum pump and its strength? As you are both tensioning and compressing a linear form and structure in the veneers I reckon it would be STIFFER than current FRP boats….there you go ply lovers and people that like to paint their boat every year lol……………….problem solved…..maybe……food for thought though….cheers

[heymacaulay]

Hi David,
I’m definitely over next weekend….so if you had good red or rum I’ll definitely come for a visit and see how your ply boat is looking. Are you the same “David” that I’m bringing a set of foils over for?

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