Re: 1979 Imperial
Just wondering are the KW made with no wood at all in the structure ? If not whats in the transom and stringers?
Hey bro-
No wood at all, I believe the stringers are composit cored and glass covered. Transom is some type of composite material also.
This is from their web-site
Every boat from Key West Boats is entirely free of wood in every aspect, therefore it is obvious we feel that it is the best approach. But a better question may be why?
Wood can rot. We all know that, and anyone who has even limited exposure to old wood cored boats has experienced some level of wood rot. Rot can render an otherwise nice boat worthless since the structural members it is used in are such an integral, important, and hard to replace component of a boat. To be fair to wood though it should be acknowledged that it is a strong and resilient substance that can take a lot of abuse, before it rots. But isn't it OK if it is fully encapsulated in fiberglass?
Full encapsulation sounds like a workable solution to wood rot, but the truth of the matter is that fiberglass lamination is still somewhat porous, no matter how well done. Water eventually migrates into even the best protected wood and the rot process starts. At this point the full encapsulation may even be detrimental by trapping the water in the wood and preventing it from drying out to stop the rot process. Therefore at Key West Boats we have chosen to use the more modern composites for coring.
Are all composite cored boats better than wood cored boats?
While composite coring is potentially better than wood coring through the elimination of wood rot, the transition by a builder from wood coring to composite coring is not as simple as it may seem. Composites come in many different forms and strengths adjusted over the years for each application. For instance, the composite core of a transom is exposed to far different stresses than the core for the sidewall of a boat, or the floor, and even the deck. Therefore at Key West Boats we use a product that has been specifically engineered over the years to meet a very narrow application. It would be simpler and less expensive to cut some corners here, but the life of your boat and your family is worth the effort we make.
Beyond the very specific composite used for an application is the method of installation, or more specifically, the fiberglass materials used to install it. At Key West Boats we have many years of experience with these products and have learned that they require high tech directional fiberglass carefully installed to provide the strength needed. A good example of this would be the floor of a boat. At any point in the cockpit a heavy passenger may be standing while riding through rough water. This concentrates an extreme amount of pressure in a concentrated area. Therefore the reinforcement on the very bottom of the floor, under the composite coring, must be able to withstand the pounding, for wave after wave, and year after year. To see how we're doing check out an older Key West Boat and look for cracks in this and other high stress areas.
