chop glass vs laid up

[ratherbefishin]

It's been many years since chopped glass was used, and seemed to be looked down on as a inferior to laid up hulls- probably as a cost saving method.<br /> However- years later- how did they actually stand up?Was there much diferance , apart from being heavier?Maybe some owners of these older hulls would comment?

 

[MFG197]

Re: chop glass vs laid up

you mean chopped glass is used in newer boats right?

 

[motownbob]

Re: chop glass vs laid up

I think that the deciding factor is really about the manufacturing process and quality control, not the materials involved. Both types of glass can build a great or a bad boat.And of course, in a used boat, how the fiberglass has been cared for over the years.

 

[envy83]

Re: chop glass vs laid up

There is definitely a big difference in quality between the two! What gives fiberglass boats their strength is long continuous fibers held in place by as little resin as possible. Chopped glass uses resin as the main material with just little fine fibers mixed in throughout. It's okay for a bath-tub, but not a boat. Whether it still looks okay or not, I would never buy a boat whose hull was primarily chopped!

 

[Columbia]

Re: chop glass vs laid up

Weight is a big consideration. In my experience, chopper layup has to be thicker and heavier than hand laid for the same strength as hand laid. I would not own a boat that was chopper gunned if I could avoid it.

 

[walleyehed]

Re: chop glass vs laid up

"weave is for strength....Mat, or Chopped, is just for build-up"....Mat is really non-structural other than maybe being used on the sides of strigers to hold in place.........

 

[BillP]

Re: chop glass vs laid up

I hate to disagree but pound for pound chopped laminate is every bit as strong as cloth. Mat is not as flexible as woven roven and is used to stiffen the hull without using core materials. It is bulk, strength and weight. QC is the real problem with chopper guns and there is no way for the operator to put an exact thickness down, close but no cigar. A bad chopper gun operator can also leave thin areas and weak spots. The operator determines resin to cloth ratios. Modern sandwich construction (cores, etc.)and bi-directional cloths have somewhat replaced chopped mat. I will take a boat bulked up with chop any day over one stiffened up with a foam core.

 

[ratherbefishin]

Re: chop glass vs laid up

I'd like to see some feedback from owners ofthe older chop glass hulls- time is a great way of sorting out myth from fact.How did the chop glass hulls stand up?Has there been any appreciable diferance in longevity, maintenance, stress fractures, etc?

 

[BillP]

Re: chop glass vs laid up

ratherbefishin,<br />To my knowledge there were few, if any, all chop boats produced. However, 95% of production trailer boats between the 50s and 90s probably used chop. Pick any well known brand. Who knows what the actual % is but basically every production boat shop around used chop. Chop was/is used from low end to high end boats and they don't show any problems with this construction. You don't see the boat hulls falling apart from the use of chop. The problems you see are from poor engineering, quality control or craftmanship. <br /><br />Like I posted earlier, chopper guns make it real easy for operator error...I used them them in the 70s and saw 19' hulls and decks go from mold to dumpster because an inexperienced operator didn't turn on the hardner or the gun malfunctioned (the operator also made the mistake of not using red tracer hardner). This is a major reason for not using chopper guns. Mat (merely the same glass fibers binded together to make cloth) is the "controlled" way to sidestep chopper gun problems and is still universally used today.

 

[grampa's toy]

Re: chop glass vs laid up

I have a friend bought a 2002 trophy, new boat listed heavly to port. the factory took it back for repair at the end of the season .they took it apart and told him it was overbuilt on one side and they had to add 280 pounds to the other side reducing his payload. they also left the boat uncovered and the uprighi bowrails filled with water froze and split.