Re: Fiberglass or Composite Materials?
What company has this patented compressed glass construction ?
YD.
dont know.....but it sounds like a sales pitch to me......that process will be just like vac bagging (or similar) to get the resin/glass ratio down. and possibly a heat bake as the glass comes off the back end of the cure.
As for stress cracks..your going to have to be In the Plant when they apply the gel to Know if your boat will have a chance of cracking in the gel. ( Every boat is built one at a time..the sprayer could have a hangover and put too much gel in the mold ).
to elaborate a little more about this correct statement......
if the gell has too much catalyst or not enough...it will also stress crack. they shoot at 35 thou thickness.....it takes a real experienced shooter to keep this thickness even. a slight adjustment to the gun....and they could go thick or thin....also.....in corners...the gell will tend to collect....this can cause crazing as well.
there are some manufacturers claiming a kevlar hull or transom........this is a sales pitch.
there is a small strip of kevlar in the transom or keel....my girlfriends bikini has more material than the kevlar in these boats
...this strip of material is just there to say there is kevlar in it. these boats are made of poly resin.
to be effective.....the kevelar/carbonfiber/graphite must be bonded by epoxy. polyester resin will fail before the minimum strength of the kevelar cloth will be required. this is why the epoxy must be used.....
let me give an example......say we take 4 sheets of tinfoil compressed together...and call that kevelar....ok....now .... place the tinfoil between 2 sheets of paper. (this simulates our fiberglass lay up)......now stab your lay up with a pen......the paper will fail long before the strength of the tin foil is even required.
(i know this is a bad example......but the premise is the same.)
kevelar, carbon fiber, graphite demands the use of epoxy for the strong material to be of any value to the laminate.
because of production costs, problems with shooting epoxy resin and many other reasons....epoxy is not used in production boat building.
that ......and the fact that fiberglass with poly resin is far stronger than the demands of even the most serious boat will ever require.
a good glass boat will last 50 years or more.
to the OP.
a well kept glass boat with wood transom and stringers will last you far longer than you will care to keep the boat.
if you are really worried....go to a tinny !
cheers
oops
