How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

jbcurt00

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

Nice read! Thanks.
 
denlynn36

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

Sweet! TY for sharing, Just put it on my nook so I have somthing to do @ work tomrw :)
 
KennethfromGA

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

Cool,
That answered several questions I've been pondering. TY WoG :becky:
 
a1964rn

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

Good information. Thanks for posting!
 
jigngrub

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

Very interesting!

... but I was kind of disappointed they didn't mention where they install the molecule of rot that slowly takes over the bowels of the boat as it ages and moisture levels rise.:faint2:
 
saginawbayboater

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

jigngrub said:
Very interesting!

... but I was kind of disappointed they didn't mention where they install the molecule of rot that slowly takes over the bowels of the boat as it ages and moisture levels rise.:faint2:
Click to expand...

Ya Jig It's not real world boat building I don't see them drinking beer, and there is no dirt or leaves in those layups!

Thanks Wood!!!! Good stuff!!
 
beardeddone

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

With all the technology we have available there should never be any wood in a fiberglass boat from the manufacturers and should still be cost effective Advanced Composites and Lamination - YouTube I especially like the ending where they give a lifetime warranty on the hulls. Composite materials have been available for years and in some cases cheaper then wood.

There are a lot of videos on youtube on fiberglass boat building, I can see how with wood stringers it would be easy to not get the wood sealed when spraying the fiberglass or epoxy in place, the wood is at the mercy of the worker doing the spraying and time is money equals shabby workmanship..Composite materials seems to be the way to go on a rebuild if needed..

Makes me wonder way back when there was only wooden boats or ships just how many sank do to rotten wood as they had to leak like a sieve but at the time had no choice of materials like we have available today but for the most part worked quite well and some of the engineering then was remarkable ...
 
Woodonglass

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

We all need to remember that, for the most part, all of the boats that are being restored here on the forum, are 10+ years old and have more than likely been severely abused. We occasionally see boats that are 50+ years old that have been Well taken care of (Mine for one) that all the wood components are still in Great Shape. While the manufacturing methods do play a role I believe the much more significant issue on determining the longevity of a boat is the proper care and maintenance of it by the owner. Nothing lasts forever, but with proper care, we can extend the life of it. That goes for us Humans Too!!!!

Like Mickey Mantle said...

"If I'd know I was gunna live this long, I'd taken better care of myself!"
 
jigngrub

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

Woodonglass said:
We all need to remember that, for the most part, all of the boats that are being restored here on the forum, are 10+ years old and have more than likely been severely abused. We occasionally see boats that are 50+ years old that have been Well taken care of (Mine for one) that all the wood components are still in Great Shape. While the manufacturing methods do play a role I believe the much more significant issue on determining the longevity of a boat is the proper care and maintenance of it by the owner. Nothing lasts forever, but with proper care, we can extend the life of it. That goes for us Humans Too!!!!

Like Mickey Mantle said...

"If I'd know I was gunna live this long, I'd taken better care of myself!"
Click to expand...

Well, we'd need to forget it first so we could remember it.

This should be common knowledge for all boaters, but it's not... this forum is proof of that.

Too many people think "It's a boat, it's made to get wet!"... they don't realize it's only made to get wet on the outside only.

They also don't know how their boat is built, they think that since they have a fiberglass boat they have nothing to worry about because fiberglass doesn't rot. They don't know there are wood components wrapped in fiberglass inside their boat, and they don't know that their floatation can become waterlogged if exposed to water for an extended period of time.

The same is true with aluminum boat owners, they don't know how their boat is built and how to care for it to prevent rot in the wooden components and saturation of their floatation foam.

... but if everyone knew how to take care of their boat, this forum would be a mighty boring place.;)
 
73Chrysler105

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

Great Read WOG wish all the chapters were there instead of just the first one though would have wasted my entire day reading it though and I have some work to do still.
 
beardeddone

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

jigngrub said:
Well, we'd need to forget it first so we could remember it.

This should be common knowledge for all boaters, but it's not... this forum is proof of that.

Too many people think "It's a boat, it's made to get wet!"... they don't realize it's only made to get wet on the outside only.

They also don't know how their boat is built, they think that since they have a fiberglass boat they have nothing to worry about because fiberglass doesn't rot. They don't know there are wood components wrapped in fiberglass inside their boat, and they don't know that their floatation can become waterlogged if exposed to water for an extended period of time.

The same is true with aluminum boat owners, they don't know how their boat is built and how to care for it to prevent rot in the wooden components and saturation of their floatation foam.:mad:

... but if everyone knew how to take care of their boat, this forum would be a mighty boring place.;)
Click to expand...

Well said and another thing that we think we are taking care of our boats is how we do just that by trying to clean all the loose debris off of the carpeting on the deck of the boats with a water hose, but seemed like a good idea at the time not knowing and compounding the rot issue over the years..

When I had my last boat I of course didn't know about this forum or any other boat forum as I had no need of one at the time nor did I know a fiberglass boat even had wood in it as I was new to boating then and consider myself to always be new at this even now and probably until I surmise to the here after.

This rot issue and boat construction has been a real learning curve for me. And all I wanted to do is go fishing on my boat when I retired and am there now but still can't because of rot issues in the transom and now it's to cold to even work on it..Or go fishing :grumpy::miserable:
 
Yacht Dr.

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

Some of that read is reliable .. and/or usable.

But not all of it is good reading .. IMHO ..

YD.
 
KennethfromGA

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

beardeddone said:
Makes me wonder way back when there was only wooden boats or ships just how many sank do to rotten wood as they had to leak like a sieve but at the time had no choice of materials like we have available today but for the most part worked quite well and some of the engineering then was remarkable ...
Click to expand...

Historically speaking this is a massive understatement and not just with wooden ships though the sloth, corruption, and lack of quality control during the age of fighting sail is legendary and that's before you get into wartime problems like use of green timber. As you say however the engineering was often incredible. Besides it's not like we've gotten that much further ahead. Titanic's steel was incredibly brittle (read about in Smithsonian magazine in the 90's) and the early Liberty ships had a major structural flaw that caused them to split in two.
 
Yacht Dr.

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

Been there .. done that ..

Flippy boat molds is nothing new to me .. its how the final outcome is.

Sure its easy to turn and flip a mold to lam .. but what is the end result.

Very expensive tooling and engineering costs are involved .. but it has Nothing to do with the Final product.

YD.
 
64osby

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Re: How Fiberglass Boats Are Made

I didn't see one rivet installed anywhere. How are the panels held together:confused::eek:;)



Nice info on this thread, even though I started itching just reading it.:bolt:.....:peep:
 
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