ondarvr
Supreme Mariner
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2005
- Messages
- 11,527
Some of the stuff you've read either isn't accurate, or may be difficult to understand out of context.
A glass laminate doesn't wick water "badly", although water can wick down the fibers, it takes a while, and is more associated with low cost resins and sloppy lamination techniques, plus even if it does wick water, the amount is very small and it's a slow process. people frequently blame the laminate, but when the glass and/or a layer of resin, is so thin it doesn't even form a barrier, it has no chance for success right from the start.
If you actually put a continuous laminate more than 1/16 of an inch thick over the wood, water wicking into the wood and causing rot shouldn't be an issue. The typical laminate over a stringer should be around 3/16" or more, the 1/16" comment was because many boats were made with even less material over the wood than that, and then they blame the resin for the failure.
Gel coat is not a water barrier, water will migrate through it also, again, not quickly or a lot, but it will, it will not help to pre-coat a piece of wood with gel coat. Resin coating is required before glassing over wood, but is rarely done in production, which creates issues in the years to come.
Fir plywood is better than pine, the individual ply count isn't much of a concern when the wood is being glassed over, you aren't relying nearly as much on the plywood for strength as you would be if you were building a wooden boat.
A glass laminate doesn't wick water "badly", although water can wick down the fibers, it takes a while, and is more associated with low cost resins and sloppy lamination techniques, plus even if it does wick water, the amount is very small and it's a slow process. people frequently blame the laminate, but when the glass and/or a layer of resin, is so thin it doesn't even form a barrier, it has no chance for success right from the start.
If you actually put a continuous laminate more than 1/16 of an inch thick over the wood, water wicking into the wood and causing rot shouldn't be an issue. The typical laminate over a stringer should be around 3/16" or more, the 1/16" comment was because many boats were made with even less material over the wood than that, and then they blame the resin for the failure.
Gel coat is not a water barrier, water will migrate through it also, again, not quickly or a lot, but it will, it will not help to pre-coat a piece of wood with gel coat. Resin coating is required before glassing over wood, but is rarely done in production, which creates issues in the years to come.
Fir plywood is better than pine, the individual ply count isn't much of a concern when the wood is being glassed over, you aren't relying nearly as much on the plywood for strength as you would be if you were building a wooden boat.
I greatly appreciate the info.
