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Material: Composite sandwich with foam?
By:Joe Fox
Date: 2/11/2011, 2:36 pm

In the various plans and technique books that I've seen, I notice that all the composites are either wood covered in fiberglass, or non-cored 'glass & resin layups. Is there a good reason not to use a foam core? I'm looking at some of the stitch & glue plans, and seeing that it would be very easy to replace the plywood with 1/8" or even 1/4" Divinycell foam, then laying over a layer of kevlar, and layer of s-glass, then a couple of layers of s-glass and some strategic carbon for reinforcement. Would this not make a lighter-weight boat compared to the S&G? It would also be stiffer than a plain 'glass & resin layup. I understand there would be a price impact, but other than cost what are problems with this technique?

Messages In This Thread

Material: Composite sandwich with foam?
Joe Fox -- 2/11/2011, 2:36 pm
Re: Material: Composite sandwich with foam? *PIC*
Paul G. Jacobson -- 2/11/2011, 3:08 pm
Re: Material: Composite sandwich with foam?
Joe Fox -- 2/11/2011, 3:16 pm
free e-book on boatbuilding
Paul G. Jacobson -- 2/11/2011, 3:22 pm
Re: free e-book on boatbuilding
Bill Hamm -- 2/11/2011, 3:24 pm
Re: free e-book on boatbuilding
Etienne Muller - ireland -- 2/12/2011, 5:20 am
Re: Material: Composite sandwich with foam?
Bill Hamm -- 2/11/2011, 3:09 pm
Re: Material: Composite sandwich with foam?
Joe Fox -- 2/11/2011, 3:20 pm
Re: Material: Composite sandwich with foam?
Bill Hamm -- 2/11/2011, 3:23 pm
Re: Material: Composite sandwich with foam?
Charlie -- 2/11/2011, 10:25 pm