Re: End Pours

Posted by Laszlo on Apr 1, 2005

If you really want it light weight, use the 2-part Coast Guard approved structural foam. It's 2 lbs per cubic foot and is very strong in compression. This'll be true composite construction - the foam providing compression resistance, the plywood providing tension resistance and the whole structure resisting torsion and shear.

You'd mix it and pour it like epoxy and it'd expand to fill the space. You'd still need to have something solid at any points where you'd be attaching hardware, though.

As a general comment, notice the trade-offs. The end pour uses epoxy that you already have, is mixed using a technique that has already been practiced in the scarfing, filleting, etc. stages, requires no shaping of individual components and has been field-tested on thousands of boats.

Any other technique requires different materials, skills, possibly more time, etc. and may be an innovation in the 18th century sense of the word (as in "I have been guilty of an innovation").

From the point of view of providing an easy and effective technique that the inexperienced first time builder will succeed with on the first try, it's pretty hard to beat the end pour.

And those of us who feel ambitious and/or have the experience to feel that we can pull it off can always try other alternatives. (I'm partial to the roughly shaped pine stem bedded in epoxy/woodflour mix, myself, but that is extra labor)

Have fun all,

Laszlo

In Response to: Re: End Pours by Scot on Mar 30, 2005

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