Re: Placement of forms

Posted by Kurt Maurer on Aug 22, 2006

If you place a form every 12 inches, you're safe, but it's rather overkill. I'd place a form every 18 inches where the deck is mostly flat, and maybe close 'em up a bit around the forward section of the cockpit, where it's a little curvier. Every 12 inches in the cockpit area might be a good idea since the transition from cambered cockpit to flatter after-deck is the biggest challenge you'll face (still nothing major).

It's a lot like those stitching wires, where putting one in every 4" is overkill, but safe. In actuality, some areas need stitches every 9 inches or so, and others every two. Full strippers space forms uniformly at 12" 'cuz you got the hull to worry about too. Larger strip projects, such as canoes, often space forms at 18", some at 24".

Yes, you need to glass both top and bottom, it's how strip-building works. Very similar to foam-core composite construction. But that's the beauty of the hybrid -- all this is tons easier to do on a deck than a hull. If you're worried about weight, don't be. Leslie's fully-featured Cormy hybrid is still my lightest boat ever at 35 lbs.

I used sheer clamps forward and aft of the cockpit, and taped the interior sheer inside the cockpit where it was easy to get to, to save a little weight and bulk.

Cheers, Kurt

In Response to: Placement of forms by Karl on Aug 22, 2006

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