Re: fiberglass thoughts

Posted by Laszlo on Oct 13, 2005

If you want a pure fiberglass boat, you can make it stronger and lighter than that by laying up multiple layers of glass cloth. With proper attention to the size, number and orientation of fibers, you can get a *lot* more strength per unit weight than the chopped glass technique.

However, it's much more labor-intensive (expensive), which is why the commercial mass-market builders do it with chopped glass. They also use polyester resin which is not as good as epoxy resin, but is cheaper.

This is why the mass-produced boats are heavier than custom built ones. The mass market wants cheap. You get what you pay for (either in cash or sweat equity).

Laszlo

In Response to: Re: fiberglass thoughts by Jim S on Oct 12, 2005

Replies:

No Replies.