Been and seen

[tunnels]

Working in new Zealand In the 1980s I had a misfortune of having to tear apart a US made center console that had a spongy floor and the console and floor were like a trampoline !, after getting it all apart the core that was used under the floor was squares of treated plywood about 6 inches x 6 inches x 1/2 thick ! was soaking wet and every block had come off the resin it was supposed to be stuck to and was just rattling around between the top skin and the flimsy one layer of 1.5 oz csm that was over the top of the blocks . It was a absolute eye opener and no one in the shop could believe it !
That was my first !

1985 I went to Tahiti and a company there had a Weller craft with twin v8 stern drives Completely stripped out of all wood !! Stringer were particle board that had been wet and swollen up and crumbled and just like a biscuit ! that was the second lot of US made power boats I had come across !!

2007/8 I was working in South Korea and the engineer guy I was working with had another US cabin boat (don't remember what brand ),again totally stripped out and the deck off and motors out and having to do a complete rebuild from end to end so I poked around and had a really close look at the workmanship and was amazed beyond belief at how bad it was ! it was really thick glass everywhere , all wood was rotten every where I looked !

So from that time I had made up my mind never to touch or have anything to do With boats of any size or shape that's been made in USA !


Since I been here in China the companies I worked for there workmanship is ABSOLUTE perfection compared to my past experience's of made in the USA !

[XstreamVking]

And the chineese crap is fantastic and costs pennys on the American dollar right. Same old story, just a new story teller. You want to keep trashing the US man? You lose you credibility when you show your slanted views. I won't have to view any of your posts since you are now on my ignore list. You have been asked before to not down our country. So seeee-yaaaaa.

[tunnels]

And the chineese crap is fantastic and costs pennys on the American dollar right. Same old story, just a new story teller. You want to keep trashing the US man? You lose you credibility when you show your slanted views. I won't have to view any of your posts since you are now on my ignore list. You have been asked before to not down our country. So seeee-yaaaaa.

Someone had a bad day !!I do remember this same conversation quite some time back with the same results as I remember !
Chinese goods used to be crap ! what you get is what the buyers want to sell you ,, crap !we cant buy what you get ! because its made to your buyer specifications .
And as for putting down you boat builders I saw what I saw and it was crap that's all ! maybe it looks slanted to you but it not !! you should try looking at thing from a different place on the planet !! I look at new Zealand and cant believe I used to live there and thought it was the greatest place on the planet until I saw it as outsiders see it ! Now im glad I don't live there any more ! its not the place I want to be any more !

[powerabout]

there was cheap US boats and good ones
we had both in Australia
both were value for money

[tunnels]

there was cheap US boats and good ones
we had both in Australia
both were value for money

All these things were good to see actually ! how not to build boats ,age always has a way of finding the bad materials and weaknesses in boats !
The marine grade particle board I had heard about while I was in nz but seeing what happened to it was scary !, Started off as 25 mm thick but was nearly 40mm as it has swollen with moisture , and they were the 4 main engine bearers that ran nearly full length of the boat.

The ply wood squares fused for a core under the floor was completely laughable !.was just pressed into the resin but being ply there was virtually no penetration of the resin into the wood because it only goes to the first glue line ! Good point to remember when you glassing over plywood make sure it 3 ply not 5 ply !!And never use exterior sealed as the resin wont penetrate either!!

Things learned from other peoples mistakes !!

[powerabout]

we wont mention those kiwi flops of Sea rays will we...

[home made tunnel]

Chesapeake light craft are all stitch and glue construction, never an issue. Plywood is a great boatbuilding material.
HOWEVER, you have to know how to seal it.
My tunnel hull will most likely fall apart in a few years too then, if Plywood is a horrible tool to use.

Like I said, it's the product is used, not the product its self.

[tunnels]

Chesapeake light craft are all stitch and glue construction, never an issue. Plywood is a great boatbuilding material.
HOWEVER, you have to know how to seal it.
My tunnel hull will most likely fall apart in a few years too then, if Plywood is a horrible tool to use.

Like I said, it's the product is used, not the product its self.

I said the higher the number of veneers the thinner they are so there is very little for the resin to penetrate into and stick properly . its another reason I am always on about 100% composite construction !

[MattGreen]

There have been many very successful wood epoxy saturation technique (WEST) boats built world wide. There are a number of variants, but the cold-molded approach in particular can result in very seaworthy boats and actually has some advantages over Fiberglass hulls if the boat will only be a one-off. Your adversion to wood as a boat building material is misguided - you are correct on poor material choices and poor workmanship, but good wooden boats and good FRP boats with wood components can both be built.

matt

[home made tunnel]

Composite only boats are for the companies who have no faith in their trades men who build it - Less risk of a product failing.
Wood boats are for companies who have pride in craftsmanship, and hold their employees to it.

There's no middle ground on the use of wood.

[powerabout]

Composite only boats are for the companies who have no faith in their trades men who build it - Less risk of a product failing.
Wood boats are for companies who have pride in craftsmanship, and hold their employees to it.

There's no middle ground on the use of wood.

yep wood for wooden boats and fibreglass for fibreglass and no wood in fibreglass boats

[RobF]

plywood squares are used instead of one big piece to prevent the panel from warping its a widepread practice

if you are telling me that a single piece of plywood 2x4 can be glassed in and it not warp then you chinese have it all figured out

I routinely have to repair hatches that other "shops" have done because they have low and high spots on them or dont close and sit properly on the deck the only way to fix it is to properly recore it using that crazy plywood square system

[tunnels]

we wont mention those kiwi flops of Sea rays will we...

flops of Sea rays???? who was making them ???

And the plywood squares for a core looked for all the world like scraps and off cuts that had been cut to a common size . Any way the whole lot came unstuck and were completely loose

[powerabout]

flops of Sea rays???? who was making them ???

And the plywood squares for a core looked for all the world like scraps and off cuts that had been cut to a common size . Any way the whole lot came unstuck and were completely loose

late 70's and 80's
at least they didnt have 2nd hand VW packing cases glued in like some other US built cheapy's
Stragely enough I bumped into a an expat kiwi in Bali who financed them way back, who has just passed away from cancer.

[tunnels]

late 70's and 80's
at least they didnt have 2nd hand VW packing cases glued in like some other US built cheapy's
Stragely enough I bumped into a an expat kiwi in Bali who financed them way back, who has just passed away from cancer.

man that's going back always !! and in Bali !! anything was possible in those kinds of places !!.