Plascore core material

[tb2054]

I have used it,,,worked well for us,,

[phillnjack]

How thick is the actual fibreglass skin on the cored hulls ?
what is the thickness of skin under the core and above the core ? say at middle of boat and 2 feet out from the centreline/keel area.

lets say this is on a 18ft v -hull that will take a 200hp motor ?

.

[tunnels]

How thick is the actual fibreglass skin on the cored hulls ?
what is the thickness of skin under the core and above the core ? say at middle of boat and 2 feet out from the centreline/keel area.

lets say this is on a 18ft v -hull that will take a 200hp motor ?

.

That's a very good question and I to will be very very interested in the answers you get !
There could be quite a few variables of boats with cores ,and those without, plus boats with stringers, and those without , The laminate glass will consist of chopped strand matt and woven rowing !

[W2F a V-King]

How thick is the actual fibreglass skin on the cored hulls ?
what is the thickness of skin under the core and above the core ? say at middle of boat and 2 feet out from the centreline/keel area.

lets say this is on a 18ft v -hull that will take a 200hp motor ?

.

Drilled a few 1/16" holes in mine....Curiosity got the best of me, and another member here asked me the same question. So out came the drill! These areas are getting re-glassed anyway. Inside and out.

The skin below the core is a fuzz over 3/8", so that's 10 mm. Same in all three test holes, pad center just in front of the transom, center of the V next to the pad, and up past the core was the last hole....all 10 mm.

Core was 1/2" ....Maybe 5/8... not 100% as most all of it was rotten. And swollen in some spots.

Glass covering the core was CSM, then foam filled between the core and pad, well 1/2 filled anyway.

Everywhere other than the cored area has what looks like a double layer of DB 1700 or there about, hard for me to tell with it fossilized in resin. But there is an edge that was left where the core ended and the rest of the hull continued, and it is about 3/16 to 1/4" in .

This is on a 79 V-King

James

[W2F a V-King]

Take a look at https://www.corelitecomposites.com/ VERY reasonably priced compared to some of the other composites.

I've done the floors of my tunnel in the Corelite PET and the transom will go in with Corelite Board, which is a 30 or 35lb density structural composite. In my case I used the 35lb and had them make me a 2" thick sandwiched transom. Called my local contact up, told him the size, a couple weeks later I had a 4 layer thick ready made slab. Without some sort of press you'd never be able to get a transom layup this tight. The samples sold me, but when I got my part I was really impressed. I like the lightweight stuff more than the divinycell I've worked with also, Divinycell isn't bad, I just think this is a bit more durable.

You are talking about the corelite PET in comparison to the Divinycell H80? Can it make a contoured slight bend, like a 45 degree? Like scribe one side to get it to turn? Or did you use the cut sheets?

Got my stringer set up all mocked up and ready to order the materials. Going with the same Corelite Board 2" transom and tying my stringers into the transom and motor well bottom.

Thank you,

James

[1BadAction]

You are talking about the corelite PET in comparison to the Divinycell H80? Can it make a contoured slight bend, like a 45 degree? Like scribe one side to get it to turn? Or did you use the cut sheets?

Got my stringer set up all mocked up and ready to order the materials. Going with the same Corelite Board 2" transom and tying my stringers into the transom and motor well bottom.

Thank you,

James

If you scribe it, it will just break right there (this is actually how I cut it, scribe lines with a razor then snap it off). It is somewhat flexible though, depending on the radius you might be able to get it down with some work. Maybe even warm it up with a heat gun then form it.

[tunnels]

If you scribe it, it will just break right there (this is actually how I cut it, scribe lines with a razor then snap it off). It is somewhat flexible though, depending on the radius you might be able to get it down with some work. Maybe even warm it up with a heat gun then form it.

There is a little trick the wrapping 18 mm thick H80 sheet core we learned when we were making racing yachts in South Korea and you could roll it round a 100mm radius or smaller without it even looking like it was going to break !! And no heat was not used !!!
WE made 16 full length sheets of bendy core for port and starboard sides that was needed for the 8 yachts we were making ! small radius one end and got bigger radius as it went aft !!
Only took me 5 minutes to understand how it could and had to be done !!very simple and very effective !!
Now that is going to make a few skeptic's raise there eyebrows and cough a whole lot and shake there heads !! NO IT CANT BE DONE !! but yes It can be done !!
Understanding the materials you have to work with is the key to what we did !

[composites_marine]

If you were to restore a small high speed boat that came with a balsa core... What material would you use for the core?

James

Consider a balsa core. It has been used for decades with proven results and is much more cheaper than foam products (that do not provide the same strength). I get my balsa from CoreLite Composites. They have great customer service and good pricing.

[tunnels]

Consider a balsa core. It has been used for decades with proven results and is much more cheaper than foam products (that do not provide the same strength). I get my balsa from CoreLite Composites. They have great customer service and good pricing.

Makes me smile reading all these posts !! Why not use a combination of cores for your transom ! Balsa and foam or a honey comb ??!There is no need to use the same all the way across !!

[W2F a V-King]

Consider a balsa core. It has been used for decades with proven results and is much more cheaper than foam products (that do not provide the same strength). I get my balsa from CoreLite Composites. They have great customer service and good pricing.

Problem with balsa in a lot of boats is "IF' it gets wet...it's done, it will rot and get weak. It doesn't matter if it gets wet from the top side or the bottom side...wet is wet and the enemy of wood. Save for maybe teak?

"Some" of the boat manufactures do not adhere to proper glassing techniques ( read cheap and fast production= poor coverage with proper sealing ) which allows moisture to get in at some point, and over time these hulls rot.

Guessing if it properly put down and sealed properly and completely in glass with no places for moisture to get in, one would be OK. Tunnels could better address this area of proper installation of balsa.

For most boats, this may not be an issue, however on a light fast hull that could be a recipe for disaster. Especially in hulls that have floors covering the core...out of site, and out of mind, until something happens.

Tunnels, If balsa is cheaper, lighter and stronger, why bother with the composites at all ??

James H.

[tunnels]

Problem with balsa in a lot of boats is "IF' it gets wet...it's done, it will rot and get weak. It doesn't matter if it gets wet from the top side or the bottom side...wet is wet and the enemy of wood. Save for maybe teak?

"Some" of the boat manufactures do not adhere to proper glassing techniques ( read cheap and fast production= poor coverage with proper sealing ) which allows moisture to get in at some point, and over time these hulls rot.

Guessing if it properly put down and sealed properly and completely in glass with no places for moisture to get in, one would be OK. Tunnels could better address this area of proper installation of balsa.

For most boats, this may not be an issue, however on a light fast hull that could be a recipe for disaster. Especially in hulls that have floors covering the core...out of site, and out of mind, until something happens.

Tunnels, If balsa is cheaper, lighter and stronger, why bother with the composites at all ??

James H.

Sorry to say but any timber including teak will rot when it gets wet and is semi sealed away from the air !!

The word stronger and strong have many different interpretation's !! you can say a window is strong but when hit smashes quite easily !! A steel bar is strong but bend it ,it will break !
SAME with thick fiber glass is seen to be strong but could snap like a carrot !
Then there is flexural strength and that is a really interesting subject !! fiberglass that will bend 360 degrees and let it go just straightens out flat again and this can be done a 1000 times with no effect on the fiberglass what so ever . with the use of different types of Glass fibers Glass fibers can be manufactured to do almost anything at all !! S glass is even stronger and has way better properties than carbon fiber that to me is very highly over rated ! and has some terrible habits !!