Cored and Solid Fiberglass Hulls
- Thread starter Wxx3
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A way to tell if a section is cored is to shine a bright light on the outside while looking at the same space inside. Balsa blocks will be apparent as very regular shaped shadows.
I know it works for balsa on gel coated, unpainted, surfaces. Have no idea if it works with other cores or through paint.
I know it works for balsa on gel coated, unpainted, surfaces. Have no idea if it works with other cores or through paint.
Mule
Guru
I will NEVER buy a boat with ANY end grain balsa in it ANYWHERE. Been there never, never again.
Look at end grain balsa mats at the fiberglass store. Then imagine what happens if you have water intrusion. If it is a vertical surface the water will drain to the low spot and rot there. If it is a horozonal surface, like a deck on a boat the water will run to the low spot stay there until the trim changes. The gaps between the balsa gives the water canals and "freedom to move around the country" setting up rot everywhere.
While EGB is light, stiff and properly applied and maintained it is excellent but one non thinking, ignorant or don't give a damn individual works on the surface then failure is eminent. Case in point, the Mainship 34 MKI, II, III. 78 to 85. Boats were shipped to dealers, bridge furniture, ladders, deck rails, bridge shield and other attachments were slapped on. No hole saw and filling beforehand where drilling was to take place, just 'git er done. That is the beginning, and I bet you know the rest of the story.
I took 5 or more Home Depot buckets of saturated mush out before recoring the bridge, similar on the cockpit and various soft spots on other decks. Every one of the Boats in that 7+ year production run I have encountered had exactly the same issues. Never, never again.
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FF
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"Some details might help others understand the issue."
"Then imagine what happens if you have water intrusion"
Water intrusion is either a poor build or more usual poor or no maint.
If kept "perfect" wood , balsa , ply, whatever would not be a danger.
In the real world folks prefer to rely on blobs of goop , rather than lift and rebed as required.
"Then imagine what happens if you have water intrusion"
Water intrusion is either a poor build or more usual poor or no maint.
If kept "perfect" wood , balsa , ply, whatever would not be a danger.
In the real world folks prefer to rely on blobs of goop , rather than lift and rebed as required.
Sure it does and things come loose for a variety of reasons.
Poor workmanship is a fact of life, even at new construction or attaching options. Using a product like balsa where the smallest screw leaking can cause massive damage is just irresponsible.
You have a nice tight deck then someone comes along and installs snap fitting for your bimini or a nice carpet and penetrates what was a solid deck. Guess what happens next.
Poor workmanship is a fact of life, even at new construction or attaching options. Using a product like balsa where the smallest screw leaking can cause massive damage is just irresponsible.
You have a nice tight deck then someone comes along and installs snap fitting for your bimini or a nice carpet and penetrates what was a solid deck. Guess what happens next.
FF
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FF" does not the "blobs of goop" break down over time and lead to the results I described?"
Sure bit All the sealants do not last forever.
Stanchion bases , water fills, diesel fills ,window frames, Everything that is an attachment has a sealant ,,,with a limited life.
Sure bit All the sealants do not last forever.
Stanchion bases , water fills, diesel fills ,window frames, Everything that is an attachment has a sealant ,,,with a limited life.
http://s-www.leprogres.fr/images/AE...la-collision-photo-herve-coste-1450251431.jpg
it's no scientific test here, and may be outside thread...
it's about accident between Balearic grp non cored hull (Menorquin or Majoni about 43') cruising downstream Rhône-River and heavy steel barge going upstream, cored hull at places.
it's no scientific test here, and may be outside thread...
it's about accident between Balearic grp non cored hull (Menorquin or Majoni about 43') cruising downstream Rhône-River and heavy steel barge going upstream, cored hull at places.
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dhays
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- North Pacific 43
That is why a quality build will have solid fiberglass at the places where those things are attached. Unfortunately, it is more expensive to do it that way so many builders didn't/don't.
MYTraveler
Guru
My boat is cored (with the latest and greatest synthetic at the time, Corecell, as I recall) above the waterline, solid below. I took some of the cores (the ones that are left after a hole saw is used to cut a penetration for a thru-hull, etc.), thoroughly cleaned and weighed each, then sealed each in its own bag of water. Several years later, I opened the bags, dried off each of the samples and compared the weights to determine whether either the fiberglass or the coring had absorbed any water. Happy to report that none had, not even the ones with coring exposed directly to water for years.
