Biaxial? Triaxial? Hard to find??

[CatBuilder]

I am having a hard time finding materials for my boat. The designer specifies the following:

34 oz triaxial roving: 38" wide for decks, foils 400 lin ft
24 oz biaxial roving" 10" wide for hulls 420 lin ft
6 oz glass 38" wide for exterior surfaces, bridgedeck soles 700 lin ft

Triaxial (34oz): He specifies a warp at 0deg and the remainder at +/-45deg with no mat. He refers to it as CDB 340 (a Knytex model number).

Biaxial (24oz): He specifies this as a tape DB 240 (Knytex) with no mat.

My supplier can't seem to find either of these products. Can anyone help?

[Vulkyn]

Not sure mate but the closest i saw to those specs was west systems PXL (might be worth a look) but i am sure there are many others who have more experience in the matter.

[CatBuilder]

Thanks, Vulkyn. I'll take a look at the West System PXL.

Is it really that hard to find triaxial and DB240 without mat??

I can't even understand why anyone would use mat when it costs much more in wasted epoxy while at the same time works to make your boat much heavier...

Any sources for this material?

[Vulkyn]

In Egypt its very popular because it works well with polyester and its cheap ...
I saw the material when i was in a meeting @ west system in Egypt, it could be from another supplier not manufactured by west system. Ill try to dig the data sheet out ...

[CatBuilder]

Originally Posted by Vulkyn

In Egypt its very popular because it works well with polyester and its cheap ...
I saw the material when i was in a meeting @ west system in Egypt, it could be from another supplier not manufactured by west system. Ill try to dig the data sheet out ...

Probably the same reasons as here. Modern Americans love things that are cheap and crappy.

It's becoming nearly impossible to find anything of quality in the States, no matter how much money you are willing to pay. It's a sad state of affairs to me, since I can remember being able to buy high quality things here at one time.

Well, I'll continue to look...

[Vulkyn]

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/reinforcing-fabrics

Might help?

The problem seems world wide trend for cheaper crappier products ...

EDIT:
or this ?
http://www.fibreglast.com/category/Fiberglass

Just trying to help out, maybe some one with better knowledge can help

[AndrewK]

contact a manufacturer like http://www.vectorply.com/ and ask for your closest distributor.

for taping you want double bias DB +/-45 not biaxial 0/90

[CatBuilder]

I was just contacting Owens Corning, who bought the Knytex plant in TX, then closed it to move the knitting operation somewhere else.

Yes, I know about the DB +/-45deg. Forgot to write that in the post. Whoops! Thanks for the catch.

I'll try vectorply as well. Good idea!

[CatBuilder]

Well, none of the companies (Owens Corning or Vectorply) have got back to me yet. Maybe next week.

[Eric Sponberg]

Composites One has all the materials you need. They supply fiberglass products to all the boatbuilders in the northeast and across the country.

Link: http://www.compositesone.com/

Eric

[CatBuilder]

Thanks, Eric.

I think my supplier has a call into them. I wonder if I should just go direct?

Catbuilder, i'm afraid you won't have much luck with Owens Corning and Knytex. We haven't been able to get it for two years. A couple months ago we were quoted almost $800 for a roll (50"), while the lesser brands were 350!

[CatBuilder]

Originally Posted by fg1inc

Catbuilder, i'm afraid you won't have much luck with Owens Corning and Knytex. We haven't been able to get it for two years. A couple months ago we were quoted almost $800 for a roll (50"), while the lesser brands were 350!

Was this for the type of cloths I was specifying above? Could you direct me to your source? Thanks!

Not exactly, it was for the +-45 Knytex biaxial 17.08, the 17 being the 45's and the 08 being the 3/4 oz. mat stitched to the back. I think you'll find difficulty with price and availabilty with the Knytex (mat or no mat), though it is truly a fine product. Most of the product we see today is chinese, and it varies from virtually unuseable to pretty damn good.
We get almost all our resin and cloth from Merritt Supply, 53rd. St. West Palm Beach. They're a subsidiary of Merritt Boats in Pompano Beach and generrally know what they're talkin' about.

[CatBuilder]

Thanks for that source (Merritt Supply).

Quick question for anyone: Can I remove the mat from the back of a cloth myself by breaking the stitching, or is the same loop of stitching holding the entire thing together?