16 foot drift boat question

I am attempting to build a 16 drift boat out of glass and it seems like a good first project. I have built them out of wood before and I used my old design as the plug to make a a female mold so I do not have to do all the sanding on a one off method. My question is the layup schedule. I have done some research and some guys that have not used enough buildup end up with some flimsy boats.

legnth 15' 10"
Beam 83"
gunwales 18" and 23"at the oar locks

From the information I have collected laying in the female mold I would do gelcoat, 1.5oz mat, 18oz woven roving, 1.5 oz mat, 18 oz woven roving, 1.5 oz mat, 18 oz woven roving, 1.5 oz mat. I would be using uscomposites 435 poly resin but I am not set on it so if anyone has a better product I would be open to discussion for sure.

My design also has chines running along the length from almost the front to the back. I was wondering if it be worth throwing in kevlar tape on the chines alone since they are what hits rocks the most. if so where in the schedule would I apply that material? Any info would be appreciated.

 

Sounds like a fun project,my understanding is that kevlar is used to stop penetrations,xynol or dynel tape along the seams(chines) would be for abrasion.

from what i've read kevlar would go against the core then covered by the glass.

But most say its really not needed, unless people are shooting at you!

good luck,

 

SO would that material have to go on the outside since it protects from abraision?

 

yes thats the idea,however i should say i have no real experience with any of these materials and i'm just going by what i've read.

I assume you've read some of the info on this sight.You'll find most won't reply to laminate schedules,my suggestion is do some tests with different layups make a few mistakes and learn from that.since your building a core-less boat its the final thickness thats gonna determine how stiff it is so again test,test,test.

How thick is the bottom of a RO drift boat or a Lavro? there done the same way (i think)

 

Good point. I guess I could do some samples and see that works best and looks best. Bottom of a RO is about 1/5 of an inch and uses a flexible epoxy which I am trying to stay away from. A clackacraft is like closer to 2/5 of an inch which is about 11 layers of glass. thanks for the responses

 

ya i've rowed a RO the bottom oilcans feels really wierd.the sides aren't that thick though,you can see the weave from the WR.when you say 11 layers your including the mat yes?

Clackas are shot with a CSM gun like hydes( i think) so not sure how good they are to compare with.

Do a big enough test piece that you can stand on,maybe like the piece that will make the level floor in the bow area.this way it can be used in the final build.
i made that mistake with my foam tests, too small to test stiffness.

 

yeah 11 layers include mat and they are thicker than RO but RO uses kevlar too I believe. Clacks are hand laid and hyde is probable a gun. I dont like hyde boats at all.

 

You mentioned you didn't want to use flexable epoxy, any reason why?

 

well I had the understanding that is how RO got its flexible floor...from using a flexable epoxy. Correct me if I am wrong. I wanted a solid floor that does not flex.

 

well i maybe wrong also but it has nothing to do with the epoxy.its just the thickness of the floor and the lack of support is why it oilcans.

Plenty of info here on why epoxy is better then Poly resin.

any pics of your mould?i'd like to do the same.