Fiberglass or plastic over aluminum ? - (insane thought of the day)

Proposition X

Heres a diagram of how I see it possibly working,

A - Outermost layer, fiberglass? Finished with gel coat or whatever would normally go on it.

B - Layer of plastic filler of some type, maybe PVC, maybe truck bed liner ground flush at the fastener heads.

C - Outer layer of 1/8" aluminum

D - Inner layer of 1/8" aluminum

2 - Rib with no joint

1 - Rib with inner joint

3 - Rib with outer joint

 

You could probably build a boat that way but it would be awful expensive compared to wood frame, plywood and epoxy. You would need to use stainless bolts or you would have to protect them from rust on the inside and it would take a lot of bolts. I'm not sure if you could apply epoxy over something like truck bed liner, maybe you wouldn't need to. You would have to have the complete plan to see if you could make it work. I would suggest you go ahead and work out the entire design so you would be able to figure cost and compare to other materials and labor involved. I also wonder if you are really serious about building a boat or just trying to figure out different ways it could be done. Either way you would need a complete plan.

Dave T

 

You can buy aluminum alloy bolts that are plenty strong.

My problem is that I've been thinking lots lately about building a boat, and every time I start wondering things, I start looking into them, reading, and starting threads, lol.

 

The easy way to fasten aluminum plate is spot welding. No extra parts, no dissimilar materials. You could do it lapstrake style and have no tough forming to do. High quality 2 part epoxy paint on the exterior would seal the hull. Interior framing could be a mix of aluminum and plywood -like common fishing boats.

 

I do not know if this can be of help to you. go to marine products--they are bonding aluminum to other things.
http://www.portafab.com/marine-panels.html

 

Ya I saw those a while back, looks like a very strong good looking building material... expensive though haha.

 

Sandwich panels like beams are a different animal. The skin to core bond strength only has to be equal to the core shear strength which is far less than the stresses seen by the skins.

Dino