Gunwale construction.

Ok, had an original plan for my Versatility 25 of rebuilding the gunwale in douglas fir. 40x100 for for the outside guard, same for the inboard packed out with 50x50 packers and then a nice chuck of 50mm thick capping then wrap the whole lot in 6/7 layers of 1708. now I'm wondering if most of the timber is actually needed and would I be just as well to use foam to form the majority but retain the 50mm capping for a decent screw hold for cleats. Would save a lot of hassle steaming the douglas fir or is this a really dumb idea?

 

My opinion would be either use wood or 7 layers of glass over marine foam, but not to glass all that wood so much.

A lot depends on typical use, but those rails look pretty high and so the only danger is a piling.

Anyhow, wood or glass, but no reason for 6-7 layers of glass over wood.

Gonna be a bit tricky to glass all that. Wood is so elegant and you can paint it. Then it is easy to repair in 5 years if you get a few dings.

Also, how much steaming will really be needed? Most of those curves look pretty simple; if you can’t make the bends, laminate from thinner stock and it’ll be even stronger. You can also avoid steaming the top cap if you make some decent joins and then precoat and bond it all with epoxy putty.

 

I don't plan on steaming the capping, would get oversized and shape it. It's a work boat so although there will be a gunwale roller for chain handling there will be times when I'll be bringing things over the gunwale, pots, trawls or generally abusing it.