use fiberglass mandrel to build large boat building parts?

Can someone please keep my dream alive?

So take a look at Adastra from forward of the the bow, and tell me if you could realize the potential to build a similar boat from large diameter fiberglass pipes laid from a mandrel cut in half.


keel of Vaka main hull one long pipe cut in half longitudinally

main hull freeboard and akas are much larger pipes cut in half. ring frames built in on the mandrel

amas are smaller full circumference pipes or reverse curve panels of the aka

is solid glass to heavy? if so can we even lay some glass on the mandrel , bed core on it , and then lay more glass?

I have a pipe dream of building the boat i can not really afford.

 

You will need to build proper molds to get the right shape. If the material for the hull is more than you can afford, the total boat is beyond your means. The hulls are maybe 10-15% of the total cost. Solid fiberglass will produce a really heavy boat. Also, you need a set of plans with properly engineered laminate schedule, structural details, etc.

 

Hi Pipe Dream,

I think you should do it, the McConaghy Boats https://www.mcconaghyboats.com/adastra looks very groovy, you should build one at a scale size to test your concepts, the designer Kurt Hughes likes people to build boats larger than they can afford, his cylinder molding might have some merit in your application for hulls & amas plus might do other portions as well
Very large boats like adastra and similar "super" boats often get sold a few years later at a big discount.. maybe wait

All the best from Jeff

 

I think a designer that likes people to build boats larger than they can't afford is giving really bad advice. An honest designer will discuss a building and maintenance budget with the customer and stay within it.

 

As I understand the work of the designer, he must design the ship that the customer asks for. The work of evaluating the material, human or financial means of the client, in my opinion, is not a function of the designer, however honest he may be. Now, yes, he will need to make sure that the client can pay for the project he ordered

 

Not really. If a customer goes to a designer with a budget and the designer sells him something that can't be built within it, he is not being honest. The cost of the materials and labor are part of the design.

 

Of course. Who says no?. But the designer can not, should not, stop making a design because the client does not have the means to carry it out.
And the client is in his right to buy the project that he likes, if he has the money to buy it (buy the project).