Outrigger made with polypropylene foam roller

[John Bjorklund]

Hi all. I am building a Wa'apa outrigger sailing canoe. I was thinking about using polypropylene foam rollers for the outrigger float. These are the foam rollers you see in your local gym. From what I understand, polypropylene foam is high density and closed celled so it will have limited water absorption. I will cut the rollers in half and glue around a quarter inch plywood sheer and then glass it with two layers of 6 oz cloth and epoxy.

The ama will be roughly 11' long and 5 - 6" in diameter.

Thoughts on using this material?

 

[John Bjorklund]

Okay, I just answered my own question. Apparently epoxy does not stick to polypropylene. Darn it.

 

[rob denney]

Okay, I just answered my own question. Apparently epoxy does not stick to polypropylene. Darn it.

Get a piece and do a test. Epoxy doesn't stick to pvc or PET either, yet most boat foams are the former, and some are the latter. If you abrade the surface to open the bubbles, you will get much more bonding area.

For small outrigger hull, the bond does not have to be wonderful, just adequate.

 

[ondarvr]

Okay, I just answered my own question. Apparently epoxy does not stick to polypropylene. Darn it.

It doesn’t make any difference if it bonds to it if you are encasing it with the laminate. You are really only using it as a shape to laminate around.