The Strength of Marine Ply and Cold-Molded Ply

[Ram]

I’m new to this Epoxy/marine Ply work - at the moment I’m putting in a new deck on my commercial Dive boat(Lake Worth, FL area) using Marine 3/4 Ply and 2 layers of 24 oz biaxle cloth with epoxy resin ,- not knowing much about it, its seems to be easy to work with and a lot less toxic to work with than other resins/ I hope it will hold up to the heavy duty use of dive tanks and weight belts being dropped on deck- anyone have an opinion about the 2 layers of biaxel 24 oz cloth do you think this is strong enough for hard use?

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Ram

I’m new to this Epoxy/marine Ply work - at the moment I’m putting in a new deck on my commercial Dive boat(Lake Worth, FL area) using Marine 3/4 Ply and 2 layers of 24 oz biaxle cloth with epoxy resin ,- not knowing much about it, its seems to be easy to work with and a lot less toxic to work with than other resins/ I hope it will hold up to the heavy duty use of dive tanks and weight belts being dropped on deck- anyone have an opinion about the 2 layers of biaxel 24 oz cloth do you think this is strong enough for hard use?

In the photo below (click it for more photo's), we just put on a layer of glass on a half sheet of Bruynzeel 1/2" plywood. I am sure the fiberglass was less than 12oz cloth (8 or 10 oz). We cut panels out of it so had some scraps left and I did some testing with them. After a good whack with a steel hammer, the epoxy at that spot became milk-colored instead of transparent. However, with eyes closed I could not find the spot by feel so there was no dent. I also put a vice-grip on a piece of cloth that extended beyond the plywood and tried to rip it of. It did come apart but not without taking a half-layer of veneer of the plywood with it... so the bond between glass and ply is stronger than the wood itself and also the bond between the layers of veneer of the plywood was stronger than the wood itself.

If you have two layers of 24 oz cloth you should be good

[zoombats]

The strength of marine ply? Consider the case of "Storm Vogel", Built for Kess Bruynzeel of Bruynzeel marine ply fame, design and built with E.G. Van de Stadt, Laurent Giles and John Illingworth. Sailed by some recognisable talent as well. I wouldn't think the construction or re-sale price would be questionable regardless of mono or multi hull.

[Ram]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

In the photo below (click it for more photo's), we just put on a layer of glass on a half sheet of Bruynzeel 1/2" plywood. I am sure the fiberglass was less than 12oz cloth (8 or 10 oz). We cut panels out of it so had some scraps left and I did some testing with them. After a good whack with a steel hammer, the epoxy at that spot became milk-colored instead of transparent. However, with eyes closed I could not find the spot by feel so there was no dent. I also put a vice-grip on a piece of cloth that extended beyond the plywood and tried to rip it of. It did come apart but not without taking a half-layer of veneer of the plywood with it... so the bond between glass and ply is stronger than the wood itself and also the bond between the layers of veneer of the plywood was stronger than the wood itself.

If you have two layers of 24 oz cloth you should be good

Thats very helpful thanks, I think it must be bullet proof !

[Bash]

Originally Posted by Ram

anyone have an opinion about the 2 layers of biaxel 24 oz cloth do you think this is strong enough for hard use?

If it's not, you need a better class of clients.

[Feral Cement]

Originally Posted by foggysail

But have you considered the amount of labor needed to construct a boat??? The hull is a small part of the total construction and you plan to spend E40K to finish this thing IF YOU FINISH THIS THING??? Do you really believe your boat will have a market value that at least equals your construction cost???? REALLY????

I agree - you can find a stripped-down hull for next to nothing in many places. You'll still spend thousands after the hull is complete on rigging, fittings, engine, interior, systems, etc. It's easy to spend years of your precious spare time working on a boat. If you want to go SAILING, buy something that's mostly there. You will find plenty to do, trust me.

John