Composite Construction

[Cherp]

Hello Persons....I've got an older boat with a solid glass hull which has been great and is osmosis-free. I'm looking at going to a larger sailboat (as the Americans say) and the ones I'm looking at tend to be a composite with a product called Klegecell as the inner core. I think it's a closed-cell sort of foam. Does anybody know of this product in boat construction and its longer-term durability and problems? Please let me know if you do.

[GordMay]

Klegecell is a high quality closed cell structural foam coring, manufactured by Diab.

See the excellent Diab “Sandwich Handbook”:
➥ http://www.diabgroup.com/europe/lite...andwich_hb.pdf

Klegecell ➥ http://www.diabgroup.com/europe/lite...egecell_SB.pdf

[anjou]

I believe its a structural foam as opposed to a lighter open cell which is only intended as a layup support. The use of light urethane foams in composite aircraft revealed it crumbling to dust when exposed to vibration and UV after only a few years, and it wasnt just a health concern with the micro beads being airbourne but also for avionics.Ive used DOW floor insulation structural foam as a laminate layup support but only with epoxy resins as its disolved by styrene.

[clockwork orange]

Klegecell is a closed cell pvc structural foam and is a good product.I designed and built a 24ft ULDB where i used klegcell foam as the core launched 22years ago and it has been trouble free,most of the problems with foam cores stem from the builder specing too light a density.You are fortunate to have a lot of foam core boats available to you,here in the US there are very few,mostly Balsa here unfortunatly.
Steve.

[Cherp]

Thanks folks, it looks like there are composites and composites. It seems the structural cores used in Australia vary and include Klegecell and Airex, which are fine, but some are also the lighter foams which are not structural. Given that I'm going from a solid glass trouble-free hull, I want to make sure I don't go to a composite with difficulties.