Building materialsMaintenance must be minimal : why spend your time tinkering instead of cruising the seven seas ?
So much water, so little time !
A boat is costly . It is normal to expect her to be very strong, very safe, very durable.
Materials to build good boats must have excellent strength to weight ratio and a good resistance to fatigue. They must last long while requiring low maintenance.
WOOD-EPOXY HAS ALL THOSE QUALITIES
There are three major building processes :
PLYWOOD
| A good material for boats. Ply sheets, coated with a layer of fiberglass and epoxy resin will give strong homogeneous structures. But shapes are limited to hard chine hulls. This material is best used for planning hulls such as speed boats or dinghies. Plywood sheets are used with excellent results for decks and bulkheads on any type of boats. |
 |
STRIP PLANKING
 |
Narrow battens of red cedar are shaped on templates or bulkheads. No need for nails. All battens are glued together with epoxy and then glassed both side (with one or two coats of epoxy-compatible fibre). A hull built in strip planking is very stable and has very good impact resistance. |
COLD MOLDED
| Three or four diagonal veneers of Red cedar or mahogany are glued on stringers and bulkheads.
For larger hulls , a composite of strip planking with two diagonal veneers is a good choice. It will give light and very strong hulls. |
Wood-epoxy (strip planking or cold molded) is the best material to build light stiff and beautiful hulls which will be totally watertight forever.
It is suited to any size as well as any style of design : traditional, classic as well as very modern
