wood or plastic

There is a big difference between the resin types used and the effect that they have on a boat life.

When the boat flexes both the resin and the fibers strech the problem with Polyester resin boats is that the resin is not quite as stretchy as the glass so as the boat flexes you get micro cracking of the resin. this is largely what makes a boat go soft with age.

Epoxy is much better as it can strech futher before failing plus it absorbs much less water than polyester resins and does not smell as bad when curing. Unfortunately it is more expensive.

 

don't composite boats only need looking after at the end of their lives, whereas a woodeen boat need to be looked after all its life

wood is far better because when it gets wet you can always dry it out and when plastic boats start to delaminate wooden ones can be maintained with alot more ease

Originally posted by carshalton fc arnt some cherubs made of wood?  i know they know make them from carbon tho.

The last wood Cherub I know of was built about 1996. Curiously it was built by the same guy who made the first foam Cherub in the UK* in 1970.

Foam sandwich is preferred by the majority because its a lot easier for an amateur builder to build a light strong foam sandwich boat than a ligfht strong wood one.

50kg (the Cherub hull weight) is a bit of a struggle for a wood boat, although I have a 1971ish boat that is still pretty much down to weight and quite usable. 50kg is quite easily attained with a foam/good quality glass boat, and carbon boats by experienced builders have come out nearer 40kg which means a fair bit of lead to find a home for.
A lot depends how much interior structure you put in though. A minimal interior is obviously light, but critical on materials, whereas if you have a bit more structure its always going t be heavier, but a lot easier to get it plenty stiff enough for the insane rig loads used.

As for why wood or plastic is faster, itr almost certainly comes down to stiffness. The two materials have significantly different properties so require to ba handled in different ways. There's both panel stiffness and bend resistance to consider - panel stiffness probably affects how it goes through waves, bend resistance is not only about rig tension, but also about how much the boat twists with the crew sitting out at the back of the boat, but the load the otherway coming from the daggerboard in the middle.

JimC

*first foam Cherub in the UK, not the world, the worlds forst foam sandwich Cherub was built in 1969 by Russ Bowler (now partner in Farr Yacht design). I think these were among the first foam sandwich boats built anywhere by anyone.

Edited by JimC

yer but lioke phil said well varnished would is the same as gel coat. so maybe wooden foils would be no different.