wood or plastic

Lol yeah just maybe.

I do liek the look of a well maintained wooden boat but they can be in such a pain in the a** to look after. i supose it does depend on what class you are considering as to if wood or plastic is faster.

and how much diference does it make, because if they are the same weight and design, shouldnt they realy be the same speed.

don't the foils make a difference too

ok thax phil!  yer the foils do make a difference but you could have the fiberglass ones tho.

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

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