Books about composite boatuilding
- Thread starter pironiero
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That’s a bit open ended. Composites can be pretty complicated, or not too much. A good starter source would be Dave Gerr’s Elements of Boat Strength. That will give you a layman’s understanding of scantilings, which is what you really need to answer your question: do you want a light boat that’s stiff? Do you want a heavy boat that isn’t as stiff, do you want something stiff and bullet proof? You can do all of these different things with composites. As far as working with composites goes, going to manufacturers sites is often the best source to find current information on that actual state of affairs with regards to working with composites. Professional Boatbuilder Magazine is an excellent source as well.
Snaggletooth
SA's Morrelle Compasse
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We maye neede to recaulle 'Swaime' ?
pironiero
Anarchist
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i want my hull be light and able to get me from point a to point b fast, also having a chance of not penetrating the hull by a stray container, its fine if the outer layer will be penetrated, but you know...it would be nice to be able to get to the harbor without ditching a boat.
Snaggletooth
SA's Morrelle Compasse
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I maye sounde weirde hearre, butte thissis howe women viewe they bodies IMHO.....
Hitchhiker
Hoopy Frood
^ Did that comment just end this thread?
Snaggletooth
SA's Morrelle Compasse
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I hoppe notte.....
Somebody Else
a person of little consequence
What do you mean by composite? Carvel planking with iron diagonal straps? That's composite. Chopper-gun glass fiber held more-or-less together by cheap-ass polyester resin? That's composite. Bi-directional glass fibers and vinylester resin as outter layers over balsa core? Foam core? Those are composite. Carbon fiber and epoxy vacuum bagged over foam core? That's composite.
If there are any books on carbon boatbuilding, they are pretty much out of date by the time they hit the presses. Most boat builders with real knowledge on carbon boat production view their hard-won experience as pretty much trade secrets.
If there are any books on carbon boatbuilding, they are pretty much out of date by the time they hit the presses. Most boat builders with real knowledge on carbon boat production view their hard-won experience as pretty much trade secrets.
It’s doubtful you would have a sandwich hull that handles hitting a container at speed without compromising the laminate. That said, these things are normally accounted for, if desired, by specifying a watertight collision bulkhead forward. Again, to understand all of this, you need to understand scantlings. Gerr is a good baseline (though you will end up with a heavier boat using his scantlings). Ultimately you would want to look at the ABS rule for offshore yachts and design base your scantlings on this. If you build a spreadsheet to this rule or DNV etc. you will be able to play with laminates and load cases to see what the laminate is capable of. Ultimately, I would strongly advise the counsel of a composite engineer to assist.
slug zitski
Super Anarchist
Are you seeking info on scantlings or info on how to work with the materials
See Level
Working to overcome my inner peace
Here's an interesting non-scientific testing approach.
Sail4beer
Starboard!
Buy a fiberglass boat. Read all you want, but Don’t build a boat, buy a fiberglass boat. You can come over here to America and I’ll get you into a cheap boat that will last a long time. Long enough to sail the world. But keep learning and dreaming, that’s how I got into boats.
Sail4beer
Starboard!
Composites are wonderfully light and stiff, however, the Learning curve is steep and time is short. The Gougeon brothers wrote the book on epoxy composite work long ago. If you are really looking to build a plywood composite with an abrasion resistant cloth/epoxy skinned hull, it’s a must read. A member on this forum is highly regarded and writes articles that cover the subject at length. West System epoxy.
basketcase
Fuck you second amendment
do you want to sand, or do you want to sail?
Steam Flyer
Sophisticated Yet Humble
The best book on foam laminate composite construction, and the engineering of them (for the layman) is "Understanding Aircraft Composite Construction" by Zeke Smith. I picked up a couple of other amateur-aircraft-builder manuals but this one was by far the best.
sam_crocker
Super Anarchist
"Fiberglass Boatbuilding for Amatuers" by Ken Hankinson is actually pretty good. Covers it all, materials incl carbon, Kevlar, S glass, cores, vacuum bagging, internals/ bulkheads. It's long out of print but still relevant.
Also check out Professional Boatbuilder. They have back issues available online.
Also check out Professional Boatbuilder. They have back issues available online.
