Oh, deficately!! 1/8" is plenty for bottom reinforcement, or even for a full boat core.
A while back I had made some sample laminations with 2 layers of 6 oz E glass on each side of 1/8" H80 foam. Even though the samples were relatively small, it was clearly as stiff as a stripped hull section, maybe even stiffer. It was definitely lighter in weight.
I understand why production boats have little foam as a substrate (mostly cost, also difficulty of forming compound curves), but a home built composite based on 1/8" foam with double layers of 6 oz glass could be far tougher and lighter than any similar size/shape production hull. Oh, and even though the foam seems expensive, compare that cost to that of a $3,500 production boat that you're afraid to walk in if it's unsupported!
For a foam cored hull, there's really no need for Kevlar, carbon fiber, or even S glass. Once we (that's means all of us backyard builders here) figure out how to easily work with that 1/8" H80, most of us will be building with foam cored E glass. It's another example of Darwin's theory of survival of the lightest, er...I mean the ability of canoe designs to adapt and survive, no not survive, flourish.
Booyah!!
A while back I had made some sample laminations with 2 layers of 6 oz E glass on each side of 1/8" H80 foam. Even though the samples were relatively small, it was clearly as stiff as a stripped hull section, maybe even stiffer. It was definitely lighter in weight.
I understand why production boats have little foam as a substrate (mostly cost, also difficulty of forming compound curves), but a home built composite based on 1/8" foam with double layers of 6 oz glass could be far tougher and lighter than any similar size/shape production hull. Oh, and even though the foam seems expensive, compare that cost to that of a $3,500 production boat that you're afraid to walk in if it's unsupported!
For a foam cored hull, there's really no need for Kevlar, carbon fiber, or even S glass. Once we (that's means all of us backyard builders here) figure out how to easily work with that 1/8" H80, most of us will be building with foam cored E glass. It's another example of Darwin's theory of survival of the lightest, er...I mean the ability of canoe designs to adapt and survive, no not survive, flourish.
Booyah!!
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