composite materials for deck recore

[Harry James]

I have seen Balsa, Plywood and Nidacore used for the never ending story of Triton deck recores. Has anybody used any of the standard composite core materials like Corecell

http://www.spsystems.com/solutions/corecell.htm

or Aircell

http://www.polyumac.com/standard.htm

These are pretty common in composite boat consruction and I was wondering why they havn't been used.

[Harry James]

OK guys there have been 54 views of this post with no responses, I can't believe there are no opinions on this.

[Figment]

These materials weren't really a viable option for my recore. They were either wildly expensive, or not available in small quantities, or both. My options were quickly narrowed to either balsa or nidacore, so I didn't do a whole lot of homework on the foam-based products.

So.... I still have no real opinion to offer, but at least now you know why. ;)

[Tim]

Has anybody used any of the standard composite core materials like Corecell

http://www.spsystems.com/solutions/corecell.htm

or Aircell

http://www.polyumac.com/standard.htm

I guess you had no responses since no one here had any direct experience with these products.

These are pretty common in composite boat consruction and I was wondering why they havn't been used.

Cost, probably, followed by availability issues. These foams are significantely more expensive than balsa and, as Mike said, are often available only in larger quantites suitable for a production shop. Also, since many of these foams come only in unscored sheets, they tend to be less attractive to the DIYer, as ideally vacuum pressure should be used to pull such sheets properly into place for good bonding.

Balsa remains an excellent choice, by the way. Low cost, wide availability, excellent properties as a core material, and so forth. The key is in the installation. Deleting core material in way of known hardware locations, use of epoxy resins and adhesives, filling the kerfs, and other careful practices will ensure excellent long-term benefits from this core material.

Foams are not immune to water or other problems either. Water and chemical reactions in enclosed spaces can do amazing things to any material.

For the typical DIYer, core choice, when faced with this chore, comes down to a combination of pricing and convenient availability. If you have good sources for foam coring in appropriate quantities, then the foams may bear consideration. Just don't look at foam as a carefree replacement for your old balsa core; each material brings with it its own compromises and issues.

[FloatingMoneyPit]

How does the process change when using balsa vs. plywood?
Am I right in imagining that the idea is to get thinned resin in any open kerfs to create the moisture-confining "walls" that balsa core was originally used for?