The hull thickness thread

[Figment]

(I could SWEAR we had a thread going about hull thickness at some point, but couldn't find it)

Here's a good one...

[Tim]

The master of dredging old threads couldn't find it??? What is this world coming to?

[bcooke]

And speaking of dredging. I didn't feel like starting a new thread and having to come up with a unique name for it.

We have all heard the story about how the old classics were overbuilt. Some of you have probably also heard me question that argument.

Here is a core sample of a late model Triton (#680 - 1966) out of the keel below the engine at the start of the (nearly) vertical section.



Core section is approximately 3/8" thick. The thickness seems fine but what really disturbs me is all the white fluffy stuff. I see a whole lot of roving/matting and not so much resin in this sample.

-Britton

[jollyboat]

post removed

[Tim]

I've seen quite a few samples that look similar to yours, Britton. There's a lot of resin-starved material in the boats, with an equal amount of extremely resin-rich stuff too. These conditions are common in all hand-laid laminates, particularly from this era.

When I drilled a hole in my boat's keel a few weeks ago to install a garboard drain, I found that there was a layer roughly in the center of the laminate's total thickness that was not bonded to either the inner or outer sections; in other words, the core sample split right in half at this poorly bonded layer. You just never know what you'll find in the depths of these laminates, but often it's not as outstanding as you'd like.

Let's not kid ourselves that the construction on these old boats is that terrific. Yes, the laminates are thick, but they're not necessarily particularly strong for the thickness. These were inexpensive production boats, built by a wide variety of personnel, and were quickly and sloppily built. The lamination process was not likely to have been extremely carefully controlled for quality the way today's more scientifically-built laminates might be. The fact that the hulls contain many layers of material and even more resin is directly responsible for their general well-being and overall strength after all this time. That doesn't mean that the overall laminate quality is that good.

None of this detracts from all that is good about these old designs. They are great boats, I love them, and think they can be used for just about whatever you want, within realistic limits, but it's still important to not let the unsubstantiated hype overshadow the sometimes harsh realities of their construction.