Hi, Tim and all--
It pains my poor, crippled "shift " pinky something fierce to capitalize, but I'll do it if I must to get your advice on this one.
The cockpit sole, and the cockpit insert in general on the triton is much flexier than I'd like (Ariel and Ariel/Commander were cored in these areas and much stiffer). Ditto for the sliding hatch.
I've seen what Tim did with the layup of extra 'glass from above, but I am just not that artistic with the 'glass. Resin-head or not, I've thought about laminating in a bit of core-mat from below. Do you think this would be useful, wothwhile, or effective?
Your input is much appreciated.
Dave,
#397
Flexy Triton Cockpit
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Tim
- Shipwright Extraordinaire
- Posts: 5708
- Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2003 6:39 pm
- Boat Name: Glissando
- Boat Type: Pearson Triton
- Location: Whitefield, ME
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Don't bother. Coremat is a laminate bulker, designed to add thickness (and therefore, to a point, stiffness) to a given laminate without adding as much weight and cost as an equal thickness of cloth. To that end, it does what it is supposed to, and is a dear of many small boat builders who are looking for ways to make their chintzy fiberglass hulls flex a little less.
The Coremat helped a little on my seats, but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend the process to anyone else, since the results, while better than before, are not all they could be. No harm came from trying it, and it did help--but the results were hardly stellar enough for me to recommend it as a cure to all ills.
Preparing the underside for new material would be a huge amount of work in a very uncomfortable space. Typically, the underside of the cockpit is a nightmare of rough fiberglass, poorly glassed-in stiffeners, and hanging fiberglass stalactites. And adding Coremat here would have little or no value, since it is not a structural material to begin with.
I installed 1/2" balsa core over the top of the cockpit sole, and am very pleased with how much it stiffened the structure there. If I were doing the cockpit project over again I would bite the bullet and install core (balsa or Nida-Core) on the seats and locker lids as well. With a few layers of cloth over the top, you'd end up with a strong, stiff structure that would never again flex underfoot. 3/8" core, or probably even 1/4", would do the job as well.
Fiberglassing Mantra: if it comes out messy, just grind it and fill it. Glassing flat surfaces like the cockpit seats and sole is a great place to learn technique. Might as well learn now--you never know when the skill will come in handy later. Remember that, in the cockpit, you'd only be adding material for stiffness--not ultimate structure--so the ultimate strength of the job is less important than, say, repairing a hole in the hull. Knowing that the glasswork you do is not structurally important to the safety of the boat can make the learning curve a bit easier to take.
Tim
The Coremat helped a little on my seats, but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend the process to anyone else, since the results, while better than before, are not all they could be. No harm came from trying it, and it did help--but the results were hardly stellar enough for me to recommend it as a cure to all ills.
Preparing the underside for new material would be a huge amount of work in a very uncomfortable space. Typically, the underside of the cockpit is a nightmare of rough fiberglass, poorly glassed-in stiffeners, and hanging fiberglass stalactites. And adding Coremat here would have little or no value, since it is not a structural material to begin with.
I installed 1/2" balsa core over the top of the cockpit sole, and am very pleased with how much it stiffened the structure there. If I were doing the cockpit project over again I would bite the bullet and install core (balsa or Nida-Core) on the seats and locker lids as well. With a few layers of cloth over the top, you'd end up with a strong, stiff structure that would never again flex underfoot. 3/8" core, or probably even 1/4", would do the job as well.
Fiberglassing Mantra: if it comes out messy, just grind it and fill it. Glassing flat surfaces like the cockpit seats and sole is a great place to learn technique. Might as well learn now--you never know when the skill will come in handy later. Remember that, in the cockpit, you'd only be adding material for stiffness--not ultimate structure--so the ultimate strength of the job is less important than, say, repairing a hole in the hull. Knowing that the glasswork you do is not structurally important to the safety of the boat can make the learning curve a bit easier to take.
Tim