Yep, you'll need something sturdy for ambient dry. Take a look at All-A-Board
http://www.elfproducts.com/ This is the material you can get with a fiberglass bonding layer. When I priced it, I think it came out cheaper that high quality plywood.
In a message dated 5/25/2004 8:47:41 AM Central Daylight Time, mliebster@tbteam.com writes:
Doug,
Thanks for info. I've learned woodworking from my father, so I have a tendency to fallback on that. He's a retired antique restorer from NYC - quite the craftsman, unfortunately that's a dying trade. He's used to bring home beat up antiques and they'd leave looking gorgeous. I remember once he brought a small table home with about 75% of the ivory inlays in a plastic bag.
I'll look into the plastic board! My original plan was to use thin plywood that could be bent somewhat to shape and then put the fiber on top of that.
Unfortunately I have zero metal working skills, so I'm planning on either having someone fabricate the frame or I take classes on it. At this point I'm still working out the design and layout.
Ambient: Dry.
Marten
Hi Marten
You might consider a high density plastic board for the core. They make it in 4 x 12+ sheets and you can get 1 or both sides with a fiberglass bonding layer molded into the surface. There will be no problem with water absorbsion and delaminanting and it comes dense enought to be neutrally buoyant.
If your considering other hull material ideas, the look at the kayak, surf board, and custom car body building pages. You can carve your shape out of foam and cover it with fiberglass and then reinforce it with an aluminum frame where needed. Or just build an aluminum frame and stretch canvas or aluminum sheeting over it like the fuselage of an air plane. Or heat and shape acrylic over the frame. Paint the top decks and leave the bottom clear for visibility.
Ambient: Wet, Dry or Semidry?
Hope it helps a little..
Doug Jackson