Home building in carbon?

[matt (Guest)]

I've a few views on the questions possed above.

Yes there are plenty of moulds out there. Dave Greening has the Annies Apple mould and will lend it out for free without timelimits. (assuming he hasn't chopped it up for some space in his garage)

As for the wood carbon technology - it is acceptable for cherubs and moths because they are not as wide and are therefore not subject to high twisting loads. National12's are exceptionally wide and really do suffer from twist if the build isn't done right. Added to that - single sided laminate on 3mm wood is very weak on impact - Tom Edoms moth suffered a catastrophic puncture on his first outing.

Also remember that ply will not form complex curves so you are limited to chined or stressed ply hull forms. The improvements in hull speed since plywood days can be attributed to both stiffness/weight and hull shape's  which are just not feasible in stressed ply.

finally - the cheap route to a modern hull is e-glass composite. e-glass is about 1/10th the price of cosmetic carbon and 1/6th price of raw carbon weave. Structural foam and epoxy however are still rather expensive.

Matt

[John Nixon (Guest)]

Suggest a look at the Merlin site - Photos- Lawie Smart boat. I build a Cherub like this 15 years ago. Just buy in the panels from Martel Composites

[grazz]

Hi Rick, would be happy to talk to you about our home building exploits (Our front room is pretty much back in order now). The costs came out pretty good, you are right that labour is the biggest part (forunately our internal recharge rate was pretty low).  We did have to buy a new dining room table afterwards which wasn't in the original budget.

Are you going to Grafham?

Also, have you read the building guides in the members area? http://www.national12.org/private.shtml

[rick perkins]

Can't make GWSC as I am doing a Musto Skiff coaching weekend.

No immediate plans to build so will talk to you when we meet.

Good luck at the weekend.

Rick