Re: [Cal_Boats] RE: Wooden boat building, lightweight

Charlie, I recall that TPI (Tillotson-Pearson), builders of the J-Boats used to have ads telling about how impervious to water penetration/propagation their balsa-cored hulls were. I think they vacuum-bagged the hulls to get the resin to soak into the balsa enough to seal it. That supposedly prevented water from soaking into the core. In the ad they showed a hull section complete with empty thru-hull holes, that had been soaking for months in water without delaminating. I don't know how many wet/dry cycles they tested for, and that may be the "secret". Having said that...... I still remember using a piece of plywood on a boat that I built once, the plywood had been sitting outside for a while and showed no evidence of any delamination...... so I figured that it was safe to use...... Well, after only a month or so in it's new role as the afterdeck on my boat..... it was delaminating all over! Maybe the paint that I applied sealed in moisture...... who knows, but it wasn't the first time (or the last time?) that I ssuccessfully"torture-tested" something with no problems, then had it fail under "normal" use! Rod Johnson, "SUNBIRD" 1979 O'DAY DS II #10201 On Sat, 18 Feb 2012 17:15:34 +0000 "Husar, Charlie [USA] (ASE)" <hu… [at] bah.com> writes: Some of the J (Johnstone � maybe all of them) models were built with balsa-cored hulls to save weight. Ultimately, the boats get leaks into the balsa and get heavy (not good for a racer). Repair is complex and usually not worth it. The J/24 fleet in town used to be the big group, but is now dying (woos problems and competition from newer Js like the J/80). How about making the cabin steps from close-celled foam that is glased over with cloth? Would that be strong enough? Could add a couple lateral hardwood ridges to the bottom. Cheers Charlie 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4f3ffbe7e2e3316966dest04duc