by jacklake2003 » Jul 24, 2014 7:08 am
Congrats on the Viper purchase and the new business!
I've wondered the same thing. I too have a Viper that I have done some work on, but I one day plan to start over from the ground up. I will not be putting wood (if I can help it) back in the boat. Balsa (and other woods too) have great properties for the application; strong, light, absorb shock, CHEAP, the list goes on. But, as you can see from your boat I'm sure, there is one major flaw; ROT! The construction techniques used during build (or re-build) can limit this greatly, but it will rot again. Moisture will get to the wood one way or the other. I was surprised to learn that the hull blisters found on one of our boats, and many others I've seen, is due to water being absorbed through the gelcoat. Never thought that would happen.
Anyway, I look forward to reading responses here and let us know the materials you end up using moving forward.
Congrats on the Viper purchase and the new business!
I've wondered the same thing. I too have a Viper that I have done some work on, but I one day plan to start over from the ground up. I will not be putting wood (if I can help it) back in the boat. Balsa (and other woods too) have great properties for the application; strong, light, absorb shock, CHEAP, the list goes on. But, as you can see from your boat I'm sure, there is one major flaw; ROT! The construction techniques used during build (or re-build) can limit this greatly, but it will rot again. Moisture will get to the wood one way or the other. I was surprised to learn that the hull blisters found on one of our boats, and many others I've seen, is due to water being absorbed through the gelcoat. Never thought that would happen.
Anyway, I look forward to reading responses here and let us know the materials you end up using moving forward.