WhiteTip Inc. says: Let’s have a discussion…Lately I’ve had a few conversations with people about Infusion. I think the general opinion among consumers is that infused boats are lighter, stronger and better overall than traditionally hand laid boats. However when asked exactly why this construction method is superior most people draw a blank.
It has been my experience that while infusion may save you 30-40 pounds on your overall build, makes the process, cleaner, faster and more efficient, it feels like the idea of infusion as some sort of space age manufacturing method is a gimmick to sell high end boats that otherwise might seem outrageously priced.
There is this stigma being created by members of the skiff world that hand laid boats are slow heavy pigs in the water and somehow if it’s not made of Kevlar and infused it does not meet the standard for a flats boat or poling skiff.
The age of the over built battle wagon boat is long gone. It is 100% feasible to build a light and extremely strong boat using hand laying. Between biaxial cloth, hand rolling resin and very conservative use of a wet out gun, I feel like hand laid is still the way to go.
Any opinions?
#infusion #boatbuilding #skiffporn #skifflife #centerconsolesonly #marineindustry #technicalpolingskiff #flatsboat #carbonkevlar #kevlar #carbonfiber #fiberglass #tightlines #thehulltruth
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chrisgrillo
? couldn’t have said it better
trendsetter4life
Preach!!!!
turboterance
Amen. The pathfinder I rebuilt wasn’t rebuilt by choice. Their “state of the art” (in 1999) 0 wood all foam stringers snapped just from using the boat in conditions I felt weren’t even bad. I rebuilt it all by hand using solid wood 2×12 stringers and biaxal. It’s basic physics…solid wood gives much less flex than foam and a few layers of glass. We’ll see how some of modern built boats look in 15yrs lol
turboterance
These*
whitetippowerboats
@turboterance I feel the same way about foam for stringers. We use a molded stringer system, 100% glass, wide and beefy for a sturdy ride. A lot of these fancy skiff guys aren’t even using stringers…they core the whole hull and call it a day. Sure it feels like a tank but when that flat bottom starts pounding on the bay and the torque of the motor is pulling up that nose how well does that system really work.
robmitchell44
Having worked in aircraft composites for 15 years I can tell you that Kevlar is like a sponge for any liquid. Kevlar is good for impact resistance but they are shying away from it in aviation use. Kevlar doesn’t soak up resin like glass or graphite.
gladesrat00
Well said
wild_banks
Agree all round.
capt_kyle_r
A good hand lay up can be close to infusion in glass to resin ratio. You gotta be really good though. I think what it comes down to is Some of the factory workers could care less, and will oversaturate it just to get it done. A little different than if you were building it for yourself. @whitetippowerboats you ever squeegee out the excess resin in the layups? That one looks on point ??✅?
flyingfishcharters
Great shot