Fiberglassing Tubes

[officebob]

Any links showing how folks have created hard tubes?

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by officebob

Any links showing how folks have created hard tubes?

Try..."Too many Burgers!?"
Sorry couldn't resist....just seen its your first post.
Welcome to Ribnet!
I'm not sure how credible your question is??...but someone may

[officebob]

Try..."Too many Burgers!?"

........................................

Thanks Gluteus!

[beerbelly]

think he was referring to hardening of the arteries by eating too much fatty food its our version of humour

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by officebob

Try..."Too many Burgers!?"

........................................

Thanks Gluteus!

Reckon you'll fit in fine

[officebob]

Thanks Max.

I have a Zodiac 10 footer YachtLine, guessing 1990's with GRP hull.

I want to skip all of the re-gluing drama and just glass sponsons (tubes) onto

the hull full stop. Can't find any "how tos" though I have seen folks mentioning it.

Bob

[officebob]

LOL...Yes yes.....thanks invite and 2 burgers a day......the 3 "B" man. Beer, Burgers and BOOTs!

[ShinyShoe]

OfficeBob its not clear what you mean. a. How to attach the sponson to your hull? B. Or how the 'replace' your squidgy sponson with a fibreglass solid equivalent.

a. Depends on the sponson but you don't usually fibreglass it you usually glue it or attach to a bead.

B. You don't.

[Chris Caton]

Menai Marine make a rib with fibreglass tubes, maybe worth emailing them for advice, although I'm guessing building from scratch is a but different to what you're trying to do

http://www.menaimarine.plus.com/mena..._540%20RTB.htm

[officebob]

Thanks fellas....no I'm talking FRP/GRP full tube. No Inflatable. Now that I think about it, perhaps a cardboard Sonotube as plug. West System epoxied and through-bolted to hull. Alternatively, wonder if a guy could use the tubes off of an old Avon Hypalon. Cut the soft floor out. Its just I see a pattern with PVC tubes failing prematurely, new tubes costing way too much, and attempted refits sent to the dumpster. Clear as mud? BTW, I live 2 doors down from a fiberglass textile plant. Cheers

[Rokraider]

Are you suggesting leaving the existing tubes in place and inflating them up hard and then simply wrapping them with GRP?

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by officebob

Thanks fellas....no I'm talking FRP/GRP full tube. No Inflatable. Now that I think about it, perhaps a cardboard Sonotube as plug. West System epoxied and through-bolted to hull. Alternatively, wonder if a guy could use the tubes off of an old Avon Hypalon. Cut the soft floor out. Its just I see a pattern with PVC tubes failing prematurely, new tubes costing way too much, and attempted refits sent to the dumpster. Clear as mud? BTW, I live 2 doors down from a fiberglass textile plant. Cheers

What's on the other side of you??....After that explanation ..A PUB by Any chance!?
Anyway it sounds like you need a fix for worn out tubes??
If I'm understanding the question properly.( and I may not be!!)
..IMO your barking up the wrong tree..If the budget is tight...Over Patches/ repairs or a second hand set are really the only options.There have been some real reserection jobs done on tubes if you search the Forum.
Hyperlon is a lot easier to breathe new life into than PVC,but trying to invent a whole new class of water craft...ie incorporating Fibre Glass over existing Inflatable tubes is I feel a definite no no...
But hey...if You DO decide to give it a go Id love to see some Pics!

[whisper]

I've seen aluminium tubes, there's also hard nose ribs. Biffer has a work boat that uses barrels instead of tubes.

Some ribs in Cyprus have fibre glass for the bottom of the tubes and hypalon tops.

As mentioned before, if you already have tubes then you could fibreglass over the top and finish with about 9 layers of gelcoat and one last one with wax, but this wouldn't be a good thing to do as it would be a bit of a bodge.

You can buy tubes and fit them yourself but it is expensive So always best to repair where possible

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Rokraider

Are you suggesting leaving the existing tubes in place and inflating them up hard and then simply wrapping them with GRP?

I saw a tender like that once. It was hideous, but a good antitheft approach!

Actually he's talking about moulding a nice finished set of sponsons from GRP and then bolting the tube to the boat. I think its a bad idea for a number of reasons - and I say that as someone who has "hard" tubes:

- its a lot of work for little obvious benefit. By the time you've made and finished moulds, manufactured sponsons and bolted them all together in time and materials you'd be well on the way to a set of decent hypalon tubes! The ecconomic benefits of making moulds come from repeat production not one offs.
- GRP is fragile. Tubes come into contact with other objects alot (its one of their selling points!). If you want to make hard tubes don't make them from fragile GRP.
- bolting two solid objects together in a high load situation with continual flexing (which the joint will get every wave it encounters) sounds like a recipe for significant structural failure to me.
- ride quality is probably poorer with hard tubes (or overinflated ones) as the tube is unable to absorb any of the bounce.
- if the tubes are intended to be buoyant and have screw holes through them as well as the risk of other damage you need to consider the implications of 'free surface effect' on any water taken on board at such an extreme point away from the CoG.

If you really want to make hard tubes I would look at what other people have done. Almost without exception nobody uses GRP. There is one GRP "riblike" builder (linked above) but he is making a hull and tubes as one continuous mould not a bolt together. There are people making hard 'tubes' from polythene, or aluminium. Mostly these are part of a general RIB like shape that is built as one object rather than bolted together. There are a few builders supplying workboats who, for want of a better description, weld plastic natural gas pipe together to build hard, but slightly flexible, tubes together from very robust material. The "finish" is somewhat industrial and unlikely to appeal to leisure users -
Flugga Boats home page
Not specified multi-purpose work boat / in high density polyethylene / not specified / not specified - HDPE Crew Tender 9.00 9,00m - 29' 6 - DutchWorkBoats BV

although some people have tried:
http://www.zego.si/web/images/slika_front.jpg

The same material is used for a range of "RIBlike" Rigid-buoyant-boats from a number of manufacturers but typically moulded in one piece.

[cgoing]

I've seen it attempted a few times and it never turned out well. It would most likely be hard to get the resin to not run to the lowest point and drip out. Also looking at what fiberglass cloth and resin cost ,I reckon that would be fairly expensive in itself.
I purchased a boat which someone had tried to fill the tubes with self expanding foam in hopes it would fill the tubes to a full round and always rigid shape. Well it worked for a few minutes and the foam kept expanding and burst the seams at a few places. The foam absorbed water and really made a mess.


Cheers,
Chris

[Portnahaven]

Give Red Bay Boats a ring. as they glassed the tubes on "Predator" the 9.5m fishing charter boat rib. After sharks had bitten the tubes three times.
The job looks very successful. They also fill the tubes on the big 16m rib.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Portnahaven

Give Red Bay Boats a ring. as they glassed the tubes on "Predator" the 9.5m fishing charter boat rib. After sharks had bitten the tubes three times.
The job looks very successful. They also fill the tubes on the big 16m rib.

I'm sure Tom will be delighted to spend his afternoon talking to a guy in Canada looking to save the cost of a retube