4oz. VS 6oz. ? | Page 2 | SouthernPaddler.com

4oz. VS 6oz. ?

jdupre'

Well-Known Member
Sep 9, 2007
2,327
40
South Louisiana
"How strong is 4oz. compared to 6oz. and is it strong enough for a strip build."

No possible way to tell for sure..... only degrees of certainty. Too many variables and too subjective a question. Emperical testing to failure is the only way to get close.
 

beekeeper

Well-Known Member
Mar 4, 2009
1,917
59
"You got to go to know", but if someone else has walked that road befor it could save you some steps, or make the trip worth while.
Joey asked if anybody has had a boat fail because they used too thin glass.
Ron said he knew of two. but Chuck has built one with success.
Ron do you know what style boat each was, and what the failure was?
What kind and size strip boat did you use the 3oz glass for?
What might work for a multi chined kayak could be inadequate for a 3 panel pirogue, strength wise. Puncture and abrasion resistance protection should be the same.

beekeeper
 

tx river rat

Well-Known Member
Feb 23, 2007
3,043
2
Waco Tx
Ok let me go back and go over some things.
Two boats that were built to light were unusable because there was so much flex it was trying to crack the floor and pulling glass away from the wood, one was a perow the other was a merlin canoe.
I knocked a hole in my tv with 4 ounce on the inside 6 on the outside ,glass inside ripped when the strain got to be to much,had a complete penetration of the hull.Since that time I have used 6 ounce with full coverage inside and out running the same water with no full penetrations have hit so hard that I cracked the wood before but the glass always held it.I have seen the same thing happen with numerous boats
I am going to make this statement again , heavy glass needs to be on the inside of the hull. When you hit an object the outside folds ,not much strength the inside has to strech (tensile strength) . Take a piece of 14 gauge copper wire and bend it ,that was easy, now tie it to the front bumper of your truck bet you cant pull it into.
Chuck builds a great light boat and is an excellent paddler, for every rock or stump Chuck hits with a current pushing him I hit 100 or more his boat would not take that on a daily basis, if you fish in the best places here it is just a fact of life and you may be moving at 10 or 15 miles an hour when you smack one, then coming back up river you may have to drag over solid rock for 1/4 mile with a inch or less water running over it.Now this is with 150 to 250 lbs in the boat in gear.
I am an extreme user of my wood boats and believe me I test them hard and rough,so does Darrel.Chuck just about had a fit when we drug our boats up a concrete ramp and didnt unload them and put them on the bars of the yak trailer.
When I make a statement about what it takes to handle certain scenarios ,normally it is not hearsay it experience talking
Ron
 

beekeeper

Well-Known Member
Mar 4, 2009
1,917
59
tx river rat said:
Ok let me go back and go over some things.
Two boats that were built to light were unusable because there was so much flex it was trying to crack the floor and pulling glass away from the wood, one was a perow the other was a merlin canoe.
Ron

Were they, strip built, or plywood panels? What kind of wood? Any idea of the thickness?
I assume the "flex" was from just using the boats and not from hitting an object.
I encountered the flex issue when I built my strip pirogue. I failed to glass the inside at first and had to go back and add it because the strips with 6oz. on only one side were not stiff enough. Because the panels were wide, and I had no ribs or other supports, I used one layer of 4oz. and another one of 6oz. It worked but added weight, about 9lbs.
Structural strength and stiffness is where I am coming from, not puncture proofing or wear resistance for "extreme use" . Adding extra glass is the recomended way to address those issues.

Thanks
beekeeper
 

tx river rat

Well-Known Member
Feb 23, 2007
3,043
2
Waco Tx
Bee
One was a striper and one was a ply s@g
Both had pretty wide bottoms .
Strength and stiffness both are improved with 6 ounce inside and out.
The only reason I explained about the way I use a boat is for information of what holds up in mt harsh inviroment .
Ron