| Wood is strong and naturally buoyant, a good heat | | | | a full size mock up of the part to be built - such as |
| and sound insulator and a joy to work with and live | | | | the hull. From the plug a concave mold is made, |
| with. A well built wooden boat can last for years, as | | | | usually made from fibreglass. Before the lay up is |
| long as it's carefully looked after. This is easy to | | | | begun, the mold is separated with a releasing agent |
| achieve with the help of modern adhesives and | | | | to keep the fibreglass laminates from sticking to it. |
| sealants | | | | As various parts will come from the mold, it's |
| Wood is strong and naturally buoyant, a good heat | | | | carefully built so the shapes never varies and is |
| and sound insulator and a joy to work with and live | | | | polished to a high finish. |
| with. A well built wooden boat can last for years, as | | | | Metal boats - The first metal boats were made from |
| long as it's carefully looked after. This is easy to | | | | wrought iron. Although not as strong for it weight as |
| achieve with the help of modern adhesives and | | | | wood, it was easy to work with and resistant to |
| sealants | | | | corrosion. To add to its strength, carbon was added |
| There are many types of wooden boat | | | | to create alloy steel. Steel is stronger than anything |
| constructions: | | | | else. It's resilient, tough and relatively inexpensive to |
| Carvel Lapstrake Plywood Strip Plank Molded | | | | work with. |
| Fibreglass boats - A typical 20 foot wooden boat | | | | Iron or steel plates were originally joined by rivets, |
| could be made up of 3,000 separate parts. A | | | | with the plate edges hammered down to make it |
| fibreglass boat of the same size needs only 30 parts. | | | | watertight. This method was superseded by welding, |
| Fibreglass does not rot or corrode, it's robust and | | | | making boats stronger and lighter. Steels main |
| makes high volume manufacture very easy. Even | | | | problems are its weight and loss of material through |
| though fibreglass is more expensive than wood, it's | | | | rust. |
| still economical to use. Little skill is required and man | | | | Since the 1940s, new alloys of aluminium have made |
| hours are reduced, compared to building a wooden | | | | what some believe, to be the finest of all boat |
| boat. | | | | building materials. It does not rust, it's light and almost |
| The building of a fibreglass boat begins with the plug, | | | | indestructible. |