Well folks, after another sheeting session (I hate sheeting hulls) I decided that I would start looking for a waterproof sheeting equivalent to silkspanned 1/32" balsa. Ideally, it would be a grainless flexible sheet that would be readily available and inexpensive. Self adhesive would be excellent, but is not a requirement. I have tried .010 inch thick self adhesive uhmw but it was far too strong. I am looking for ideas for other stuff to try, if anyone has any suggestions. Any results I will post here. -Greg
???????????? I rarely go 3 battles on the same skin, often only 2 or even 1! It's not that hard to re-skin & worth what little trouble it is to do it often. Axis captains should try to make theirs last as long as possible, though. JM
Quite frankly, I am just looking for new materials, and I have sheeted so many ships and I just absolutely hate doing it. Not that it is hard, just that I find it the one part of the build process that irritates me. So I decided to try to find something self adhesive and waterproof.
Trouble is, if the club(s) mandate balsa, it needs to be balsa. Any other material would be subject to approval & probably rule change. Good idea, though, if there's something out there that might be suitable AND get approved. JM
What about sheet styrene. There is one member of NABS who had his MV Pundue (school bus)) sheeted in thin sheet styrene. BB's had no problem penetrating it.
Well, out here, we really don't care so long as no one is trying to take advantage... I figured that if I find something I can test it over the summmer (probably next) and then let y'all know what I find and let the rest of you decide if it should be allowed. First test would have to be passing the standard drop test (irc) and from there we move into holes that don't self seal, and don't shatter, etc.
so folks, I took a chance to try to see about alternatives to balsa that have the same or better penetrability, are available as self adhesive, and do not shatter like most of said substances. For those that wish to know, I have tried the following two products, both have unacceptable properties... but I plan on continuing my search as time permits just in case I can find a particular type that will work. option A: Flame retardant polypropylene film, .017" thick. Problem symptom: Far too strong. cracks in a single large crack when penetrated, minimum length: full height of bay. Path forward: None. Not suitable for our purposes. Option B: White adhesive backed PVC, .0045 inches thick. good side: penetrates very easily, far easier than silk spanned balsa. It is also cheap at ~40 cents per square foot. Bad side: Shatters when penetrated radially standard radial pattern, ~9-10 radial cracks, 1/4-3/8" long. Laminate Testing: Silkspan backing: Causes long cracks rather than short radial cracks. Double layering: doubles the radial crack distance. Path forwards: try some other laminates to preclude crack propagation. Might be suitable if radial cracking can be minimized. anyways, I will keep you all posted....
I love reading R&D in progress. Thanks for doing it! I still think you should've called your blog the Tirp Home instead of the Trip Home.
Thought about it and I might try it but it is a bit thick (at least what I have seen) for me to like it much. I will probably test it out anyways sometime when I get a chance
