Bringing this up cause I havent seen it really discussed elsewhere. When scratch building a wood hull, I see there are various choices in filling out the bottom prior to glassing. I have started one (the eddie) which is getting balsa between the ribs. Laying out strips would be amazing but time consuming. Maybe I would reserve that for the litoro. I come to my main Interest. Foam. Cutting pink foam between the ribs and sliding hot wire down the sides to contour. My concerns are with flotation/buoyancy. Was thinking this would be ideal for Iowa, easier to shape and probably cheaper too. but like I said will the extra buoyancy from the foam become an issue or too small to be noticeable. Please discuss.
keep in mind that with foam a variant of the lost foam method is available (I did a further "lost balsa" variant, I would foam next time). fill in gaps bet ribs with foam. contour properly. reinforce with fabric/resin, scrape out foam.
kind of what i had in mind, then use a little leveling cement to channel water to center on angles.while adding some weight.
I use fiberglass board from McMaster-Carr to make the top and side(s) of the water channeling (maybe 1/4 tall). If it is a scratch built ship, I then turn it upside down and fill it with foam. Sand to the outside shape and fiberglass the outside. Not a fan of open areas (removing anything) as water will eventually find its way in. http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-f...ts/=m6rzqd Electrical-Grade Fiberglass (GP03) 1/16" Thick, 12" X 24"
