Sole material? Coosa, Nidacore or Wood

[wiler55]

i wanted to do coosa on the floor but i think that its going to put me back 1500 and wasn't ready to put that much in for the floor. I want to stay away from nidacore because of having to do all the other work of backing where rigging is going to be. Ply wood i didn't want to do because of rotting. i know that if i seal it well with resin and glass that it will last but this is my first time restoring a boat and want to make sure that the cheaper way doesn't come back and haunt me after 2 years. will it really last 20-30 years? are there any other options that are durable, cheaper and easier?

[slippery73]

nidacore sample packs are $150 a box for qualifying businesses. One box will do your entire sole, thats worth the lil extra time to put backing plates on. I would put plates on regardless of sole material, cant hurt.

[The Bear]

Slippers...How would a a general person go about becoming a "qualifying business" in order to purchase one of these sample packs of nidacore?

[slippery73]

If you dont have a business established you can either try to use a friends business if available or start your own. Most of these companies now will sell to a retail business with as little as county business tax receipt aka: occupational license. Thats only $75 a year. If you can get a 15-40% discount on your boat goodies for practically nothing go for it. If you start a company in the marine industry than you can also write off a good portion of your "demo boat" at the end of the year.

Theres a lot more to it than that, unfortuneately im not writing a novel on how to screw the government. Depending on your existing income etc. its a lot more feasible for some than others. If your not paying out gobs of money to uncle sam at the end of the year its pointless to go through all this crap. If you have a decent accountant talk with him about it, the savings in taxes can easily pay for a good percentage of your boat and you have the benefit of discounted goods.

[LilRichard]

It's just my $0.02, but I have a TON of time, effort, and money in my complete rebuild and have no problem with wood.  If I thought it was significantly worse material in longevity or strength, I would not be using it.  

Could composite last longer than wood?  Possibly.  Do you really expect to have your boat in 30 years?  If so, it might be a better choice for you.

[The Bear]

I'm at this debate myself. Marine plywood or coosa/nicadore. The plywood will last 30 years, but I would like to pass the boat on my 9mo. old son eventually and would love for him to not have to replace the floor once he got it as well. I don't know how I am going to go about it yet. If I could get this "sample pack" of nidacore for the price slippery posted, I wouldnt have any doubts about what to chose, it would be the nidacore.

[LilRichard]

Bear- I agree on pricing... If I could get Nida at that price I'd be all over it.

About the boat in the future- I doubt the tank would last 30 years, so the floor would most likely have to come up for that anyway, no?  Not trying to persuade you... just food for thought though.

[JimCt]

Wood-cored decks failed in these boats for a number of reasons but mostly because holes were drilled into it to mount something and the hole sidewalls were not properly protected from water intrusion.  Wood cored decks can and will out-last us all if properly cared for.  For my purposes, the cost of a composite material deck isn't justified.

[Undertow2]

I say 5200 everything.  I went thru my Ranger last night for 1.5 hours backing out semi-loose phillips head screws and hitting them up.  After 9 months I was actually surprised at how few had backed out at all.  She's not an AS, but Ranger puts out a decent product.

Love that 5200, and Loctite too.

[LilRichard]

Undertow- 5200 is always a great idea.  When rebuilding, may I suggest the following:

Drill holes for mounting parts (CC, tower, etc)
Then overdrill holes 2-3 bit sizes
Fill hole with thickened resin
Redrill at correct size

This eliminates any possibility of water getting into the wood grain.

[JimCt]

Dittos to what LilRichard said.

[The Bear]

Undertow- 5200 is always a great idea.  When rebuilding, may I suggest the following:

Drill holes for mounting parts (CC, tower, etc)
Then overdrill holes 2-3 bit sizes
Fill hole with thickened resin
Redrill at correct size

This eliminates any possibility of water getting into the wood grain.

That would probably hold better too, huh?

[wiler55]

you guys are amazing thanks for all the food for thought. i think that its going to be wood for me unless someone can get me that deal for the nidacore

[LilRichard]

That would probably hold better too, huh?

Good question.  I have never tested screw retention between standard wood and a resin coated screw hole.  It may indeed.

[Shine]

i think that its going to be wood for me unless someone can get me that deal for the nidacore

If this is your first large project working with composites (glass, resin, core, etc...),  you have a much better shot at excellent results by going with plywood.

FYI, Nidacore or foam core will more than double the amount of fiberglass work  :!: