Fiberglass/Carbon Fiber hulls?

[chunkymonkey28]

Recently purchased a used hull from a friend that I'm in the process of restoring. It's ABS plastic and very weak and bendable. It also had some holes that I patched with epoxy but overall it's just really weak. Is it possible to fiberglass or carbon fiber the inside of my hull to make it stronger? Or am I totally insane?

Thanks guys. Here's a pic of the inside of my hull... (27" mono, ABS)

[saleens7]

you arent insane....(from what ive seen before) you could probably run some carbon fiber strips down the hull (the ones that have already been hardened), then maybe lay a mat of fiberglass or carbon fiber over the area around when the motor and servo will be mounted.....also, expanding foam sprayed in the front of the hull will not only provode flotation, but gives that area some more rigidity as well....

just going off what ive seen done before.....(you may also want to lightly sand down the area where you will lay the CF or FG to give it and the epoxy/resin something to grip to......smooth plastic doesent give too much to hold on to)..that just my opinion though....

[LST XXL]

i think i'm going to CF or fiber glass the inside of my hull to...just seems flimsy and i know i'll end up hitting something lol

[chunkymonkey28]

anyone? how to use fiberglass cloth?

I was thinking of getting some fiberglass cloth from Hobbico and some epoxy resin...is that correct?

Also, where can I get this expanding foam for the front?

Thanks for helping the new guy
-Mike

[LST XXL]

is expanding foam recomended??...i always thought that crap would melt the abs..but iunno lol

i'm not sure what type of resin to use but i think you just lay the cloth in the hull then pour the resin ontop of the cloth and smooth it out or something..not to sure lol...

[saleens7]

is expanding foam recomended??...i always thought that crap would melt the abs..but iunno lol

i'm not sure what type of resin to use but i think you just lay the cloth in the hull then pour the resin ontop of the cloth and smooth it out or something..not to sure lol...

crap, i never though of that....im not sure if if dissolves abs either...its been used many times before for flotation, so i had assumed it would be good for hulls of either fiberglass or abs....better to be safe then sorry so i would instead probably used cut up peices of pool noodle foam or maybe styrofoam.....

[Flying Scotsman]

Alex, be careful there is expanding foam . The cheap stuff from Home Depot etc. and the good stuff read about this topic on the UL-1 forum

Douggie

[Flyguy55]

Its common to use heavy CF cloth to strengthen and stiffen ABS hulls . I've used med CAand CF cloth on a couple hulls. A light misting of spray contact cement will help keep the cloth in place till it can be glued in place.
Then wick med CA glue . I used 2 oz of CA on a 26" DV hull . CA adds very little weight , CF is stiffer then FG .

[chunkymonkey28]

Fiberglass is cheaper than CF though....

[ghostofpf1]

Cf is much stronger for a given weight though.If you use fiberglass just double or triple up the glass and you'll probably be fine.I'd use at least a couple layers of 6 oz glass if it were me.I've never reinforced an ABS hull before so bonding agent tips (epoxy,polyester,CA....???) will have to come from others.

Steve

Tip: If you resize your pics next time you post it'll be a lot easier on the rest of us.

[chunkymonkey28]

Yea sorry about the picture size...I'm used to another forum that automatically resizes my pics and forgot OSE doesn't do that automatically...I learned :)