See full version: Thickness Gaging of Fiberglass Boat Hulls
Background: Fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) is used extensively in the boating industry for both work boats and recreational craft. Boat manufacturers and marine surveyors need to obtain accurate hull thickness measurements. In the past, unless there was a place to put a micrometer, there was no way to determine thickness except to drill a hole in the hull. Modern ultrasonic thickness gages, however, make it easy to check the thickness of boat hulls.
Correct reading following gain adjustment
False reading due to a hang up on internal reflections [links]
NOOOOOOOOOO! I pulled the carpet back and epoxied some 2x2 and form fitted against the inside hull, the screwed my rod holders to that. I would say no more than 3/8" thick. Make up a couple small blocks, glue, glass, epoxy, silicone or whatever adhere to the hull then screw to the blocks or plywood pieces.
It is more like 3/8" so, like the others said No-Go.
I'm not clear from your post what you think you will be screwing into. If its the hull, the above advice is correct. Don't do it. more
How thick is the hull on your aluminum boat? How rough of water can you safely boat in? I had a sales man tell me that a 19-20 foot boat with .100 hull was not safe in rough water, he said "the hull would crumble", I said "WHAT?, Thank you for your help, good bye". So I was just curious especially with the great lakes guys, what kind of weather and waves your boat has been through.
that was what I was thinking when I hung up the phone,I just get sooo frustrated that these salesman think I'm just going to believe all the BS they are flingen around.Like the other day a guy tried telling me StarCraft doesn't make riveted boats anymore,
The sales men are "selling" what they need to sell, but a blanket statement is just untrue. Use common sense when boating and you will be fine! more
Traditional Wood here
The original boat building material and in some eyes, still the best. Naturally buoyant, easy to work with and excellent at cutting out vibration and noise, wooden hulls can be an absolute delight. Rot is always a concern, but this can be mitigated by using woods containing natural preventative chemicals (such as teak, magohany and cedar). Construction methods vary from traditional clinker construction found in smaller dinghies to the more common carvel construction found on larger yachts. here
Worthy of a separate section of conventional wooden construction, wood epoxy or cold-moulded construction allies wood (usually cedar or mahogany) to epoxy resins and fiberglass resulting in a hull with very few downsides yet with all the benefits of GRP and wood rolled into one. As each hull is in effect a one-off rather than simply laminated in a female mould, wood epoxy contraction is more unusual in the production market (although the French builder RM Yachts and English build Spirit Yachts are two notable exceptions). here
Very similar to GRP construction but using more advanced fibres such as Carbon or Kevlar to create extremely light, stiff and strong hull shapes. Carbon and Kevlar are usually combined as Carbon on its own has very little impact resistance, whereas Kevlar has plenty. Many GRP yachts are also reinforced with Kevlar in the bow section for this very reason (Kevlar is often referred to as Aramid or Twaron after its manufacturer’s name). more
In many instances there will be little choice as to whether the yacht has teak laid decks or not. High-end Scandinavian or British built yachts will almost always have circa 12mm of teak glued and/or screwed to the sub-deck. Teak has its advantages in terms of aesthetic, grip when wet, and insulation against heat and noise. On the downside, teak is expensive to source sustainably and very labour intensive to restore properly. An 8-12mm teak deck should have decades of serviceable life if looked after and not aggressively scrubbed. Even when the caulking is failing and screw fastenings are showing through, there should generally be enough teak left to re-caulk and refasten the deck. This is in effect, a mid-life refit for the deck. The key with a teak deck is to keep it watertight. Missing caulking or exposed screw fastenings can allow water to penetrate through to the sub-deck which can then cause problems within the deck core. Keeping a small tool kit with caulking and fastening materials aboard the yacht will allow continual maintenance to be carried out and the hopeful avoidance of a big bill – or at least will enable you to put off the evil day.