Tannins in white oak, quercus alba, make it almost impossible for any coating including epoxy to stick well. That goes for gluing it too.
Don't know that I can find source for that, but I can't see encapsulating white oak. (Maybe if you 40grit the surface for glassing.)
When you research it you will find confirmation. Don't know that with all those cutouts that you'd make it easy on yourself to glue fabric onto the plank. The oak far away harder than epoxy and glass. I'd guess that if you bang glass covered oak it will delaminate the glass coating.
Mahogany, while not bulletproof, is more quiet and not as exclusive as w.oak. My word is 'docile'.
If you have the mahogany, you know it is far easier to shape, drill, sand. And BEND. Why not use it? Maybe consider it easier to repair if the reason you want to use w.oak is indestructability. Oak is also heavier. True white oak won't absorb much damp but it's a bear.
Mahogany can definitely be fiberglassed. But hard non-porus w.oak? ? ?
If your section is 1" you will have to steam to make the curves that fit the bow. Have to steam to get the curves fair.
If you are considering bolting thru the top, I sure hope you do some tests to make sure you will get the interior ends of the bolts where you can put a washer on and turn the nuts. You may find that predrilling thru the edge of the bulwark has to be at an angle where the top is further outboard and the bottom of the hole furher inboard. Not strate thru. Depends on how thick the hull and glassing is inside. And the inward turn of the hull.
Wouldn't trust even 316 stainless in white oak. You'd have to use silicon bronze. Your tests may show that you'll have to go with 1/4" to find room - rather than 5/16" bolts, which are twice as strong.
That's why maybe 'brackets' off the deck would be far easier and actually stronger than going thru the top.
You'd still have the bulwarks ON or over the toerail.
And looking at this from the I-wish-I'd-done-it-a-better-way perspective, using deck fastened brackets would allow me to finesse the bulwark to
angles that please - rather than going with what I got by drilling fastenings in thru the top. This aspect of control, how it looks, may be the most important. One final cosideration is that attaching the bulwark sideways by stanchion brackets would make it easy to remove, refurbish, replace.
If we attach it thru the top of the toerail, I can tell you, brother, it is there FOREVER ! ! !
But then whaduayeknow?
The foam mockup looks great! Really right on!
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by mbd
