: Chris and I visit the same sights and I am surpised that he has danced around the shortcomings of foam core.

Charlie... here's the quote from my post:"For really small craft with simple load path solutions such as kayaks, the advantages are pretty much nullified when compared to a wood cored boat. When it comes to a more substantial boat, though, foam has very distinct advantages over wood, be it structural, lighter weight, or in its impervious nature towards water invasion and subsequent rot."

Perhaps you could tell me where I do the dancing when it says, very clearly, that weight advantages are nullified for small craft?

: If we disreguard the baloney about carbon, Kevlar, autoclaves and all that
: unobtainium the distinct opinions of someone in the know is that foam core
: has no weight advantage in small or even meduim sized boats. Foam needs
: multiple fabric laminates to achieve the stiffness you get from plywood.
: More fabric, more epoxy, more weight.
: On a boat like a kayak, where the skin is all the structure you have, the
: skin has to have adequate stiffness and strength in tension and
: compression. Otherwise the boat is going to going to flex. If you have
: found a way around that possibility then there is no problem.

Charlie... again, you've restated issues that have already been covered in previous posts.

The single objective reason to NOT use foam cores in small craft would be puncture resistance, as all other issues tend to become moot in light of build techniques and materials available. Puncture resistance, Charlie, and that is pretty much it. That compared to the rot potential of any wooden boat once water enters the core. While I tend to agree that wooden cored kayaks and canoes do not, typically, have a rotting issue associated as they spend so little time in the water when compared to their stored state, it is an issue with the material, nevertheless.

For racing kayaks, this means that foam and honeycomb cores are the way to go if one wants stiffness, as well as an extremely light boat structure. Get on the phone with Ted Van Dusen, ask him why he uses Nomex cores and/or foam when building light, fast boats for the world's best paddlers and see what he says. Ask him about wooden cored craft of the same type and, again, witness the answers given.

As to larger boats that are using foam cores as opposed to wood... right now, Charlie, there's a 97 foot trimaran blasting around the world at a record pace never before seen for a solo crewed vessel. This boat, IDEC, is built in carbon/foam/carbon laminates taken from bagged, female molds.

With all the money, resources and design expertise, along with skipper demands, sponsor expectations and the unbelievavble crucible of sailing at 25+ knots for days and weeks on end, non-stop, in the worst conditions on the planet, what would possibly keep these collected experts from choosing wood cores for the boat when it is so totally available for the project?

Wood is a great material for certain applications and not so great for others. A designer/builder has to weigh the value of each type of material for each type of application.

Since this (the original question from Mike Wolfson about how to edge glue the foam panels) was about the building of a one-off, hybrid materials (foam core and wood core) racing boat for his own use, I don't see any problem at all in giving him the best answer possible and wishing him well in his efforts.

With a working example shown, via the production of a Nomex (honeycomb) cored craft with pre-preg laminates, vacuum bagged female mold and autoclaved cured construction, where could the argument you present, possibly come from?

Mike could have a bigger target in mind, he could be simply curious about the build techniques, he could be looking at a finished boat that meets his design objectives differently than would yours...

I get that you find the business of a foam cored build technique to be unnecessary in light of building in wood. OK, but isn't that your preference and not necessarily one that applies across the board for another guy's project?

And lastly, Charlie... have you ever built a foam cored boat before? I've done two, performance sailing trimarans of my own design now in foam core construction and am planning the build of a third as we speak. I've also built, extensively, in wooden core (strips and ply) There's a place for both build types depending on end use, target builder, design goals, design style and a long list of objective and subjective reasons after that.

Perhaps you could open the door to the potential of other build styles, rather than close it?