: I was pretty happy with my old system of using 7/32 inch plywood on
: side rails for 3/5 length floorboards, but wanted to see if I
: could get a floorboard that's lighter, still. I'm not sure if I
: succeeded, as the fiberglass piece feels about the same as what
: I recall of my previous effort. I can not recommend this project
: highly due to expense in time and epoxy. Unless... someone can
: do it up better, which I would be interested to see.

: But, I had fun with my first attempt at molding fiberglass. I had
: read a tip here about using Vaseline to hold plastic wrap in
: place against a mold, and used that for a release from the
: cardboard form that I pieced together.

: Here's the completed floorboard, installed in the Yost Sea Tour 15
: R frame. The main layup is 5 layers of 4 oz. plus 1 layer of 6
: oz. glass (it's what I had handy). Reinforcements were added at
: the side support angles, the front and rear edge turn-downs, and
: the transverse stiffeners, which were formed initially with
: plastic straws.

: The stainless steel anchor screws keep the floorboard in position,
: but do not support any weight. The wood spacers in front of the
: floorboard (toward the camera) are to maintain proper space
: between the chines and gunwales; I have found that with light
: cedar and a tight skin, the chines can be warped upward in the
: cockpit area, where the bulkheads are 30 inches apart.

Fiberglass as a material is considerably heavier than plywood, it's also stronger but generally the wood is lighter.

Cedar slats, as shown on some of the boats on Tom's site are more work to install, but are quite a bit lighter.

Bill H.