I tried to politely stop this discussion.
I'm going to have to review my long posts, you convince me they should be shorter.

: Please don't equate light weight with risk. Quite the opposite
: situation can happen. Consider these: An ounce of cork will
: float much better than an ounce of steel if both are simple,
: solid, cubes. If the steel is rolled into thin sheets and
: fabricated into a model boat it can displace quite a bit more
: that that cube of cork.

: In defining the difference between ships and boats, the rule I
: heard is that a boat is what you get into when the ship sinks.
: Check a boating catalog for lifeboats for a sailboat or large
: motorboat. You'll find a few inflatables. Skin thickness on an
: inflatable is measure in thousandths of an inch, and the weight
: of one is a fraction of the mothership. But, that lightweight,
: flexible, craft is extremely stable and a vast improvement to
: the sailor's survivability.

: Maybe, maybe not. I won't speak for them. When they tire of a
: thread the readership falls off, responses stop. I've written
: some posts of epic length and they seem to get read--but more
: people read the ones with pictures.

: Hmm. sounds like a challenge. :)
: At the moment I don't have an arrow like that in my quiver. But, I
: have some time this week so I might as well knock out a frame
: for one at least. Not sure when I'll be able to skin it and test
: it on the water. Watch for some pix in the next week or so. I
: found some 7/16" and 1/2" OSB at the shop, but I had
: dedicated that to some shelves I was making, so I'll go with
: thinner stuff. I have a good bit of 1/4" OSB. That should
: be thin enough to show the strength of the material. Any
: particular design you'd like to see? Any particular design
: features you want to see? I'm thinking of a boat about 16 to 17
: feet long, able to hold a 250 pound paddler and gear.

: Hmm. I'm sure there is a story there about that. Next time I show
: up at a convention I'll buy the first round and you can share
: it. Meanwhile, keep an open mind about 'minimums'. Most boats
: are designed to be far stronger than a minimum. Some are
: designed to be less than a certain minimum--and people gamble on
: it. Shells, for example, are thin, sacrificing stability for
: speed. Their light weight is a balance between durability and
: acceleration. On the other hand you have the old Grumman
: aluminum canoes. Veritable tanks! Hard to break, and when they
: broke they were harder to fix.

: There is a serious debate in the design of kayaks about
: flexibility. Some people want a boat that flexes a lot and
: conforms with waves. Others want something stiff enough to
: bridge wave troughs. Both styles seem to work (or break) for
: different reasons. And compromises can also work--or break. Jury
: is still out.

: Heh, heh, heh. At one time fiberglass was touted as the
: "cure" for the problems of woodworking. Its ability to
: bridge gaps and waterproof joints at low cost and in a short
: time was a boon to the boat builder. It was a practical
: alternative to caulking seams. It still is. The emergence of new
: materials opens new paths to explore and is a foundation for new
: designs. The old ones still exist. Sometimes they get
: "rediscovered". Look at the resurgence of jousting,
: vinyl records, and slide rules. Wiat. That last one hasn't
: happened yet.

: Seriously, though: Fiberglass can be fickle to work with, but the
: same can be said for varnish. Once you are proficient with a
: material it is not so daunting to work with it, and you can
: predict the cost fairly accurately. If the cost in time or cash
: is too high, often there are alternate methods. The Rushton
: canoe shown below (sorry, not mine) was designed in the late
: 1800s. The many long seams on Rushton canoes were sealed with a
: thick coat of heavy varnish. and drawn together with copper
: nails. The varnish isn't as durable as epoxy, but in many ways
: it was used for the same purposes.

: Lots of ways to build boats. That is the fun of it!

: PGJ