Anyone building a boat this summer and ordering plascore? I'm thinking about a build and potentially interested in 6 sheets of 1/2 or 3/4 plascore. I'm in Idaho, pretty central to SLC, Bozeman and Boise.

Greg just curious what your building. Decked boat or just plascore hull? I’m in the process of decking my all plascore hunky dory and I ordered 10. I will probably have 2 full sheets left when done and if your just building the hull out of plascore 5 should be more than enough. With the cost of this stuff if you can save $100 you might as well. Btw using plascore costs a ton in 2 part epoxy so get ready to spend a lot of time doing fiberglasss work.
Josh

Josh,

I'm building a skiff, 60 wide and 16 long. I think I want a couple extra sheets to do seat boxes and raised level floors.

I have a smaller wooden skiff now, but I'm interested in building a lower maintenance boat. Plascore bottom and sides, maybe with trex gunnels.

Ah very cool. Yeah I guess you should be about right then.

Trex gunnels? Anyone ever tried that?

Gunwales need to be stiff. Trex might be a bit too flexy I think. And heavy. It might work.

I built several balsa wood gunwales back in the late 1980s, where strips of end grain balsa blocks made a fat lump, around which I put a lot if glass. That worked. But balsa is light and Trex is heavy. Balsa is useful for anything above the water line. But not good for anything below the water line.

I am in SLC a couple of times a month. I am at the infancy stage right now. Expect to have a materials list in 30 to 45 days. My plan was to procure Plascore and Oakume in SLC.

How can I help? I'm in Poky

Is Poky a jail or is it Pocatello?

RN

Mischievous – I'm unaware of a plascore supplier in SLC, but would love to hear about it if you know of one. I go to SLC regularly

RK - Poky is shorthand for Pocatello

Hi there,

I live down in Moab, but have family in Salt Lake City. If folks are still thinking about ordering some Plascore to that area I'd be down to pitch in on the order!

Best,
Resford

how do you connect Plascor? Do you use conventional Stitch and glue? Does Epoxy stick to plascore? How do you radius edges such as Chines and so forth? Are Plascore boats stiff? Must they have ribs and stiffeners everywhere? Dayak looks cool but the boat I'm interested in is an open boat (buffalo). Is the honeycomb filled or left sealed?

I have built only one all Plascore boat. My good friend Larry Hedrick built an all Plascore Honky Dory hybrid that has made several trips down the Grand Canyon. Many trips on the Green and other such rivers.

I used to think all Plascore made a lighter boat but I don't anymore. Plascore has little native stiffness to when you build with Plascore you have to use more glass. And fiberglass is both expensive and heavy.

For most builders I recommend Plascore for the bottom panel only. For a Buffalo Boat on the Delaware a plywood bottom would be fine. I built that way for years. I now prefer Plascore for the bottom panel. But many a fine boat has been made with glass covered plywood. Plascore is better for rivers that tend to beat the hell out of your boat bottom. The Delaware won't do that.

Plascore is a plastic honeycomb core with a layer of fibergalss Matt heat melted onto both surfaces. It can be butt jointed together, or box jointed, perhaps with six inch box joints at the edges.

So the honeycomb is not filled and epoxy does stick to plascore or only to the fiberglass?

Honeycomb not filled. Fiberglass does adhere to the soft fibrous matt surface. In places where you want to put a fastener you do fill the cores with resin. Then drill it out and perhaps thread the solid plastic hole once hardened, or use a bolt.

I just went to the Plascore site and requested samples of honeycomb PP and they shipped them already. Nice Testimonial by Stealth Craft on their site.

Incase anyone else out there hasn't seen Plascore before: