In reply to Rolf:

I understand Kevlar is restricted. You can use it, if you can show a cost/life benefit. For example the nomex or Kevlar core used by Marstrom. I am pretty sure, I can show that on a Tornado. I am building a 14 ft cat. Cost/life was very important to me in the design. I ended up with glass outside and Kevlar inside by a wide margin.

Concerning strip plank. Take a look at Gougeon's book on wood construction. Strip plank/glass ends up about an 1 oz per sq ft less than plywood/glass for the same stiffness. The difference is the relatively heavy adhesives used in plywood.

Cold Molded vs. Plywood - Cold molding is basically building custom plywood around a mold. There are many advantages, choice of veneers, use epoxy instead of the heavy flexible adhesives needed for plywood, use extra in high stress areas, add glass, etc. The biggest advantage for cold molded is the results are very consistent. You can build one identical hull after another, very important for production.


What really killed Gougeon is Marstrom hulls are a little faster under certain conditions. I have forgotten, I think it was chop and the suspected reason was the hulls are a little fuller forward and the bows sharper. It really doesn't matter if it's true, people thought it was true.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Marstrom. If fact one of my goals for the 14 ft cat is the decks be just as solid as my Marstrom.