dallas2254

You are absolutely right, 1/16th would be better to work with and I will suggest that to Martin to change on his plans. The only issue is that it is very hard to get 1/16th plywood in big enough sheets to work with on large scale like this boat. The pieces are puzzled together and for 1/16th it would be important to glass the seams on both sides as I have done with the 1/8th size. I bought a few large sheets 12 inches by 48 inches that I used for the stern.

Martin said he has to buy smaller sheets that are twice as expensive and more cutting for the large scale so I went with 1/8th on this tug.

I finished up with the one side of the bottom sheet on the tug this morning before going to work and it came out just fine with some trimming. I did not need to wet the plywood. Just used allot of clamps.

The other issue is that I am using the same plans as the 36 inch Foss tug so at twice that scale I am dealing with frames that are further apart. I do plan on glassing the whole hull so that would strengthen it anyway. If you use just one layer of 1/16th and did not reinforce it with more chines then you might have a flexing problem. With the frames so far apart you also run the risk of getting warping instead of smooth surfaces where the curves of the hull are concerned. That could possibly be eliminated by adding more frames or chines as mentioned.

I vote for 1/16th if it did not require allot more pieces to puzzle together. I am sure it would work.


D