Fiberglass over wood planking
 

I apologize if this has been posted a million times, but I am new to this so I am curious. I am in the process of building my first large rc tug, its going to be about 3.5-4 feet long and weigh about 150 lbs, when fully ballasted. So I am wondering, why take all the time to nicely plank the hull just to fiberglass over it? can I just use wire mesh or staple the first layer of fiberglass cloth to the ribbing of the boat(making sure it is follows the contour of the ship of course), or do I need the stability of the wood -planking underneath?

I've read a lot of threads on forums about building a large tug around 4' and I don't know where you're geting this 150lb when ballasted.I read some were between 60 and 80 lbs.Even the Mr Darby at 46" x 13" is rated at 65 lbs ballasted with everything in it.The 150 lbs would probably sink it. http://www.harbormodels.com/site08/i...arby_info5.htm

"X", here's what I did. Dan.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-s...l#post11009591

I may be wrong about the size of the tug, but not the weight, the guy I got the plans from built his and used 100 lbs of lead ballast by itself, this is a really large tug that will have the capability of carrying 1-2 deep cycle 12v batteries, so I need the hull to be strong

The wood planking provides the support and shape and the fiberglass properly seals and strengthens the structure. I recommend using a product called West Systems.