Electrolight

In a warship... Im assuming that you epoxy the balsa to make it waterproof right? So do you Epoxy the inside also because once water starts rushing In the inside gets wet so logically you'd epoxy everything right?

Noob

johnmCA72

Nope. Just airplane dope & silkspan. I'm not sure what good the silkspan does but I've been using it since forever & don't remember why. The best feature I can see of the dope is that it gives the balsa a bit of a crust, so it's harder to poke holes with you fingers while handling it. Other than that it's just wood filler for the seams & edges, then paint. I use spray-can flat primer - no sense going nuts over exact color matching, since it's all going to be shot away anyhow. Besides, this is supposed to be an action sport, not a modelers' hobby (they have those; I don't enter them).

Balsa is basically "waterproof" in its natural state, like any other wood. It's really just the seams where it can leak.

JM

Electrolight

Oh okay. Thanks for the info.

kotori

Silkspan reduces splintering on the inside and leaves clean round holes on the outside.

johnmCA72

So I've been hearing since forever, but I can't say that I've observed this for myself. One of these days I'd like to take the time to do side-by-side comparisons, shooting balls through balsa with no silkspan, front, back, & both sides. I'd like to settle the matter in my mind once & for all.

I've also heard that way back when, ships were skinned with silkspan only (i.e. no balsa), stretched across the ribs & doped to shrink tightly. I can't help wondering if the continued use of silkspan is nothing more than a holdover from those days.

JM

fireman2059

take it from someone who has been doing this for almost 30 years. Without silkspan, you will get worst holes and splits.

subhunter13

As long as one of those Shots doesn't miracusly punch through my RX, I'm good with splintering....

Tachikaze

The use of silk span and dope is the correct response. What you should also know is that if you were to apply the epoxy to one side of the boat, say the interior, and not the other side, you will run the risk of the hull warping.