[Public-List] Public-List Digest, Vol 1729, Issue 1

[Rachel]

On Feb 4, 2010, at 3:21 PM, Wcwinslow at aol.com wrote:

> Hey, What's the bum rap on epoxy? I scarfed and glued a  27' hollow   
> wood
> mast with nothing holding it together except epoxy. That was in  
> 1995. You
> will agree that a mast gets lots of stress, but nothing has budged   
> so far.

Now that you mention it, I have a boat-builder friend who has built at  
least a half dozen masts with epoxy as the only glue.  They were  
bird's mouth construction.

I believe he has also disassembled one or two older wooden masts (non- 
epoxy glue failure - not sure what kind it was but they were old) and  
reglued them with epoxy.  They were (if I have my terminology right)  
box construction.  I think I would have heard if one of them had  
failed, as we're in touch regularly.  The boats are out sailing.

Are masts and beams not subject to creeping loads? (I understand now  
that the cold molded boats are not.)

In a way I don't have "a dog in this fight," because I'm comfortable  
with the materials and glues I use for my projects; but then I know  
that before I reached that stage I relied upon information from forums  
(along with other info).  And I hate to think of people not  
considering epoxy for anything structural, when it seems suitable.  I  
wonder if maybe it is being ruled out unnecessarily.

Again, I'm open to changing my mind if it isn't structurally suitable  
for boats, but.... I just have the nagging feeling that it is (?)


Rachel
ex-#221


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