bow tank construction

[glen76]

Fabricating a fibreglass bow tank under deck. Id like to keep weight to a minimum and costs not too high, potentially would like to NOT use wood.

Whats my other options for making the tank walls to grp over?? foam??

Thanks

[glen76]

[Jon Fuller]

Use a sheet of glass, maybe an old coffee table top (they're nice n thick and a good size) and lay up the flat surfaces on that as a mould, cut them to shape, then glass all the bits together.

Be sure to wax the glass leberaly and a good few coats. it can stick to glass if you're not careful.

[kitten]

Or as a more practical alternative, an old kitchen worktop, MFI wardrobe, infact anything with a formica or melamine coating.

[Jon Fuller]

Originally Posted by kitten

Or as a more practical alternative

That would depend on what you have laying around. I have a superb 10mm thick, large glass coffee table top, but no spare wardrobes, so it wouldn'e be a more paractical alternative for me.

Maybe Glen has a garden full of scrap Formica products and not a bit of glass in sight, in which case, you'd be right Mr Wurzel.

[glen76]

I dont have a garden!!!! hmmmm

Thanks guys. What sort of layup??

[Jon Fuller]

So many variables.

size, shape, will it be a tank in it's own right, fitted into the boat, or will it form part of the boat.....

You need to go with your instinct.

Remember to vent it well.

[Hydrostream]

Or you could lay a skin up on each side of a core. That would be strong and light.
Depending on size, one layer of 600g biax each side of a half inch core would sure do. Then just tag them all together as Jon said.

For laminating panels, we use an old glass sliding door

Alan

[glen76]

The tank will be near the pointy end. Under deck and above hull. I thought about just fitting a bulk head and allowing the deck and hull to form the other 3 sides, however Access to deck fittings would then be blocked, therefore I was planning a removable tank.

[lloyde]

Make some cardboard templates of the exact shape you want , go down to your local fiberglass factory and ask if they have any off cuts ,mark them out using the templates you have made then cut them ,glass them together job done