Subject: Re: [harryproa] Copper foil as part of the infusion?
From: Rob Denney
Date: 5/1/2012, 7:22 PM
To: harryproa@yahoogroups.com.au
Reply-to:
harryproa@yahoogroups.com.au

 

Never tried it in an infusion, but have tried to bond copper/bronze/brass with epoxy.  Very difficult and unreliable, not recommended.  Their are some adhesives which do work with copper sheet, so maybe put it on post bending.  Not sure how it would handle being dragged up trailers.


I am a big fan of copper powder/dust/flakes in epoxy which even when it doesn't work well is very easy to clean.  

We have put Coppershield on the 15m.  Goes on well, much better than either the System Three Copperpoxy (very thick) or the Boat Cote stuff (very thin).  

The easiest way to get epoxy/copper on the bottom of an infused boat would be to apply it to the table, but you would need to do some tests first to see how much time you have to get the rest of the laminate on.  If you cut everything, then applied the epoxy/copper mix and as soon as it tacked off started the laminate stack and infused within 24 hours, you would probably be fine. Would only work with epoxy infusion.

You get a much longer 2nd coat  application window with vinylester/gel coat, so maybe try adding the copper powder to that and see how it goes.  

rob

On Tue, May 1, 2012 at 3:46 AM, Gardner Pomper <gardner@networknow.org> wrote:
 

I was wondering if anyone had experience with making copper foil a
part of the panel infusion. The underwater surface area of a Harry
(39' ish) is roughly 200 sq ft. I checked 5mil copper sheeting and
100sq weighs 25lbs, so the weight increase seems minimal. With the way
Rob is making the hulls now, it would seem relatively easy to just
make it part of the panel when you infuse it, except for the bows.

If this could be a relatively permanent corrosion preventative, it is
appealing to me. Without any thru-hulls below the waterline, galvanic
corrosion seems less of an issue.

For those (like me) who are not acquainted with 5mil copper, here is a
quote from a very useful woodworker veneering site
(http://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/faq-copper.htm) :

"Technically speaking, the copper veneer is .005" or 36 gauge. To get
a real-world idea, the copper is almost twice as thick as the aluminum
used to make a soda can or 7 times the thickness of aluminum foil."

- Gardner


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