New Reinforcement Material

[sebaugh]

I work for a company that makes a new composite reinforcement material. Since I am a true SC believer and owner of a '74 20' SC CC I thought I'd pass this on. We represent Goodyear technology into the composites arena - specifically their wire (steel belted radial) technology. What we do is take the steel cord and arrange it on a fiberglass tape which allows it to be laid up like glass. When you apply it on a cored surface (transom) we can save up to 70% of the skin thickness and up to 20% weight. Our tape is about .050 thick but is equivenent to about 130 oz of glass roving. We are having good success in bring this to market Hardwire LLC and have lots of apps in use (ever seen a 180' windblade infused - makes boat building seem small). Big marine builders are starting to use the product. It is an excellent way to get lots of stiffness into a thin profile. You do need to worry about a couple of things. One, you dont want to have to trim our material so lay it up with that in mind - don't plan on grinding a laminate of Hardwire! Two, it is treated with an epoxy coating (we also have zinc plated as well) to prevent corrosion as well as provide a sizing that will adhere to polyester, vynalester, urethane, and epoxy. The point being embed the Hardwire completely in your laminate for corrosion control.For those who know we get results of 260ksi composite flexural strength and up to 18MM modulus. Check it out - I'll be glad to sample any builders out there.
skip.ebaugh@hardwirellc.com