mlb75

Has anyone looked at having the steering wing plates and tie bar done in carbon fiber? It seems that everyone is concerned with weight but uses HEAVY A$$ wingplates and tie bars? Seems like it would be a good alternative to the SS ones we all currently use and would weigh 1/10 or less. What are the cons other than no one currently offers them?

Flightplan

Seems like I've heard of Titanium wing plates and tie bars, but not carbon fibre. Might be a good idea for the wing plates.

Double Rigged

iTrader: (1)

Not sure if they would be strong enough where the bolt goes through from the steering ram.
I would think it would wallow out and get play in it unless it was very thick. Would be nice to save the weight.
I will ask Latham and see what Bob thinks.

mlb75

The strength at the mounting points was also a concern but figured that could be overcome by either making those areas thicker and / or using collars. Either way the weight savings would still have to be huge. Any reason it wouldn’t work for the tie bar as well? If not how about a CF Kevlar blend?

Also would really like some of your opinions on the other thread I started about pros cons of 28-32 OB VS IO.

Thanks

skate

I would not put my life on the line to save weight on wing plates.

skate

Well after a two year boat hiatus to build a 338 that I never got in the water before I traded for the 308 I have now my boating season started this week. Like a good Skater Brother I changed the lower unit oil, topped off the oil tanks, filled her with ethanol free 93 octane and dragged her an hour and half after work Wednesday to my lake house. As I was unloading the 308 at my ramp I went to my dock to let my newly installed lift down which was suppose to fit a 338 but trimmed to fit the 308 only to find it was installed in the slip backwards. After backing the boat in and an hour later to get the bunks to hit the inner tunnel rails I had it on the lift with 8' sticking out from under the roof. I flew to Ft Lauderdale Thursday night only to get delayed 2 hours in Atlanta weather at the airport. Arriving in Ft L at 1:00 am. I finally get to my hotel only to get a call from Delta telling my they have my laptop which I left in the back seat of the plane. They told me no problem as I could pick it up in the morning only problem I had to have it for the lecture I was giving that morning. So I grab a cab back to the airport and retrieve the computer. 36 hours and two lectures later I leave beautiful Ft. Lauderdale never once going to see the beach or any of the Skater Brothers in the area. I fly back to Little Rock only to be diverted an hour for yet another storm. I leave LR airport at 9:00 PM go directly to the lake where my family is only to wake up Sunday morning to this.

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So I spent the rest of the day Sunday doing honey dos in the rain until 5:30 PM when we get a 30 minute window to run the boat. Which btw was great. So we come back to the dock back in and with four people holding and adjusting it only takes 15 minutes to lift the boat. An hour later I get to cook dinner outside in the rain.

I keep wondering why we do this to ourselves?

Double Rigged

iTrader: (1)

Skate,
That sucks. We all have some of those days. Wish you could have seen the beach and had more time. Could have met up with you. Boat dock/lift looks great. I am jealous of you guys living on a lake and getting to run on a moments notice. At least you were able to get the laptop back.
To answer your question the reason is we all have sickness with these boats and we will go through hell and back for 30 minutes of fun!!! You are not alone and this type of hobby is not for everyone!!!
It is called Skater Fever!

LAriverratt

d@mn sam that was a lot of here and there for a short run!! will you be able to get the 308 to sit back in the slip???

my run went ok in the 28 but I need to check the ground on the starboard engine...the fuel pump shut down after a 30 minute run...cooled down and fired back up but did the same thing on the way back...we are all sick puppies LOL.

skate

As soon as the rainy season monsoon stops we are going to spin the lift around and the boat will all fit under the roof.

mlb75

I wasn't asking anyone to put their life on the line only wanted to get opinions on whether or not CF may be alternative to the really heavy SS wing plates we all use. If it must be that heavy or made of SS no problem I agree that safety is first I just also know that overkill is good to a point then it's waste. With the advances we've made in composites I'd just be surprised that we can't make them just as strong if not stronger and it weigh much less. My thoughts are that it should be pretty straight forward possibly add collars to the ram and tie bar attachment points to spread that laod and gussets along some of the primary tension areas between them. Would just be curious if it would work and if so what kind of benifits might there be in weight savings. Weight savings that far back in the boat could really help make a difference in CG is my thought.

Don't let the rain get you down, at least you got that 30 minutes on the water and how much more time just looking out at the dock and thinking about that beautiful boat sitting down there waiting for you