thinwater
Well-known member
Is there a functional advantage to composite, or just appearance?
Just painted interior but it seems so easy to chip. What can be done?
- Thread starter patrickza
- Start date
Is there a functional advantage to composite, or just appearance?
Neeves
Well-known member
Its a philosophy.
The composite adds a little weight but the Catalac has poor performance anyway - so why worry. Lets add a washing machine, we have the space - it will only add a little weight. We may as well carry an extra kayak for friends - its does not weigh much. We really need catenary in the rode, when we buy the new windlass we should upgrade to 10mm, and maybe get another 50m for those anchorages in....? And why not some nice folding chairs for the cockpit - then A/C, Dehumidifier......a 10hp outboard instead of 2hp - must get to the beach more quickly....rowing Pah!!!
Suddenly you have added 500kg + (most of which can be replaced by something much lighter or are unnecessary) - no wonder Catalacs, and many catamarans, have a poor performance.
Think light weight. Its a philosophy that pays dividends (unless of course you want to motor sail everywhere - and carry extra fuel
).And a stainless sink will be lighter than one made from fibreglass, will look good for longer, is functional.......if you plan in advance you can add a salt water tap (saves using fresh water to wash the vegetables......)
Best wishes for 2023
Jonathan
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patrickza
Member
Thanks for all the views so far. We're going to give it a few more days, the near constant 90% humidity surely isn't helping, our clothes never dry either.
If it's still not sticking in a while we'll look for more options. With hindsight a 2 part paint would have been better I'm sure, but maybe replacing the counter with stainless is also a future option. It's a pity though, it looks really fantastic.
If it's still not sticking in a while we'll look for more options. With hindsight a 2 part paint would have been better I'm sure, but maybe replacing the counter with stainless is also a future option. It's a pity though, it looks really fantastic.
Neeves
Well-known member
There may be an issue with semantics here. As previously expressed - 'chipping' to me implies a brittle surface, like gel coat, like a ceramic or glass, like enamel. If the coating had not 'cured' (is that the right word) then I would not expect 'chipping' (bits breaking off because they are brittle and easily crack or flake) but something like 'denting' - in fact I'd expected the surface to be more resilient and it would accept damage, more easily, though the dented surface might show marks more easily (and be no more resilient).
So if it is chipping, under my poor interpretation, I'd have to suggest that it will not get any better with time - in fact it may become more brittle (and a heavy impact will cause crazing - as one sees in gelcoat when you hit something hard and unforgiving.
I'm not sure a 2 pack epoxy would have been any better.
This is not very help full, nor encouraging - especially as I agree the finished product looks fantastic.
A slight aside - some internal furniture engenders strength, its part of the engineering.
An advantage of a stainless sink is that they come in different bowl options, 2 decent sized bowls, one and half bowls or 2 and a half bowls and double or single drainers - which may make the galley more ergonomic.
Our original galley, also a cat, had a fibre glass sink, identical to a stainless one and simply attached with sealant. It chipped and we replaced, it was easy to cut out, with the stainless sink, 1 and a half bowls replacing one single bowl. Its out of sight, but we added a salt water tap as well as keeping the hot and cold freshwater. We had to add to allow the 2 sink drains - but that was simply a 'Y' joint. All the white surfaces you can see are gel coat on fibreglass - but its the sink that takes the knocks. The fridge is top left 'behind' the red silicone mats and we have a deep freeze under the galley sole - bottom right
I have seen cat galleys with all the work surfaces stainless steel sheet (bit like our splash back - but much more stainless - it looks a bit industrial/commercial to me - but its partially a taste thing.
Jonathan
So if it is chipping, under my poor interpretation, I'd have to suggest that it will not get any better with time - in fact it may become more brittle (and a heavy impact will cause crazing - as one sees in gelcoat when you hit something hard and unforgiving.
I'm not sure a 2 pack epoxy would have been any better.
This is not very help full, nor encouraging - especially as I agree the finished product looks fantastic.
A slight aside - some internal furniture engenders strength, its part of the engineering.
An advantage of a stainless sink is that they come in different bowl options, 2 decent sized bowls, one and half bowls or 2 and a half bowls and double or single drainers - which may make the galley more ergonomic.
Our original galley, also a cat, had a fibre glass sink, identical to a stainless one and simply attached with sealant. It chipped and we replaced, it was easy to cut out, with the stainless sink, 1 and a half bowls replacing one single bowl. Its out of sight, but we added a salt water tap as well as keeping the hot and cold freshwater. We had to add to allow the 2 sink drains - but that was simply a 'Y' joint. All the white surfaces you can see are gel coat on fibreglass - but its the sink that takes the knocks. The fridge is top left 'behind' the red silicone mats and we have a deep freeze under the galley sole - bottom right
I have seen cat galleys with all the work surfaces stainless steel sheet (bit like our splash back - but much more stainless - it looks a bit industrial/commercial to me - but its partially a taste thing.
Jonathan
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patrickza
Member
Just for clarity, here's how the flaking looks:
