What Are Composites And Why Are They Used To Build Boats?

 Whenever you talk about boat construction with experts, they will invariably talk about composites and how they are used in lightweight boat construction. 

However, whilst the broad term composites is used all the time in maritime construction, what is less explained is what they are, how they work and why they matter so much to create lightweight boats that are buoyant enough to float.

The broadest definition of a composite material is any construction medium made up of at least two materials that have very different properties from each other.

Typically, this takes the form of a base material and a binder, which makes it stronger or gives it additional properties that make it perfect for use at sea.

The most common of these is fibreglass, a combination of strands of glass with a reinforcing resin binder. However, it is far from the only example of composite materials used in boat construction.

Glulam or cross-laminate timber are two types of engineered composite wood which enhance the properties of timber by using glue or resin, which allows for wooden struts that are longer and stronger than they could be using traditional timber materials, making them perfect for certain types of wooden boat constructions.

As well as this, carbon fibre is actually a fibre-reinforced composite plastic material which uses carbon fibres in combination with epoxy resin to create an exceptionally light, strong and rigid material perfect for the construction of high-performance yachts necessary to compete at the highest level.

Alongside these composite choices, there is the older but still quite popular composite material ferrocement, which consists of a steel frame covered with chicken wire that was plastered with cement before it was cured.

Remarkably, despite cement typically being considered to be a heavy material, these reinforced composites were light enough to float and create boats that last a long time.