# Layup for Nidacore/Honeycomb casting deck



## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

No support required other than your rod holders for the lay up and dimensions you listed. This is the same layup I used for my decks and have had no issues. 

If you haven't bought your materials yet, I'm partial to divynal cell. It's has almost twice the shear strength as Nida.


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## mattyireland (Jun 18, 2013)

Thanks Curtis,

Just to Clarify, if i just have the rod holder supports at the front edge of the casting deck and the rest of the deck is supported solidly right around the perimeter it shouldn't need any additional supports underneath the deck? Wow, I knew the panels were very stiff and strong from when I layed up my floor and did some tests on the floor panel,, but I did not think that would be sufficient.

Good to know that any additional support I put in will just be additional security.

I would like to use divinycell rather than the 1/2 inch nidacore, but unfortunately in Australia it is about 4 times the price which doesn't fit my budget.

thanks again for your help, any additional advice will also be appreciated.

Matt


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

Matt
You can always add the braces as you described. They will not hurt anything, only help with support.


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## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

mattyireland said:


> Thanks Curtis,
> 
> Just to Clarify, if i just have the rod holder supports at the front edge of the casting deck and the rest of the deck is supported solidly right around the perimeter it shouldn't need any additional supports underneath the deck? Wow, I knew the panels were very stiff and strong from when I layed up my floor and did some tests on the floor panel,, but I did not think that would be sufficient.
> 
> ...


Photo bucket will not let me copy the direct link for some reason, but here are my decks as described above. 
http://s1070.photobucket.com/user/curtwrig/media/IMG_0185_zpsa8c5c2bb.jpg.html?sort=3&o=75


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## mattyireland (Jun 18, 2013)

CurtisWright said:


> Photo bucket will not let me copy the direct link for some reason, but here are my decks as described above.
> http://s1070.photobucket.com/user/curtwrig/media/IMG_0185_zpsa8c5c2bb.jpg.html?sort=3&o=75


Thanks Curtis, are your decks divinycell or nidacore?


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## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

Divynal


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## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

Also, if your biaxial is not the type with Matt stitched to the underside then your layup should be Matt biaxial Matt biaxial. You will also need to make a bonding putty if you are going to put the divynal on the glass. You do not need the putty if you put the glass on the divynal if that makes sense.


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## mattyireland (Jun 18, 2013)

CurtisWright said:


> Also, if your biaxial is not the type with Matt stitched to the underside then your layup should be Matt biaxial Matt biaxial. You will also need to make a bonding putty if you are going to put the divynal on the glass. You do not need the putty if you put the glass on the divynal if that makes sense.



Im using Nidacore for my decks, Im laying up with straight Biaxial cloth, not 1408/1708 which has a layer of biaxial and a layer of cloth stitched together. I was of the understanding that with epoxy you didnt need alternating layers of cloth between layers of biaxial.


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## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

My experience with that has been Its difficult to air roll the biaxial cloth without the matt underneath, but I have always worked with polyester resin. chopped matt will not work with epoxy because there is no styrene in epoxy to dissolve the binder. Hopefully someone with more experience wetting a layup like that with epoxy will chime in. 

How are you going to lay it up? on a mold or are you just going to roll one side, flip it over and roll the other?


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## mattyireland (Jun 18, 2013)

Thanks for the reply Curtis, I have used multiple layers of biaxial cloth right through the construction of the boat and not had any issues with it so hopefully it will be okay. I will be laying up the Nida one side at a time, then flipping and laying up the other side. No mold. I might have to throw up a build thread shortly so you can all see the project. Our boat market seems to be very different to the us, to get a good fibreglass sports/flyfishing layout its either a matter of spend a fortune, import from the states or settle for an alloy boat. Not much over here like the skiffs that seem to be popular in the states. Hence why I am converting an old runabout into a tiller skiff with casting decks etc.


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## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

mattyireland said:


> Im using Nidacore for my decks, Im laying up with straight Biaxial cloth, not 1408/1708 which has a layer of biaxial and a layer of cloth stitched together. I was of the understanding that with epoxy you didnt need alternating layers of cloth between layers of biaxial.


In Curtis's post he said mat, not cloth. In your post you said cloth, not mat. Biaxial is a type of cloth and the stuff stitched to it is the mat.

With epoxy you do not need the mat as it won't be beneficial at all. Mat is designed to dissolve with the styrenes in poly and bond the layers of cloth. They won't dissolve with epoxy.

Use straight glass cloth with no mat. Keep in mind that 17oz glass is heavy stuff and 4 layers filled with epoxy is going to weigh a heck of a lot more than you are imagining. Also if you are looking for a smooth finish, you will not get it from that heavy of glass as the strands of the weave will stand proud. Drop down to a 12 or 9 oz weight and cover with a final layer of 6 oz to get a smooth surface. 0/90 will give a smother layout than 45/45 will.

When I want a nonskid surface I use 1708 0/90 and leave the weave showing as it is so heavy that it makes a great built in nonskid surface.


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