The cheapest means of transport is water transport, and fishing is a way to earn a living for many. For efficient transport and fishing, boatbuilding industries have tried their best to develop new ideas to cope with emerging water vessel construction trends.
Initially, wood boats called for low-weight carriage because wood is heavy and may lead to the boat capsizing due to less stability. The cost of wood, repair, and maintenance is high, and it also plays a role in deforestation.
These challenges called for the boat-building industry, come with new ideas and suggestions about inventing new alternative material resources to be used. The most common alternative is the fibre reinforcement plastic and fibre reinforced concrete glass.
You need to choose the best materials; the most likely material is fibre reinforced plastic composed of liquid chemicals and a series of reinforcement. When combined, they form a robust, reliable but flexible shape and resistance to fire, fuel and acids.
Mould is used to produce the fibre reinforced plastic; the most frequently used type is the female mould.
You may describe a finished hull as a mirror image, which makes the fibre reinforced plastic material laid upon the inside without any damage and cast from the plug. Using fibre reinforced plastic in boatbuilding does not shrink or leak.
What are the advantages of fibre reinforced plastic in boatbuilding?
· It leads to reduced repair and maintenance costs, no water leaks because the hulls have no joints or gaps to allow water penetration to the boat, which may cause sinking. It also has no shrinkage when laid up in the sun. Presence of marine borers causes no damage to fibre reinforced plastic because it is non-organic and does not decompose; it is also inert; hence no corrosion of electrolysis.
· Construction of the boat is simple, because once you make a mould; you can produce more similar hulls within a shorter period to make many boats.
· To construct a boat, you require fewer skills once you have undergone training and acquired the necessary knowledge and skills.
Disadvantages of fibre reinforced plastic in boat building
· The use of fibre-reinforced plastics in boat fabrication makes you dependant on importing materials and foreign currency availability, making you foreign slavery instead of using the readily available materials like wood.
· Making a boat requires you to have more skills; the chemicals used cause health hazards and can cause a fire.
· It would help if you had adequate capital to start and run the boat construction industry because of high expenses on importations of materials; it also takes more time to acquire those materials because of lengthy procedures followed on imported products.
When constructing a boat, the necessary materials you need include; wood, steel, aluminium, ferrocement and fibre reinforcement plastic.
Wood was a traditional material which depended on forest resources and a well experienced and skilled carpenter. Aluminium is lighter, long-lasting and also it requires skilled personnel, ferrocement cost is low, and it requires a large labour force.
Steel is easy to acquire if not well protected by finish application; it can rust more quickly, reducing boat lifespan.
The use of fibre-reinforced plastic when constructing a boat is a new emerging trend in water transport; this allows travelling to be more safe and efficient for fishers to do their fishing activities.
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