Bronze Half Oval - Elusive

[Jock B]

Looking for bronze half oval to use as rubbing strake guards or on dinghy bottom, I have searched and searched both by internet and by visiting marine supply sources from Cheaspeake to Maine without finding it. There's lots of brass and stainless half oval available all over the place, but haven't found bronze yet.

Anyone know of a source?

Thanks,

Jock B

[pcford]

Looking for bronze half oval to use as rubbing strake guards or on dinghy bottom, I have searched and searched both by internet and by visiting marine supply sources from Cheaspeake to Maine without finding it. There's lots of brass and stainless half oval available all over the place, but haven't found bronze yet.

Anyone know of a source?

Thanks,

Jock B

As far as I know, it never has been available in bronze. Brass will work fine.

[G.Sherman]

Jamestown Distributors.....
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/

[Jay Greer]

Alaskan Copper in Seattle
http://www.alaskancopper.com/bb_rbs.php
They have brass I never have seen it in bronze.
Jay

[Pernicious Atavist]

I brought up the issue of brass vs bronze a few weeks back and brass undergoes 'dezincification' in salt water, which bronze will not. So-how could brass remain intact? I see the need for bronze--but it's not available? (Jamestown does not have it.)

[SeaB]

If you are really desperate to get the bronze, you could get 3/8" x whatever from a supplier like Atlas metals and have it machined to shape, perhaps.

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

I brought up the issue of brass vs bronze a few weeks back and brass undergoes 'dezincification' in salt water, which bronze will not.

It does. But it takes a fair while. The brass half-round that I put on Kareela's bow and stern back in 1960 is still fine (although she's stored under cover most of the time, not in the water.) There's also some on Aileen Louisa, and although she's also under cover now she was in the water for several years without any sign of its deteriorating.

Rubbing strakes would not be in the water at all normally, just exposed to the atmosphere. And although that wouldn't apply to bilge-runners if the dinghy was kept in the water, many/most dinghies are kept on the hard in any case.

Finally, neither rubbing strakes nor bilge strips are of structural significance, so even if the material did eventually crumble away into porous pink muck (which is what finally happens) you'd just fit some new pieces to replace them with.

In my view this is material that you'd consider to be sacrificial from the start, so brass would be fine.

Mike

[The Bigfella]

I tried hard to find bronze for the same purpose here in Australia too - and gave up. I've used two different sizes of brass D moulding on the stem and then 5mm thick brass strap on the keel. I did get a couple of pieces on the keel machined so that the insertion rubber in the centreboard slot doesn't have an edge bearing on it when it bends back as the board comes through.

I'll be bedding all screws into epoxy plugs - and yeah, the whole point of this exercise is to have sacrificial strips to take the knocks.

I have encountered de-zincified brass.. on Grantala. Screws that just crumbled, that sort of thing. But hey... she's 72 years old, and you should have seen the iron fastenings in the ends of the deck beams. Ughh. All new deck beams now.

[Pernicious Atavist]

Thanks, Mike!

[Jock B]

Thanks very much to all for your thoughts. I guess the consensus of unavailability from this group should be definitive, and I'll either make some bronze half oval or use the available alternative metals. If I get good at making it out of bronze, I'll let the Forum know, but not likely with so many other things competing for time.

[Pernicious Atavist]

Brass may be used due to its flexibility. What's wrong with brass?

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

Brass may be used due to its flexibility. What's wrong with brass?

For myself, I'd use brass without thinking twice about it.

Because it's flexible though, you need to make sure all the mounting holes are drilled after the strip has been bent into shape. If you drill the holes first your strip will wind up as a series of straights between each pair of holes. (I learnt this at the age of sixteen.... :) )

Mike

[The Bigfella]

Brass - where I'd rather have bronze, but can't. This boat will spend the majority of its life on the water on the end of a tow rope and in a river system which has a fair bit of rock to contend with - hence the brass strips.

The top D piece, down to the U bolt (which, again, I'd rather was bronze) is 15mm wide, then it steps up to a 19mm wide piece which flows nicely into the flat 5mm thick brass bar underneath of the keel. As Mike said, bend it first. I bent these to shape then drilled and countersunk them for the screws. The screws are silicon bronze and (when I paint the boat) will go into epoxy plugs.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff112/igatenby/iansecond/brass1.jpg

[Jay Greer]

Well, just check with your local Ace Hardware for bronze half oval. They always have what I need. Last week I tried for some 6"X1/2" hot dip galvanized lag screws and they informed me that they didn'd carry them but their cad plated ones were just as good. I am sure glad we have such knowledgable folks around to help a feller out.
Jay

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

.
Ace Hardware, eh? How nice that we don't have them out here. :)

Mike

[peter radclyffe]

Well, just check with your local Ace Hardware for bronze half oval. They always have what I need. Last week I tried for some 6"X1/2" hot dip galvanized lag screws and they informed me that they didn'd carry them but their cad plated ones were just as good. I am sure glad we have such knowledgable folks around to help a feller out.
Jay
if cad plating were just as good, abs & lloyds would not specify galv, & we would all be a lot richer

[pcford]

if cad plating were just as good, abs & lloyds would not specify galv, & we would all be a lot richer

Needless to say, Jay is a knowledgeable guy, but that caught my eye as well. Maybe he can elucidate further.

[Yeadon]

I think he was being funny.

[peter radclyffe]

I think he was being funny.
for sure http://www.woodenboat.com/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif , often humour is the only way to deal with it when you go into 100 stores, ask for something for your wooden boat, they havent got a clue what your on about, they couldn't care less, but they try to sell you something anyway

[pcford]

I think he was being funny.

I regret having to say this, but you just might be right.

[JC 72]

I used 1/2 inch brass from Jamestown on the cutwater, and transitioned it to 1 1/4 inch brass for the keel band. Bronze screws bedded in Dolphinite.http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd168/jomac721/Boats/P9300834.jpg

[JC 72]

Here is the transition at the chin before cutting out.http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd168/jomac721/Boats/P9300836.jpg