Basalt fiber

Is basalt fiber better than fiberglass? Is it the cheaper version to carbon fibre? For 7 meter boat with diviny cell or 3mm ply?

 

Hi Forecaddie, I just did a search for basalt fibre on google scholar, and found dozens of scientific papers of studies. From a quick scan it seems to have better properties than glass in many aspects, but there could be reasons not to use it in boats. It's been used industrially for decades, so a proper search should show up reasons why it hasn't been used that way. Could be due to economics, or lack of advertising, or convenient product, hegemony of glass industry, or critical failure in a marine environment. There are many polymer related papers, and hybrids of different fibres with basalt fibre. Have a good read, and then you tell us if it's better or not, and why.

 

Thank you- I thought I would ask the community of boating specialists before wasting my research time.
I will come back to you.

 

The Sardine Run boatyard in France uses basalt fibre. There is some detailed discussion of its properties here: Sardine Run 19 Trimaran Sailing in France | Small Trimarans https://smalltrimarans.com/blog/sardine-run-19-trimaran-sailing-in-france/

 

Basalt fiber is interesting, but it's also hard to find, and has only marginally higher properties than e-glass, while having lower properties than s-glass as well as lower elongation. I'm skeptical of any sustainability arguments as both glass and basalt need to be melted down with a lot of energy. Glass is ~70% silica and basalt is ~50% silica; overall they're more similar than different so get what is cheap and available.

 

i find its insulation and heat deflection properties very interesting. the biggest reason you don't see a lot of boats being made from it is its not readily available. the #1 exporter of basalt raw materials is Russia. so the availability of it over the past 3 years has decreased. Performance wise, it isn't quite a halfway point between e & s, but it is more abrasion resistant than e. so if you're looking for something a little tougher than e, cheaper than s, then basalt or (R-Glass) is the right product for you. it is a tad stiffer than e glass and you will see some bridging problems, if you don't pay attention.

 

I wrote a small article about it, have rolls of it from Basaltex, about to get "G-10" made out of TENRON (AKA FILAVA) from Isomatex.

You can talk to either Basaltex or Isomatex if you need more info, great people.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/volcanic-fibers-97832482

 

I'm using also basalt fibre (mostly glass and some carbon), great stuff IMHO..

 

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