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I am not a knowledgable boat builder, nor do I have a good memory (and I didnt have my note pad and paper when I have been at the plant). It is quite possible that the transom is divinycel or other composite/foam structural component. I am not sure and will have to check with them on this. I will say from a quick search of the nidacore site that I cannot see why the composite honeycomb sheets would not work well when "sandwiched" with solid glass. Their site shows that the compression ratio of some of their board stock is many times that of plywood and even more than some foams used. The material, though light, is also said be a good at vibration dampening. I dont see how or why it wouldnt be an excellent coring material based on the attributes that I have read about it. See here for a brief overview of its attributes when "sandwiched"
Of course their pourable transom sounds pretty impressive too. Whatever core he is using (and I am not positive at this point), it appears from the photo that it is two sheets sandwiched between 3 layers of glass and quite thick. I do know they stand firm behind their product (my father has a 2001 Judge 27)
While the boat is realtively light, it is still heavier than my Maycraft which is wood cored. Not sure if that is due to the additional 4" beam and 9" in length or the fact that they are pretty thick in hand laid glass. Both boats are extremely fuel efficient. I am told that the boat with a single 225 Honda will cruise at 25mph burning a mere 7.5gph. Early estimates show the zuke 250 cruise at 28-30mph burning 9.5gph and a top speed of 42mph. Of course a lot of this has to do with the warped hull design too (mod v transom with sharp entry)
I've been running my 27 Judge Chesapeake for three years now and she's a great all around boat. I fish on a lot of other boats from time to time but think the 27 Chesapeake is hard to beat. I troll for Rockfish and drift fish for Flounder mostly and she's the perfect boat for both. I made an interior tackle storage area and a rod storage area in the cabin that holds 10 trolling rods and three casting rods as well as all of my umbrella rigs. I'm sure Bill will put them into production as soon as he sees a picture of them.....: ) Great boat and great people!
I've been running my 27 Judge Chesapeake for three years now and she's a great all around boat. I fish on a lot of other boats from time to time but think the 27 Chesapeake is hard to beat. I troll for Rockfish and drift fish for Flounder mostly and she's the perfect boat for both. I made an interior tackle storage area and a rod storage area in the cabin that holds 10 trolling rods and three casting rods as well as all of my umbrella rigs. I'm sure Bill will put them into production as soon as he sees a picture of them....: ) Great boat and great people!
A little info about nida-core.I had a hard top made out of it on my sportfisher.On top of that was a second station installed.Now I didn't install it,it was on the boat when I bought it.When I went to transport the boat from Fla to La,I had to have the second station and tower taken down.The hard top which was 8'x9' weight was over 600lbs.WTF! What has happen is were ever there was a hole drill to install parts of the second part of the tower,water got inside the hard top.From there,the water move thru out the hold hard top and got trap inside the honey cone on the nida-core.Now I can't blame nida-core for a sh-tty job on installation on the second part of the tower,but thinking that the nida-core that sucks up alot of resin would be sealed from each honey cone to prevent water transfering to the next honey cone.After splitting the hard top,tons of water ran out and what a mess.Top outside glass was about 1/8" thick and the bottom lare was 1/4" thick.From there,foam was use inbetween to rebuild the hard top and weight was less then a third of what it was before.
Now,as far as this boat that B-faithful is in love with,nice,it looks all most like a Parker!
A little info about nida-core.I had a hard top made out of it on my sportfisher.On top of that was a second station installed.Now I didn't install it,it was on the boat when I bought it.When I went to transport the boat from Fla to La,I had to have the second station and tower taken down.The hard top which was 8'x9' weight was over 600lbs.WTF! What has happen is were ever there was a hole drill to install parts of the second part of the tower,water got inside the hard top.From there,the water move thru out the hold hard top and got trap inside the honey cone on the nida-core.Now I can't blame nida-core for a sh-tty job on installation on the second part of the tower,but thinking that the nida-core that sucks up alot of resin would be sealed from each honey cone to prevent water transfering to the next honey cone.After splitting the hard top,tons of water ran out and what a mess.Top outside glass was about 1/8" thick and the bottom lare was 1/4" thick.From there,foam was use inbetween to rebuild the hard top and weight was less then a third of what it was before.
Now,as far as this boat that B-faithful is in love with,nice,it looks all most like a Parker!
B-Faithful, just got back from vacation and seen your message. We towed the boat to the lower Rappahannock and fished the "Cell" area for Flounder. I will get you a picture of the rod storage area as soon as I get back to the boat. Possibly Tuesday or Thursday. It's really a pretty simple setup, but it does work. I'll e-mail you the pictures later in the week.
A little info about nida-core.I had a hard top made out of it on my sportfisher.On top of that was a second station installed.Now I didn't install it,it was on the boat when I bought it.When I went to transport the boat from Fla to La,I had to have the second station and tower taken down.The hard top which was 8'x9' weight was over 600lbs.WTF! What has happen is were ever there was a hole drill to install parts of the second part of the tower,water got inside the hard top.From there,the water move thru out the hold hard top and got trap inside the honey cone on the nida-core.Now I can't blame nida-core for a sh-tty job on installation on the second part of the tower,but thinking that the nida-core that sucks up alot of resin would be sealed from each honey cone to prevent water transfering to the next honey cone.After splitting the hard top,tons of water ran out and what a mess.Top outside glass was about 1/8" thick and the bottom lare was 1/4" thick.From there,foam was use inbetween to rebuild the hard top and weight was less then a third of what it was before.
Now,as far as this boat that B-faithful is in love with,nice,it looks all most like a Parker!
I think that your weight issues had more to do with the installation. Whether the core was nida core, foam, or wood, it sounds as if you would have had problems.
If you cant post the photos mushy, email them to me and I will post them up for all. I look forward to seeing them
Did the pictures of the custom rod holders ever get published?
Mushy sent them to me over the weekend and I just got back in town. I will try to post in the next day or so. (thanks mushy)
Also, i am trying to work a deal now on my boat and have another person who wants to sea trial. I met with Mr. judge today but am a little far apart from where I need to be between the numbers offered on my boat and the cost of the new one. We will see.... (either way, I got a great boat!)
Re: Judge Yachts Shop Shots 
