Adzel...real world benefits? Drawbacks?

RoyGBivUV wrote:
I've seen a few manufacturers tout the use of Adzel, which appears to be a world of improvement over marine grade wood in terms of weight. What real-world benefits does that translate into? Any drawbacks?

I figure a natural benefit might be in opening up some tow vehicle options...How significant of a jump in weight is it? Are we talking about shaving off a 1000+ lbs, or is it more like marketing fluff?

Does it make a dent in terms of towing fuel efficiency I would imagine the largest factor in that is drag, and that would be more directly related to frontal surface area vs. weight.

Insulation-wise, what's the actual *difference* in R-value compared to plywood? Sailcloth canvas?

It doesn't strike me as a substantial material from a structural perspective, which means the blocking and structural elements used at corners & edges need to be something else, yes? As a flooring material...where all the millwork gets nailed down into...I've got to imagine that it's not the best choice unless alot of work goes into blocking out structural elements under it or inlayed in the material.

Assuming a total weight of 400 lbs. for conventional paneling, if Azdel saves half, that would be a 200 lb. weight reduction.

R-value , in the case of Azdel vs, other solid surface materials like wood composites, luan plywood, or any other can be differentiated by the material thickness. If Azdel is thicker than paneling it will have a slightly higher R-value. I believe the difference in dimension amkes any substantial gain meaningless.

Azdel's biggest advantage is that it is waterproof and doesn't suffer from continual immersion. This may bring some more integrity to a composite wall system. A lot depends on how it is layed up with the other pieces of the composite wall.