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Full-stack infusion increases laminate strength in two ways: It yields a structure that is one solid piece without seams or holes to weaken the laminate, and because it is completely enclosed, it eliminates the chance of contamination from airborne particles, like shop dust and chemical sprays, that can weaken the layup.
Marlow Yachts also attempts to build a stronger product by being picky about its construction materials, from the matting to the resin. It opts for stitched (i.e., latticed, knitted) matting instead of woven. Although woven may seem stronger in theory, when uneven pressure is applied to its threads, they may spread into the crimps between the weave; layered rovings, on the other hand, stay put. This keeps the hull from developing weak points.
Since full-stack infusion creates such a burly product, the 86 requires no bulkheads for structural support (the two watertight ones are there to meet Bureau Veritas safety standards). And although this freed the designers to play with the layout, they still opted for a rather traditional configuration.
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One fixture found in every crew cabin and guest stateroom—others include beveled English mirrors, gold faucets, and LCD TVs—are 12"x8" dead ports, and there's something about them that relates to full-stack infusion. They're recessed into the hull, and their mounting flanges are attached to a lip that's fashioned in the mold instead of embedded in aluminum or plastic frames that were inserted flush with the hull side. Every window is attached this way. The method requires less build time—the windows need only be secured with sealant—and produces a stronger mounting that doesn't have to accommodate the hull's curves.
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David Marlow (left) displays a fitting that matches different-size water hoses to allow filling in foreign ports. |
And that's just one of the timesavers built into the 86's mold. Perhaps most impressive are the conduits that run throughout the vessel, which carry all wiring, hydraulic hoses, and plumbing lines. And at every junction and sharp turn, there's an access panel—grain-matched if appropriate and secured with latches instead of screws. Open the panel, and you'll see every wire and hose properly labeled and color-coded; the key is displayed on the forward engine-room bulkhead for hoses and on the wheelhouse distribution panel for wiring. This saves time when installing a part or tracking down a problem.
But building these conduits and everything else into the mold of the 86 wasn't easy. "I had a lot of sleepless nights leading up to the infusion," Marlow admitted. It's no wonder: There were no second chances. If something big had gone wrong during the 36-hour infusion process, the entire section would have been useless, and all of the money would have been lost. For Marlow, however, the cost of being able to lay up a boat in seven days versus seven weeks, coupled with all of the other advantages of his RIVAT process, made it worth his while.
Yet success did not translate into a speedy build. Our boat took one year from layup to delivery. Marlow Yachts spends the time it saves on infusion on details such as woodwork. All of the wood onboard is not only teak, but also hewn from a single Burmese log measuring 40 feet long and four feet in diameter. To ensure that the roughly 6400 board-feet contained in it would be sufficient and also meet Marlow's quality standards meant a lot of planning before the saws began to turn, especially since the sole is grain-matched, as are all of the cabinets, paneling, and coamings. Most of the tree ended up in the boat, as even its burls and wild grain were used as decorative end caps. Scraps were enlisted for out-of-the-way and hidden features such as trim on the inside of drawers, but that doesn't mean the quality of the finish was diminished. The teak shower grates have 20 coats of varnish, as do both the grates in the line lockers in the bulwarks on either side of the Portugese bridge and those that stand in for diamond plating in the engine room. Like Marlow says, "Finish it like you're proud of it." When he shows me the varnished trim of an access hatch hidden under the mattress in the VIP berth, I can only shake my head in disbelief.
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