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Builders of fiberglass
boats and yachts are in the midst of what may prove to be a sea change
in the way they ply their craft. The days of building hulls with chopper
guns and hand-laid glass in open molds are numbered. Partly because of
environmental concerns, but also because of the promise of higher quality
and lower cost, progressive builders are implementing a variety of faster,
cleaner, and better molding processes for everything from PWCs and runabouts
to megayachts.
While a few innovative
methods have been developed over the past several years, one created for
megayachts by Georgia-based Intermarine Savannah is noteworthy. (In a
future issue, we’ll discuss processes more suitable for boats in
the lower end of the size range.)
In traditional fiberglass
construction, hulls are laid up in open molds, each layer of fiberglass
being coated with a layer of resin applied with a spray gun or roller
and worked into the laminate with a squeegee. Workers are clad in rubber
boots, Tyvek paper suits, and face masks with air filters to protect them
from styrene vapors given off by the resin. The process is labor-intensive,
and the quality of the finished laminate depends strongly on how well
each layer of resin is applied; there is little tolerance for error.
In newer molding processes,
laminates are generally laid up dry, covered with an airtight membrane,
then vacuum-infused with resin. Perhaps the most well-known resin-infusion
process is SCRIMP, patented by Seemann Composites, the remainder of the
acronym standing for Resin Infusion Molding Process. One of the key distinguishing
features of SCRIMP is its resin distribution material, which facilitates
resin infusion and which must be removed from the laminate after fabrication.
Owned by TPI Technologies, the SCRIMP process is currently licensed to
several yacht builders and has been used in building hulls as large as
90 feet.
Intermarine believes
it has created the next step beyond SCRIMP. When Thom Conboy took the
helm at the Savannah yard five years ago, he set his sights on building
hulls much longer than 90 feet. During the ensuing years, his engineers
developed an infusion process that could create components of virtually
any length. This process is now being used to build the hull, deck, superstructure,
and major internal members for the yard’s new 123-foot series motoryachts
as well as the deck structure of its 145-foot model.
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