Okay, forget the empty reply earlier. Fat fingers… Will,
Thanks for the explanation of the build options and attendant processes. It was really interesting to me to see how the industry approaches these things. I think those explanations allow buyers to properly place the factors that are important to them in perspective. Some time back I noted that there was the open house in Newport and I gave serious consideration to just coming up and seeing it, the fellow sailers, and builders but the distance (and maybe weather concerns…) put it just a bit out of reach. I hope that you have good luck in the future. Best, Dave Godwin 1982 C&C 37 - Ronin Reedville - Chesapeake Bay Ronin’s Overdue Refit On Mar 2, 2014, at 5:05 PM, Will Harris <[email protected]> wrote: > I'll take a shot at answering some of the questions in a general way: > > The bits and pieces= > > Gelcoat - gives a finished outer surface and makes the part easier to get out > of the mold > > Fibers - The fibers are what give strength to the part. The engineers have > gotten very clever to matching the type, amount and orientation of the fibers > to realize the best strength to weight ratio > > Resin- The resin is only there to hold the fibers in orientation. Resin does > not add strength on its own really. > > Core- The core separates two thin skins. The skins can be a lot lighter, and > stiffer working together across a core. > > A good laminate- > > A good laminate comes from: > > Good engineering. Really, this is the key. After it, it is just execution. > Getting the right fiber, orientation, resin, resin ratio, Core and cure is > probably 80% of the game. If you have a crappy recipe, you get a crappy > cookie. > > Fibers - There are a few basic fibers used commonly in boatbuilding. Glass, > Carbon and Kevlar. There are all sorts of different types, weaves and > delivery systems with in each group. Kevlar is receding in popularity. > > Cores - There are 3 main cores - Balsa, foam, honeycomb. Basically, they go > in that order for both cost and performance. The core needs to be strong > enough to resist the sheer forces of the two skins trying to go opposite > directions. Most of the time when the Volvo boats have big delam issues, it > is because the core sheered. The right thickness of core is important. Too > thin, the boat will not be stiff. Too thick, you add weight and $$ for > nothing. > > Resins - Polyester, Vinylester, Epoxy. Again, performance tracks price! > Poly is cheap. It is the most brittle too. Epoxy is awesome stuff. One of > its best properties is that it is the most flexible. Sounds > counter-intuitive but that is good. In poly, little microscopic cracks form > because it is brittle. This lets the fibers move a little in relation to > each other and the boat gets softer overtime. > Vinylester is right between. We like it a lot because it shares many of the > good properties of epoxy, it easy to work with and is a bit less expensive > than epoxy. A bonus is that Polyester gelcoat sticks to it just fine! > > Resin to Fiber ratio - Too much resin in the laminate is a common issue. It > seems like you would just slather it in there, but you'd be wrong. Each > system has an ideal resin/fiber ratio. Too much resin does two things; 1- > Adds weight- remember, resin is not very strong. 2- makes the laminate > weaker! Remember those micro-cracks. The are cracks in the resin. We want > the fibers nice and tight with just enough resin to hold them in place. > > Compaction- As discussed a second ago, we want the fibers nice and squished > together. Air voids are hard to eliminate, but must be minimized. They > weaken the laminate a ton. > > Building Process - Wet lay-up, infusion, pre-preg. Again in $$:performance. > Assuming we are using female tooling. In wet layup, the cloth is put in the > mold dry and wet out and compacted with rollers. Fast simple cheap. Your > boats were made this way. > > Infusion- In the infusion method, all the fiber, core etc are put in the mold > dry. Then we stick a vacuum bag on it with very strategically placed resin > inlets and exhausts. We draw the vacuum, and get the laminate really firmly > consolidated. Then, a metered amount of catalyzed resin is introduced > through the ports. Getting the ports place right is really important to draw > the proper resing front through the part. When the correct amount of resin > is injected, the vacuum stays on until the part cures. This gives us really > good control over both the resin ratio and the consolidation. > > Pre-preg - carbon comes from a laboratory with a heat setting epoxy already > in the fiber. This is placed in the mold, a vacuum applied and it is cooked > in a oven. First, the heat melts the glue and lets it flow. Then the heat > is kicked up a notch and that sets off the cure cycle. There is a really > specific protocol for ramp up, cure and ramp down temps. If you really like > spending, the oven can be an autoclave with increases the pressure to about 6 > ATM as opposed to the 1 possible with an ambient bag. > > This is the highest performance option, but stupid spendy. Our little 30 > footer could come out a the $330 - $400 K range. Ouch. > > That is a short ( for an overview), but long ( for a mail list ) run down of > modern boat building. If you have specific questions; fire away. > > Come to the Open House! We will be running infusion demonstrations, and the > smart guys will be able to explain anything to you. Plus, you can heckle > Andy and get a free lunch. > > Will > > > > > > > -- > Will Harris > Waterline Systems > > 716-531-6088 > > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > [email protected]
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