Scout Boats made its first epoxy-infused boat hull
With a list of must-meet goals in hand, the company turned to Vectorply to assist with laminate design and technical recommendations.
In a market as diverse as the United States marine market, Vectorply Corporation understands that each boat builder has unique goals they strive to achieve with individual projects or models.
Vectorply’s ‘Road to Optimization’ (R2O) is a process of evaluating a company’s laminate and production process from start to finish, from the time the material is delivered until the customer’s product is complete. To achieve the goals that Scout had for the new 42’ boat, Vectorply’s R2O was put to the test.
A team consisting of Vectorply, Composites One, Magnum Venus Products (MVP), and 3A Composites was on-hand to hear the objectives that Scout Boats wanted to achieve with the 420 LXF.
Weight reduction and high cosmetic appeal were two of Scout’s biggest goals for the new model. The cosmetic appeal of the new boat would need to at least equal that of a traditional open molded hull, but the ambition was to be even more aesthetically pleasing. A boat as large as the 420 LXF would also need to be light enough to maintain top-of-the-line performance on the water.
With these goals in mind, Vectorply’s proprietary laminate building software program, VectorLam, was employed to create an optimal laminate. VectorLam helped members of the design team reach a lower weight by reducing or eliminating costly or heavy products such as resin and putty. By working with VectorLam’s laminate design program the team was able to utilize higher quality laminates, which reduced the potential voids and created a better mechanical bond, resulting in peace of mind for the boat’s new owner.
The result of the hull infusion confirmed that Vectorply’s R2O solution achieved drastic savings in labor time and weight. The building of the hull saw reduced labor of 20 percent and the finishing time dropped 50-60 percent from the open molded hulls. The already lightweight hull, which was previously core-bonded, also achieved a 15 percent weight savings. As for the cosmetics, the Vectorply solution performed even better than expected to create one of the sleekest boats on the market.
An added benefit of the Vectorply solution was a cleaner production facility that meant less waste and better working conditions for employees. Employees also saw a skill that they can learn to help improve value and productivity.
More information: www.vectorply.com