New Boats 2015

[daveracerdsh]

Mike....having issues downloading pics....any hints? Dave

[blueskyracer]

Dave every time someone has said they were having trouble with pictures they were to large.. Make them smaller and they will load instantly.. Try 640 x 480 pixels which is what I use for a size

[Hydro doc]

Whats Up Doc? Race team is having two boats built; a D runabout by Kelly Kidwell and a C stock hydro by Jason Dirkson. Now the long wait.

[jeff55v]

I can't think of a better runabout builder than Kelly. His work is outstanding!

[mainer]

Eli Campbell came to the shop and Sunday, we installed the bottom on his new J Hydro. His next trip will be skinning out the sponsons. Starting a new OSY 400 tomorrow , pics of that boat will be coming soon.

[crfabbro2F]

Started working on a new composite 25ssr designed for the Sidewinder and Merc ( also hopefully runs with our AX). These are pictures of the hull and deck plugs which molds will be made from. The hull mold is done and the deck mold should be done in a few weeks.

[runabout333]

Have purchased plans and patterns for a Sorensen BSR. Hope to start in Jan.

[Aussie Steve]

Yep it's the start of my new boat and a great stocking stuffer. Talk about exceeding my expectations of hardware !!

[baries]

Here are some photos of the new 250/350 Hydro in various stages of construction. The carbon fiber is three layers with varying fiber orientation, the 3/8 foam core is next, with the Kevlar hybrid layer last. The entire mold is then bagged, put under vacuum and the resin is introduced. Infusion layup is the way to go. You get a product that is lighter, stronger and that in itself equals faster, and it is faster than the original.

[Racerkyle20]

Love the infusion layup! My CSH last year was wet laid up and we really want to infuse the next one. I know our plug flanges need to extended to do so first. But that really is the way to go with composite boats.

[baries]

You are right about the flanges and you have to use a core that is for infusion, it has lots of holes and channels for resin flow, and you have to use an infusion resin also. If you need any advise or information give me a call. My Aero-Marine advertisement is on here right after all the posts.

Bud Gann

[Shane_B]

Got interested in the infusion process - here are some great tutorials/examples of the vacuum infusion process on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x42LwtuU5fQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpJAxFK4-t8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5RfCfMEQHI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCrASxG_u48

[baries]

All of these are good examples of infusion. There are some newer materials and methods available that makes infusion the only way to go.

Merry Christmas to all and hope your Christmas and that 2015 is your best year ever.

[Yellowjacket]

We made a small (5 ft long) unmanned boat for the Navy and we found pre-preg was much better than infusion, only problem was the cost of the mold, but the end product was a lot lighter and stronger than if we had infused it. Infusion is a lot better than a wet layup, but the pre-preg is the berries..

[Shane_B]

Is it more than just additional mold costs? I was given a tour by a defense contractor and they showed me their process for pre-preg production - looked like they used steel molds (CNC stainless) and then they placed into a large autoclave device to get item up to a certain temp/pressure - also had vacuum lines mounted through autoclave walls so they could maintain vacuum on mold. Costs up front were expensive but cheaper for them in the long run as they made lots of items - laser cut pre-preg cloth and then placed in mold for curing... saved time and labor not to mention uniformity of bonding/lighter weight you mention. Seems like with limited production, infusion may be most cost effective (but my ignorance talking here as I have very limited knowledge on production process).

[baries]

Infusion for building racing boats is a whole lot more cost effective. I know I cannot afford autoclaves and all the cold rooms and everything associated with pre-preg, but that is just me, someone else might have all the necessary equipment at their disposal, then go for it.

[daveracerdsh]

Very interesting stuff....I at one time was going to build a mold for a D stock hydro hull....vac bagging a hull and sponsons sure is a lot less work then what I am doing now. The stiffness of a carbon fiber hull got me to thinking. (those of you that know me stop laughing) Does a stock outboard hydro hull need a certain amount of "give" to it in rough water and in the corners? Sort of like shock absorbers on a car or a truck to smooth things out? I built my current boat (2011 model) as stiff as I possibly could, with honeycomb along the frames etc, and on the saw horses with the decks on you could not get the boat to twist at all...and that was using a lot of force....4 people trying to twist the thing. And yet when I went out and raced it...you could see the right sponson move ever so slightly in relation to the rest of the boat while going thru a rough water turn...I wonder if a boat is to stiff....if that would take some of the turning ability away from it? Any thoughts from other racers or maybe builders? Dave

[baries]

I can tell what other builders think, but I do not want any flex at all. The boat has to maintain it's rigidity to work properly. Here again that is my thinking and it seems to work fine.