• Categories
• Arquitectura naval
• Correo
• Material compuesto
• Reciclaje
• Industrias

Citation preview

The magazine for those working in design, construction, refit, and repair NUMBER 169 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 $5.95 U.S.

PBB169Cover-NoSpine.indd 1

VINYL WRAP LPG SYSTEMS LAZZARA LEGACY CROUCH’S FORMULA

9/1/17 9:58 AM

Micron : Generations of Innovation ®

The innovation continues… We are excited to introduce Micron WA as the newest addition to the Micron Technology family. Micron WA is a multi-seasonal, polishing, water-based antifouling with the unique Water Activated matrix. This novel paint technology delivers a crisp color, and premium long lasting protection for all waters! The Micron Technology family offers a range of premium products that meets your needs while delivering true and proven performance. For generations Micron Technology has been protecting boats coast to coast by improving fuel efficiencies while reducing paint build up through controlled polishing. Whatever the year, you know you’ll always have the latest and best in Micron Technology. Visit our website for more information – yachtpaint.com

Scan the code with your smartphone to watch our Micron film.

All trademarks mentioned are owned by, or licensed to, the AkzoNobel group of companies. © AkzoNobel 2017.

83588482

See us at

Interlux-168.indd 4

Booth 1226

8/24/17 2:02 PM

“We purchase from Fiberlay, Inc. because the quality of their product is exceptionally high, the price point they offer is very attractive, and the customer service helps us to not only meet, but exceed, our clients’ expectations.” ~ Owners of Panga Marine, Rob McDaniel & Tom Biller

Resins • • • • • • • • •

Ortho Iso Vinyl Ester Casting Marble Finishing DCPD Infusion/RTM Custom Blends upon request

Resin technologies combine lower emissions with processing ease, smooth surfaces and high performance. Advanced vinyl ester formulations provide superior blister protection and a stronger laminate. ORCA exclusive high performance marine resins target resin transfer molding (RTM), RTM light, resin infusion and other closed mold processes that help boat builders meet MACT regulations and improve quality and through-put. We proudly distribute Orca Resins

All Resins are available in any color, formulation, and in Quart, Gallon, 5 Gallon and Drum volumes. 800-942-0660

s a l e s @ fi b e r l a y. c o m

w w w. fi b e r l a y. c o m

Reinforcing Your Dreams at Fiberlay.com See us at

Fiberlay-169.indd 2

Booth 749

8/24/17 4:29 PM

LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN WILD.... The world’s finest yachts require the most distinctive and long-lasting finish. For that reason Awlgrip developed a revolutionary new topcoat as part of a tailor-made high-gloss paint system. The result is a fast-drying and easy to apply topcoat that comes in a limitless color palette of solids, metallics and luxurious effects only bound by your imagination.

www.awlgrip.com

facebook.com/awlgripfinishfirst

twitter.com/awlgrip

All trademarks mentioned are owned by, or licensed to, the AkzoNobel group of companies. © AkzoNobel 2016.

See us at

Awlgrip-164.indd 1

Booth 1224

8/24/17 2:02 PM

F E AT U R E S SHELLEY McIVOR

28 It’s Not Paint

by Shelley McIvor

A survey of three refit projects demonstrates the potential of vinyl wrap as an alternative to sprayed or brushed coatings for a range of marine applications.

Vinyl film finish. Page 28.

44 Lazzara & Sons

by Dan Spurr

COURTESY BRAD AND RICHARD LAZZARA

From early glass to advanced composites, two generations of boatbuilders recount the milestones of 60 years in the business.

62 How Fast Will It Go?

The Lazzara legacy. Page 44.

by Paul Lazarus

For estimating the projected speed of a planing powerboat, veteran British naval architect Lorne Campbell favors a formula conceived by George Crouch, designer of Gold Cup racers and dean of the USA’s Webb Institute. Here, Campbell shows how he’s applied Crouch’s Formula—and modified it for enhanced utility.

72 Best Gas

by Steve D’Antonio

COURTESY LORNE CAMPBELL DESIGN

A comprehensive guide to onboard installation, safety, and maintenance of liquefied petroleum gas systems.

88 Green Watching

by Richard J. Schuhmann

Comparative life cycle analysis of boatbuilding projects at The Landing School revealed that local materials can lower costs and reduce a boat’s carbon footprint.

Campbell on Crouch. Page 62.

104 W17: Can Simple Hull Shapes Be Supported by Mike Waters by Science? When creating the hulls of a small trimaran, a naval architect drew on his experience designing large ships and on a desire to combine efficient performance with simplicity of form and construction.

116 Betting on Bay Boats

by Marilyn DeMartini

STEVE D’ANTONIO

Launched into the decidedly moderate growth that has defined the boating market since the recession of 2008, Barker Boatworks has deliberately focused on building small production fishing boats to high standards.

LPG done right. Page 72.

2 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER PBB169IBEX-TOC-FINAL.indd 2

8/29/17 10:15 AM

D E PA R T M E N T S Readers comment on smoke detector requirements, best practices, and options for recreational vessels; and the comparable modern occupational evolutions of jet engine designers and naval architects.

16 Rovings

GEOFF KERR

6 Letters, Etc.

Designing a simple tri. Page 104.

compiled by Dan Spurr

136 Parting Shot

COURTESY THE LANDING SCHOOL

A RIB to chase the foiler fleet; thin ply carbon prepregs; a solar-powered ferry; eight bells Glen L. Witt; Murnikov’s speed dreams under power; and making Viking life rafts in Scandinavia.

by Paul Gartside

The author continues the discussion about the need for effective marine industry training.

R E ADE R SE RV IC E S New Products and Processes

131

Connections

133

Classified Advertising

135

Index to Advertisers MARILYN DeMARTINI

130

Carbon footprint calculation. Page 88.

On the cover: This 28' (8.5m) 2012-vintage Cutwater cruiser appears to have a split personality at the halfway point during application of a new Boat Blue high-gloss vinyl wrap finish by Wrap Boats of Vancouver, British Columbia. The original gray gelcoat, badly discolored from exposure to ultraviolet light, could no longer be renewed by polishing. The full hull wrap refinishing took a three-person crew 32 hours, including preparation and cleanup. Story on page 28. Photograph by Tammy Charles.

COURTESY MXDESIGN

Barker’s bay boats. Page 116.

SpeedDream evolves. Page 18.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

PBB169IBEX-TOC-FINALr.indd 3

2017

3

8/31/17 3:38 PM

Not only the New

B

oats last, some of them for decades of service life. That can be a frustration if you’re depending on new boat sales, but it’s also a virtue you have undoubtedly extoled to would-be buyers. In this day and age when many manufactured goods are defined by disposability and impermanence, boats remain an exception, lasting at times to the point of inconvenience (see “The Unresolved Afterlife of Composite-Built Boats” in Professional BoatBuilder No. 163). As more mass-produced consumer products are subjected to regulations that require manufacturers to be accountable for the eventual disposal of everything they produce, boatbuilders will also have to reconsider the materials they use, often with an eye to their recyclability or reuse, and plan construction with disassembly in mind. Indeed, that’s the direction the automotive industry is leading us in, and it makes a great deal of sense if we’re to continue building new boats to meet demands for everevolving markets. The accepted wisdom underlying this model is that many of the old boats, regardless of how well they were built, must make way for the new output of our industry. But while editing stories for this issue I found the seeds of an alternative approach. After reading Richard Schuhmann’s article on the challenges and virtues of calculating the carbon footprint of boat construction (page 88), I couldn’t help but dwell on the energy and effort involved in refining and forming the many raw materials—wood, petroleum, metals, minerals—into the boats we build. Without ready and efficient systems in place to break them down again, nor the promise that new boats will be markedly more efficient in their energy consumption, it seems that the wisest course of action is to keep any existing boat in useful service as long a possible. And while building new boats for easy reuse and recycling is a laudable goal, even when practical methods of material reclamation are developed, those processes will require the expenditure of considerable energy as will the construction of any new vessel even if it’s from largely reused, recycled, or renewable materials. I’m still looking for an economist facile enough to convince me that it would be more energy efficient to scrap my mid-’80s Wellcraft V20 Steplift and replace it with, say, a new well-built Barker bay boat (page 116). But I haven’t heard a good case for it yet. In the meantime I, like many boat owners and the yard operators who cater to them, am focused on how to keep the boat I have in good form and service. This is what drives the lucrative refit and repair sector of our industry. In Dan Spurr’s look at the history of the Lazzara family (page 44), the combined boatbuilding and business wisdom of Vince, Brad, and Richard Lazzara led them to see the profit potential not only in new builds, but also in the ongoing maintenance of their eponymous line of powerboats. They institutionalized service work in their SeaCheck program with technicians visiting a boat once a year, spending days aboard, checking all systems, and downloading data points recorded over months and years from an Integrated Shipboard Information System. Their crews performed all necessary repairs and then they served as the broker for the boats, selling some of them multiple times. Not a bad return on keeping those aging boats doing what they do best. Please come by and see us at the Professional BoatBuilder booth #905 at IBEX, and stand CMP.01.EL at METS.

Professional BoatBuilder Subscription Services

U.S. and Canada: 800–877–5284 International: 937–610–0234 www.proboat.com/subscribe [email protected] Chairman & Editor-in-Chief Jonathan A. Wilson General Manager James E. Miller Publisher Andrew Breece • EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor Aaron S. Porter Senior Editor Paul Lazarus Editor-at-Large Dan Spurr Associate Editor Melissa Wood Technical Editor Steve D’Antonio Production Editor Johanna Turnquist Editorial Assistant Rosemary Poole Proofreader Jane Crosen Contributing Editors Nigel Calder, Carl Cramer, Dudley Dawson, Jean-Yves Poirier, Roby Scalvini • ART & PRODUCTION Art Director Blythe Heepe Advertising Art Designer Michelle Gawe • CIRCULATION Associates Lorna Grant, Pat Hutchinson • WEBSITE Manager Greg Summers • ADVERTISING Director Todd Richardson Manager Laura Sherman Classified Pat Hutchinson Sales Representatives East Coast and Central United States & Canada Ray Clark, 401–247–4922, [email protected] Southeast and West Coast Todd Richardson, 207–359–4651, [email protected] UK and Europe Edward Mannering, +44 (0) 7732 910 727, [email protected] • REFIT www.refitshow.com 866–448–7903 Professional BoatBuilder (ISSN 1043–2035) is published bimonthly in February, April, June, August, October, and December in Brooklin, Maine, by WoodenBoat Publications, Inc., Jonathan A. Wilson, Chairman; James E. Miller, President. Editorial, advertising, and subscription offices are at P.O. Box 78, Brooklin, ME 04616, tel. 207–359–4651. The cost of a subscription to Professional BoatBuilder for nonqualified subscribers in the U.S. is $31.95 per year. Canadian rate is $36.95 U.S. funds. Overseas rate is $44.95 U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank. For credit card orders, please call 937–610–0234. Periodical postage paid at Brooklin, ME, and additional mailing offices. GST #R127081008. POSTMASTER: Send Change of Address (form 3579) to Profes­sional BoatBuilder, P.O. Box 292635, Kettering, OH 45429-0635. CANADA POST: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada returns to be sent to Pitney Bowes, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Copyright 2017 by WoodenBoat Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted without written permission from the publisher. CONTRIBUTIONS: Address all editorial communications to Editor, Professional BoatBuilder, P.O. Box 78, Brooklin, ME 04616. We are happy to consider contributions in the form of manuscripts, drawings, and photographs. All material must be identified with sender’s name and address, and when sent with sufficient return postage, submissions will be returned if unsuited to our requirements. Care is taken with contributions, but we are not responsible for damage or loss. Printed in the United States.

4 Professional BoatBuilder

PBB169EdPage-01indd.indd 4

8/29/17 4:25 PM

Core Materials

COMPLETE SOLUTIONS? WE GET IT... COLLABORATION COMPLETES THE PUZZLE.

Being the leading core supplier to the composites industry for decades is just not enough. Our consistent collaboration with preferred industry suppliers and their knowledge of glass, resin, kit cutting, panel making and distribution separates us from the rest. And spares you the burden. So put us to task. Ask us for solutions. We’ll assemble the team and make sure all the pieces fit for superior results. That’s how we operate. Contact us for details.

BALTEK® AND AIREX® STRUCTURAL CORES... THE FITTING PIECE FOR

ALL COMPOSITES ENGINEERING CHALLENGES.

www.airexbaltekbanova.com North America I South America

Europe I Middle East I India I Africa

Asia I Australia I New Zealand

Baltek Inc. I High Point, NC 27261, USA T +1 336 398 1900 I F +1 336 398 1901 [email protected]

Airex AG I 5643 Sins, Switzerland T +41 41 789 66 00 I F +41 41 789 66 60 [email protected]

3A Composites (China) Ltd. I 201201 Shanghai, China T +86 21 585 86 006 I F +86 21 338 27 298 [email protected]

See us at

Baltek-169.indd 5

Booth 932

8/24/17 2:03 PM

LETTERS, ETC. Smoke Detectors: What’s It Going to Take? I enjoyed Mike Telleria’s Parting Shot on smoke alarms for boats, particularly the title, “Smoke Detectors: What’s It Going To Take?” (Professional BoatBuilder No. 168). The most important role  a smoke alarm plays is to allow the occupants or other nearby non-fire-service personnel to extinguish a small, manageable fire before it gets  out of hand. The National Fire Protection Association indicates that 80% of the fires discovered by a smoke alarm are extinguished without the fire department. While the RV industry has required smoke alarms since 1982, the boating industry, except for some customer-focused boatbuilders, does not afford our customers this timely fire protection opportunity. To understand more about this

shortcoming, one needs only to look to the ABYC. The smoke alarm issue has been on its table for a number of years and regularly gets ignored, passed over, or put off. In the mid-’90s, the ABYC was the benefactor of a taxpayerfunded Coast Guard study to evaluate the use of smoke alarms aboard pleasure boats. The 18-page report, written by UL,  evaluated the effectiveness of “off the shelf alarms,” and was very favorable. Nothing was ever brought forward as a result of the information gained through the study. No advisory, tech bulletin, consumer publication article, nothing . . . The ABYC and the NMMA have stood firm by the fact that there are no smoke alarms tested to the marine environment and for that reason will not require them, talk about them, suggest them to the public, or explain

See us at

why. I understand the regulatory dilemma this creates, but the industry leaders are not leading here. The ABYC and the NMMA have used their platforms to confuse the issue and discourage smoke alarms in boats. More time and energy has been spent on opposing smoke alarms than in making them part of our basic fire protection. The smoke alarm issue has been misrepresented in different publications (see my 2004 Parting Shot in PBB No. 89, “The Case for Smoke Alarms”; and particularly the subsequent Letters to the Editor in PPB No. 91). Boatbuilders are struggling with this, and the U.S. boating consumer still does not have this acceptable, affordable, and  most important 21stcentury fire-protection staple. I was disappointed that the author spent as much time as he did writing

Booth 935

6 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Letters169-ADFinal.indd 6

8/28/17 12:23 PM

Stop by booth #2024 at IBEX to see how

RITCHIE NAVIGATION IS BUILDING A BETTER BOAT! Visit us at IBEX booth #2024 or call us at 781-826-5131 to learn about our Certified Builder Program and our Ready to Boat course.

See us at

Ritchie-168.indd 7

Booth 2024

8/24/17 3:13 PM

LETTERS about lawyers in an otherwise very good article. Maybe the NMMA can get ahold of one and ask them to write a general disclaimer, so that the conscientious boatbuilder can feel comfortable installing off-the-shelf smoke alarms in our valuable customers’ boats.  John McDevitt, SAMS/AMS NFPA 302 Watercraft, Chair Bluewater Yacht Sales Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania To the Editor: It is gratifying to see a boatbuilder taking such a proactive stance on this important topic. I have participated in countless marine fire investigations and believe that many of these vessels could have been saved had an effective smoke detector and notification system been in place. That being said, I would like to clarify a few points Mr. Telleria made in his Parting Shot.  First, NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 302 Fire Protection

Standard for Pleasure and Commercial Motor Craft requires a smoke detector be installed and maintained on boats less than 300 gross tons with engines, electrical systems, cooking, or ignition sources. This standard establishes the minimum requirements for the prevention of fire and explosions on boats, and as such should be adhered to by any builder selling boats in the United States. (Is the National Marine Manufacturers Association listening?) Note that the scope of this document is not as broad or as inclusive as ABYC Standards and Technical Information Reports for Small Craft but is more focused on the prevention of fires and explosions. Second, UL 268 is the standard for marine smoke detectors, with various manufacturers providing products that are in compliance. A professionally installed system in compliance with UL 268 would be preferable, but it is my view that a UL-217 detector would be better than nothing, particularly since

See us at

NFPA 302 requires installation and maintenance (i.e., monthly testing). As an aside, I find it odd that NFPA 302 requires only a single-station UL217-compliant device.  Third, I question the wisdom of requiring smoke detectors only for accommodation spaces. I certainly understand why a smoke detector in the galley could be a problem [because of false alarms], but there should be no reason not to install one in the engineroom on a boat with modern engines (that do not smoke like in the bad old days). I also recommend that if the electrical panel is not installed in a fire-retardant enclosure, then a smoke detector should be installed here as well. An electrical fire will usually produce some smoke before it gets out of control, and a smoke detector here could save the boat. Finally, ABYC has done fantastic work improving boating safety throughout the decades. However, if

Booth 1512

8 Professional BoatBuilder

Letters169-ADFinal.indd 8

8/28/17 12:24 PM

The finest boat manufacturers in the world trust Tides Marine. Spreader Lights

Shouldn’t you?

Shaft Seals

Marine Pumps

Rudder Assemblies

Rub Rail

Underwater Lights

Providing Essential Marine Components to the Maritime Industry Since 1991

www.tidesmarine.com | 866-442-9572 See us at

TidesMarine-165-01.indd 9

Booth 917

8/24/17 3:11 PM

LETTERS this fine organization does not publish a standard covering smoke detectors soon, then I believe that we as an industry ought to pressure the insurance carriers to include smoke detector endorsements on their policies, based on NFPA 302. As a last resort, we can reach out to the boaters themselves. After all, at the end of the day, the insurance carriers and the boat owners bear the brunt of the fires.  James Cote, BSEE MBA CFEI CVFI ABYC Certified Master Technician IAMI Certified Marine Investigator Cote Marine LLC Coral Springs, Florida To the Editor: I applaud Mike Telleria’s Parting Shot “Smoke Detectors: What’s It Going to Take?” It’s a drum I too have pounded in these pages and elsewhere for over a decade. In a follow-up discussion with the author, he rightly pointed out a common misconception

I was guilty of—that all UL-217 units are RV approved. They are not. That prompted me to do some additional research, the results of which I believe are worth sharing:   • UL 217 includes three categories, household, RV, and marine. There are currently no UL-217 marine-approved units. • Not all UL-217 detectors are RV rated. “RV” or “Marine” will appear with the UL logo to differentiate from the standard UL-217 logo. This is more common in CO detectors. • There is a marine test; however, none of the device manufacturers will pay the high UL-marine-test price for the small marine market. Many concede that their devices will likely pass the tests, and a report written by UL in the ’90s offers some credence to this assertion. • The UL 217 RV test includes extended humidity, temperature

extremes, salt spray, and shock testing. • Given the choice, detectors should be UL 217 and, ideally, RV rated; however, it depends on what you are looking for. I prefer the household devices because of their availability and options. In the regulatory world, these would ideally be RV (in the absence of a marine device). I routinely recommend and am comfortable with the household devices in the dry places of a boat. They should be properly maintained and replaced every seven to 10 years. Absent the perfect regulatory conditions, we should be talking about the benefits and the potential minimal issue with a “nonmarine” device, and let the consumer decide.  • The range of UL 217 is excellent; however, UL 217 RV is much more limited. While there are some limitations, I prefer the household device connectivity, which I have never been able to find in an RV unit. With an alarm under the helm, if a fire

PROVEN IN HARSH ENVIRONMENTS

Salt spray, moisture, and humidity can damage an electrical system and leave watercraft dead in the water. TE Connectivity’s portfolio of heavy-duty sensors, terminals, connectors, relays, and hybrid and electric mobility solutions are designed to withstand demands of the marine industry. We are ready to work with you to transform your concepts into creations – redefining what’s possible using our intelligent, rugged, and high-performing products that are proven in harsh environments. Connect with us at te.com/ict | laddinc.com | +1 888 441 9982 | IBEX Booth #1337

EVERY CONNECTION COUNTS EVERY CONNECTION COUNTS, TE Connectivity, and TE connectivity (logo) are trademarks.

See us at

Booth 1337

10 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Letters169-ADFinal.indd 10

8/28/17 12:24 PM

DISCOVER Our line of marine-grade fasteners

Every detail on a boat is important, including how it’s fastened together. At Simpson Strong-Tie, we honor true craftsmanship by using the highest grade materials and quality standards to engineer fasteners that can resist the harshest marine environments. Discover how our wide variety of stainless-steel screws and silicon bronze nails can help you achieve quality craftsmanship and lasting value. Visit go.strongtie.com/fastenboatsbetter and call us at (800) 999-5099.

Find our stainless-steel and structural fasteners at strongtie.com/wheretobuy ©2017 Simpson

SimpsonStrongTie-168.indd 11

Strong-Tie Company Inc. BTBLD15

8/24/17 3:23 PM

LETTERS develops in the engineroom, all alarms will report “smoke in the basement.” I’ve recommended this arrangement to scores of clients, and they have relayed at least three stories of being unaware of a fire developing in an engineering space, and were alerted only by an interconnected smoke alarm. • The “do not use these units in

marine applications” warning is, I suspect, to cover the manufacturer’s legal backside. In the 1990s, a taxpayerfunded study was conducted by the Coast Guard, the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC), and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to assess the feasibility of smoke alarms aboard pleasure boats. They evaluated off-theshelf household devices.

4LV Series

OUR NEWEST, MOST VERSATILE, COMMON RAIL DIESEL ENGINE >

150-170-195-230-250 MHP

CLEANER, QUIETER, and produces more

TORQUE & ACCELERATION than any other engine in its class.

CLEAN

INTERCONNECTIVE

QUIET

POWERFUL

FUEL EFFICIENT

PROVEN MARINE TECHNOLOGY www.yanmarmarine.com

The study generated a report, UL Report 92NK26482 – Fire Detection in Recreational Vessels [available at ProBoat.com], that “included testing of fire detection devices to shock, vibration, and salt fog corrosion similar to what the devices may be expected to encounter in actual (marine) use.” The report continued, “Some presently [1990s] available [smoke alarm] models successfully completed the marine tests. Thus it is possible that at least some manufacturers may not need to produce special marine use models, thus minimizing the costs to the boat builders and ultimately to the consumers.”  • CFR Subchapter M for commercial vessels allows for use of household UL-217 smoke detectors in tugboat berthing areas. There is no requirement for UL 217 RV. Subchapter M states: “Each towing vessel must be equipped with a means to detect smoke in the berthing spaces and lounges that alerts individuals in those spaces. This may be accomplished by an installed detection system, or by using individual battery-operated detectors meeting UL 217.” While the ISO 9094 fire protection standard includes similar language, it does not call for RV or Marine UL. ISO 9094 states: “A means to alert craft occupants to the outbreak of fire is required for craft with more than one habitable space. Shower and toilet compartments are not to be included as an additional habitable space. The device shall be installed according to the device manufacturer’s instructions. Fire detection devices shall: be constructed according to an international standard; and be suitable for the space it is monitoring; and provide an audible alarm; and be connected to the on-board electrical supply or be independently powered.” No vessel with an enclosed cabin should be without at least one smoke detector. While I know Mr. Telleria is lobbying for a smoke detector standard, as am I, let’s be clear: The notion that no smoke detector is preferable to installing one that doesn’t meet the requirements of a standard that doesn’t exist, is simply

12 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Letters169-ADFinal.indd 12

8/28/17 12:24 PM

ludicrous; and, again, I know that’s not the author’s intended sentiment. There have been four onboard fire deaths in my county alone—whose population is only 8,000—in the last 15 years. It’s not overly dramatic to say that more people will die if we wait for the standard before insisting on the installation of UL-217 household- or RV-approved units.  Steve D’Antonio ABYC Certified Master Technician Steve D’Antonio Marine Consulting Wake, Virginia

Now 50+ years later, hand-drawing small boat designs, lofting them, and then building those creations, I can sympathize with the loss of connectivity yacht designers experience when their handworks of functional “art” are replaced by managing technology, people, and accounting disciplines, to name a few. Despite the aforementioned personal

professional losses, graybeard yacht designers can take solace and satisfaction in the fact that no one ever said, “That jet engine is beautiful.” But they can still see and hear any observer remark, “Look at the graceful sheerline on that vessel.” Bill Siwik Hutchinson Island, Florida

Technology and the Yacht Designer

To the Editor: Catching up to Eric Sponberg’s Parting Shot “Technology and the Yacht Designer” (PBB No. 165) and the ensuing reader comments in PBB No. 167 made me realize that parallel professions experience similar disconnects. As a retired jet engine designer/ manager and current dabbler in handdesigning and building small boats, I have had the opportunity to be involved in the computer technology revolution of jet design and to regress to the intimate and satisfying design “art” of hand-drawn boats. Fifty years ago at the explosion of the computer age, jet engine design was also done with slide rules, mechanical calculations, and hand drawings. As computer technology progressed, so did the sophistication of jet engine design, where hand calculations were replaced by more complicated structural programs like NASTRAN, and hand drawings evolved to computerized 3D solid models. Today we have 3D printing (additive manufacturing), which provides significant opportunities to create lighter weight, more durable designs. As this transition took place I can remember the sense of loss of every hand-drawn line required for a specific function being replaced by a few keystrokes, or as a manager, looking at the rendition of a totally functional part, assembly, or engine and suddenly feeling disconnected from the intimacies of its creation.

September 19-21

Come Visit Us!

3rd Floor Booth 413

See us at

Booth 413

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Letters169-ADFinal.indd 13

2017

13

8/28/17 12:24 PM

Domestic and Canada You May Qualify for a FREE SUBSCRIPTION! Please complete ALL questions below, and mail or fax this form to be considered for a free subscription. Professional BoatBuilder is a bimonthly magazine, 6 issues per year. Your subscription will start with the next issue printed. Allow 4–12 weeks for new subscriptions. Please print clearly.

YES, I wish to receive a free subscription of

➤ Please indicate your preference:

Professional BoatBuilder!

Digital version

Print version

NO, I do not. Both print & digital

SIGNATURE___________________________________________ Date___________________ (REQUIRED)



Your Name______________________________________________________________________________________

Company_______________________________________________________________________________________

Postal Address___________________________________________________________________________________

City____________________________________________________ State______ Zip Code _____________________ Country _______________________________ Tel. No. _____________________ Fax No.______________________ Email __________________________________________________________________________________________ (E-MAIL ADDRESS REQUIRED FOR DIGITAL DELIVERY)

Questions 1 and 2 must be completed in order to receive a free subscription! 1.

PRIMARY TYPE OF BUSINESS­— Write the letter of your primary business in this box, and check all others that apply.



A ___ B ___ C ___ D ___ E ___ F ___ G ___ H ___ I ___ J ___ K ___ L ___ Z ___

Power Boat Building/Construction Sail Boat Building/Construction Other Boat Building/Construction Boat repair/Maintenance Marina Boat storage Marine consulting Yacht design/Naval architecture/Engineering Marine surveying Fabricator/Laminator Government/Military/Academic/Marine association Wholesaler/Distributor/Manufacturer’s representative Other—please specify:____________________

2. Please indicate your position at the company:

A ___ B ___ C ___ D ___ E ___ F ___ Z ___

Owner, President CEO, Managing Director Vice President, COO Other Officer Purchasing Agent Manager, Foreman Naval Architect/Yacht Designer/Engineer Other—please specify:_____________________

Who else at your company should be reading Professional BoatBuilder? We would be pleased to send additional copies to qualified individuals at your company. * These will be delivered to the address above.

Be sure to check digital or print version.

Name ___________________________________ Title_____________________________________



Email____________________________________

❏ Print ❏ Digital ❏ Print & Digital Name ___________________________________ Title_____________________________________ Email____________________________________

❏ Print ❏ Digital ❏ Print & Digital Name ___________________________________ Title_____________________________________ Email____________________________________

❏ Print ❏ Digital ❏ Print & Digital

PHONE 1–800–877–5284 (US & CANADA) ■ FAX 1–937–890–0221 Professional BoatBuilder ■ Subscription Dept. ■ P.O. Box 292635, Kettering, OH 45429–0635 www.proboat.com Q777DGI

-AdOutput.indd 1

1/9/14 1:59 PM

WAR

Photo: Richard Gibson

PettitPaint-169.indd 14

8/24/17 2:55 PM

WAR PAINT

THE BATTLEWAGONS THAT GO TO WAR AND WIN ARE THE BEST PREPARED AND BEST EQUIPPED. VICTORY, AT THIS LEVEL, IS THE ABILITY TO OUT-RUN AND OUT-THINK THE FLEET. TO DO THAT, START AT THE BOTTOM WITH BLACK WIDOW, KILLER ANTIFOULING SPEED COATING. IT’S THE HARDEST, FASTEST, SLICKEST, MOST BURNISHABLE ANTIFOULING PAINT YOU CAN WEAPONIZE YOUR BOTTOM WITH. BLACK WIDOW IS THE BEST PERFORMING, MULTI-SEASON, DUAL BIOCIDE. IT CAN BE POLISHED TO AN UNBEATABLE, SUPEREASY-TO-CLEAN, FRICTION–FREE, MIRROR-LIKE SHINE. WEAR WAR PAINT, WIN THE WAR.

pettitpaint.com

See us at

PettitPaint-169.indd 15

Booth 1004

8/24/17 2:55 PM

Compiled by Dan Spurr

ONNE VAN DER WAL

ROVINGS

RIB as Fast as a Foiler Some things never change…except boats go faster and faster. In 1957–58 Jakob Isbrandtsen, owner of the 12-Meter Easterner competing in the America’s Cup trials off Newport, Rhode Island, bought an early deep-V powerboat designed by C. Raymond Hunt as tender (which, in the now familiar story, inspired Dick Bertram, crewman on the competing Vim, to commission Moppie, which won the 1960 Miami–Nassau race and launched Bertram Yacht Co.). This year, as 50' (15.2m) foiling catamarans competed for the Cup in Bermuda (New Zealand won), the teams needed a support boat bigger and faster than Easterner’s 23-footer (7m). The cats are capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots. Dean Maggio, 51, is skipper of the elegant 167' (51m)

schooner Meteor (built by Royal Huisman in Vollenhove, The Netherlands), whose owner enjoys the Cup scene and was aboard his yacht during the races. Familiar with the event, Maggio perceived an unfilled niche market for a versatile, fast tender to the syndicates; he is also well acquainted with other superyacht skippers and owners who could be interested in essentially the same boat. Enterprising and independent, Maggio commissioned the design of a 36' (11m) center-console, outboard-powered boat via Michael Peters, who allowed his assistant, Michael Welton, to take on the project. With twin 300-hp motors, the boat is capable of speeds approaching 50 knots. Fuel capacity is 345 gal (1,306 l). Welton on the hullform: “The boat has a 22.5° deadrise with a pad keel; a pad keel was chosen both for the slight

Thin and Sophisticated: The Latest in Prepregs The recently announced collaboration of U.K.-based Fibre Mechanics and the Swiss company North Thin Ply Technology (NTPT) almost seems like Samsung and Apple working together to make better smartphones, on a much smaller scale, of course. In short, their aim is to lower costs and improve quality in the manufacture of high-end composite yachts through automation. No, we’re not talking robots. But we are

talking ATL (Automated Tape Laying or “prepreg plotter”) machines. First, some background. NTPT developed its Thin Ply Technology in 2001, which initially was for making sails. In 2005 it made the black carbon sails for the Swiss challenger for the America’s Cup, Alinghi, which won

North Thin Ply Technology’s (NTPT) thin ply prepregs are manufactured using proprietary spread tow technology, which spreads untwisted fiber tows into thin, flat, unidirectional (UD) tapes, which are then combined with resin to create preimpregnated (prepreg) tapes. The evenly distributed, very straight fibers result in composite laminates with a much more uniform microstructure than those produced using conventional multiaxial or woven-fabric prepregs.

the 2007 event. That prompted North Sails to buy the technology and brand it 3Di. The next applications were for rigid composites such as Burton snowboards. By 2009 Southern Spars, another member of the North Technology Group (Edgewater Power Boats, Hall Spars), began using it to make carbon fiber masts, booms, and poles. In 2012 NTPT began working with makers

COURTESY NTPT

16 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Rovings169-ADFinal.indd 16

8/24/17 7:05 PM

ROBERT HELMICK

DAN SPURR

Facing page—The first tender from Ocean 1 Yachts served its mothership, Meteor, and 27-person crew during the recent America’s Cup in Bermuda. Right—Dean Maggio (left), skipper of Meteor and founder of Ocean 1 Yachts, hired Robert Helmick, formerly with Calcutta Marine, to run the shop. Below—The hull and deck are cored with Corecell and infused. Reinforcement kits are from Composites One.

performance advantage due to the lower deadrise sections providing more lift as well as the reduced likelihood of tripping over the keel in an aggressive turn. Both the chines and strakes turn down as you move aft, to help with high-speed stability as well as added stability in a turn.” During a recent visit to the Ocean 1 Yachts shop in Sarasota, Florida, I looked over hulls #1 and #2. To supervise

NTPT operates and sells an Automated Tape Laying machine that “lays down” 12"-wide (300mm) prepreg tapes on a table to form computer-designed panels of fabric.

He says the challenge was to “bond honeycomb cores to carbon skins in a reliable way, always a bit hit-andmiss with wet laminating resin.” Joining Stock in the new endeavor were Adrian Gillitt, Eliot Thorne, Gary Vaughan, and James Day, all of whom once worked at Green Marine. According to Stock, their collective aim is to “increase the level of engineering sophistication” in marine composites by automating production processes. Part of that sophistication is to apply the same rigor to systems and

COURTESY NTPT

of Formula 1 racecars for body panels and aerospace, and more recently, working with watchmakers. (NTPT won an innovation award for the development of its TPT Quartz—a prepregfused quartz infused with Reichhold’s hot-melt monomer-free vinyl hybrid resin—to manufacture a Richard Mille watch case.) Tapes can be made from carbon fiber, fiberglass, quartz, PBO, and others. The sky, or rather outer space, seems to be the limit. Fibre Mechanics is a new custom boatbuilder founded last year by runaways from Green Marine. Principal Geoff Stock worked for Jeremy Rogers in the early ’80s, studied yacht design at Southampton Institute, worked eight years at SP Systems (now Gurit), and spent two long stints at Green Marine, enmeshed in the evolving systems of epoxy wet layup, wet-preg, and on to the 90° prepregs in current employment.

construction, Maggio brought in Robert Helmick, who came over from Calcutta Marine (see Rovings, Professional BoatBuilder No. 162, page 12). The hulls and decks are cored with Corecell and infused, giving a dry weight of 2,400 lbs (1,087 kg). Composites One kits the reinforcements. Stringers are filled with 4-lb foam. Tubes are from Henshaw Inflatables in the U.K. On motherships big enough to carry the tender, three pick points—two at the stern and one at the bow—allow it to be lifted by crane. In Bermuda for the races, Maggio says hull #1 performed well, often transferring all 27 members of Meteor’s crew ashore and back, logging 195 hours on the motors during their three weeks among the islands. “We unloaded her off the ship, launched, picked up our first party, and never stopped. Fuel consumption averaged 1.4 to 1.6 miles per gallon. We couldn’t be happier with its performance.” Ocean 1 Yachts, 6452-C 19th St. E., Sarasota, FL 34242 USA, tel. 954–655–8585, website www.ocean1yachts.com. —Dan Spurr

fit-out as they apply to structure. Too often, he says, weight savings in hull and deck is given away elsewhere in the build, such as in the way equipment is attached to the structure. The ATL machine “lays down” prepreg tapes of weights from 15 gsm to 600 gsm (0.44 oz/sq yd to 17.7 oz/sq yd) on a table. Standard width is 300mm (12"). Tapes are laid down side by side without overlap; CEO James Austin

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Rovings169-ADFinal.indd 17

2017

17

8/24/17 7:05 PM

ROVINGS says the natural tack of the prepreg material “causes the layers to stick together, making an integrated material.” As with CNC machines, plotting software allows curves to be drawn and cut to fit the mold into which the fabric tapes will later be fitted. Composites designers can specify custom preforms in which a stack of plies of unidirectional tapes are laid down by the ATL, selecting the orientation of each ply from 0° to 360º. Panels can be made up

to 3.3m x 9.9m (10.8' x 32.5') and cured in Fibre Mechanics’ two autoclaves. It’s claimed that the ATL machine can equal the output of eight to 10 laminators, laying down 2,000 linear meters of laminate in a day. With plants in the U.K. and Poland, Fibre Mechanics will handle client relations, and the manufacture of CNC-cut core kits and core inserts, while NTPT will make the unidirectional prepregs and preforms at its facility in Poland.

The core and insert kits will be sent to Poland to be joined with the preforms and made into panels by NTPT, under Fibre Mechanics’ boatbuilding team. Fibre Mechanics, Waterloo Rd., Lymington, Hampshire SO41 9DB, U.K., tel. +44 (0) 1590 427007, website www.fibremechanics.com. NTPT, Chemin du Closel 3, 1020 Renens, Switzerland, tel. +41 21 811 08 88, website www.thinplytechnology .com. —D.S.

Solar Sal: A Sun-Powered Ferry Sun-powered boats continue to evolve, thanks to improvements in the collection of solar energy and its storage in batteries. David Borton, of Troy, New York, is a solar enthusiast who has been president of several solar energy companies, taught solar energy engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for 33 years, and has an affection for boats as well, beginning with a solar-electric canoe in 2004 and later an experimental aluminum boat. Qualifying himself as a USCG captain and as an ABYC Master Marine Electrical System Technician, in recent years he has built several electric-boat prototypes: a 25' (7.6m) launch named Sol, and a 39' (12m) multipurpose vessel that has seen service as a tour boat and also proved her commercial capability by transporting 4 tons of cardboard the length of the Erie Canal for recycling; her name is Solar Sal, inspired by “The Erie Canal Song” of 1905, which begins: I’ve got an old mule and her name is Sal Fifteen years on the Erie Canal For the design of his third solar boat, Borton commissioned Dave Gerr, a New York City–based naval architect, book author (Propeller Handbook, The Elements of Boat Strength, The Nature of Boats, Boat Mechanical Systems Handbook) and for many years the director of Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology. Gerr drew an easily driven 44'11" (13.7m) hull that, like the 39-footer, can be variously configured, but most importantly is able to cruise all day without fuel, or having to plug into shore power. As a 31passenger tour boat, she will be certified to U.S. Coast Guard Subchapter T regulations—a first, says Gerr. For propulsion, a 10-kW Torqeedo outboard motor is located in a well aft. Sixteen SunPower solar panels on top of the awning charge the 32 8D sealed AGM batteries. Cruising speed is 5–6 knots. Black water and graywater tanks of 55 gal (208 l) each are installed port and starboard, and aft are two freshwater tanks totaling 60 gal (227 l). Of course there is no fuel tank, or smell or sight of diesel in the bilge. Bids were solicited for construction of Solar Sal 44, and the contract went to the Riverport Wooden Boat School at the

The Solar Sal 44 (13.7m), an electric tour boat designed by Dave Gerr for service on the Hudson River and canals of upstate New York, will be powered by 16 solar panels, 32 8D batteries installed under the center of the boat, and a Torqeedo outboard motor.

GERR MARINE

COURTESY GERR MARINE (ALL)

Hudson River Maritime Museum. The school offers wooden boat building classes for modest fees and also performs restoration work; notable boats in its care include the sloop Clearwater, made famous by folksinger Pete Seeger, and the ferry sloop Woody Guthrie. All work at the school, which opened in 2016, is performed under the direction of shipwright and director Jim Kricker. Borton felt it was important to use as many renewable materials as possible, so Solar Sal 44 is strip-planked wood/epoxy sheathed in fiberglass; Gerr says this type of construction has “longevity characteristics

18 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Rovings169-ADFinal.indd 18

8/24/17 7:05 PM

SEPT 19 - 21, 2017 | TAMPA, FL USA See us at

Polynt-01.indd 19

Booth 1044

8/24/17 2:58 PM

ROVINGS

CREATING PRODUCTS FOR YOUR FUTURE Same quality and service you’ve come to expect from TACO for 60 years.

equal to those of conventional fiberglass.” Framing is white pine or fir and planking is red cedar. Scantlings are to American Bureau of Shipping standards. Principal specifications: LOA 44'11" (13.7m), DWL 42' 0" (12.8m), beam 10'10" (3.3m), draft 1'11" (0.6m), displacement 13,500 lbs (6,198 kg). Gerr Marine, 838 West End Ave., Suite BB, New York, NY 10025 USA, tel. 212–864–7030, fax 212–932–0872, website gerrmarine.com. David Borton, Sustainable Energy Systems, 7 Hilltop Rd., Troy, NY 12180 USA, tel. 518–272–7863, website www.solarsal.solar. James Kricker, Riverport Wooden Boat School at the Hudson River Maritime Museum, 50 Rondout Landing, Kingston, NY 12401 USA, tel. 845–338–0071, fax 845–338– 0583, website www.hrmm.org. —D.S.

800.653.8566

tacomarine.com See us at

Glen L. Witt, who marketed hundreds of boat designs, mainly for amateur builders, died June 13 at the age of 98. In his early 30s he enrolled in what was originally called Westlawn School of Yacht Design, and in 1953 founded Glen–L Marine, working in the back bedroom of his home in California. During a conversation with Witt for a profile in this column three years ago (PBB No. 150), he told me that he started building “three-point hydros” when he was 12, and never stopped. He figured he’d built around 50 boats in his lifetime. A Most of Glen L. Witt’s 300+ plans feature on the cover of for all types of boats and Popular Mechanics mag- materials are available full size azine helped establish his for easier amateur construction. business. His stated aim was to help people of average skill and income get on the water. Figuring that lofting was too difficult, he drew all his plans full size so they could be laid over sheets of plywood for accurate cutting. And there was no limit to the kinds of boats he drew: rowboats, runabouts, cruisers, and sailboats. In the 1990s he began turning over the business to his son Barry and daughter Gayle (who now serves as company president), which involves maintaining an inventory of the blueprinted plans and dealing with customers, many of whom were fathers and sons, grandfathers and grandsons— forever bonded by a formidable yet achievable project, thanks to Glen Witt. —D.S.

COURTESY GLEN L MARINE/GAYLE BRANTUK

Glen Witt, Designer for Home Builders, Passes

Booth 1433

20 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Rovings169-ADFinal.indd 20

8/24/17 7:05 PM

Design + Performance™ is a trademark and Sunbrella® is a registered trademark of Glen Raven, Inc.

Good business is built on trust, reliability and respect. Sunbrella ® delivers the best performing marine fabrics, responsive customer support and the industry’s leading warranty. So your customers never question your commitment.

S U N B R E L L A .C O M See us at

Sunbrella-167.indd 21

Booth 1723

8/24/17 3:25 PM

COURTESY MXDESIGN (ALL)

ROVINGS

Speed Dreamer When we get communications from Vlad Murnikov, I never know what I’ll find, but I count on being surprised. Murnikov, after all, is the bright mind behind the unorthodox 82' (25m) Fazisi maxiyacht that entered the 1989 Whitbread Round the World Race—the first and last yacht to represent the Soviet Union. Murnikov appeared in the pages of PBB No. 141, with his entry in our powerboat Design Challenge. His solution for fuel efficiency “returned to the fast MX-Ray racing dinghy he developed in the 1990s—a 13' [4m] model that relied on a low-resistance wave-piercing hull for its speed.” Still hooked on wave-piercing hullforms, he next decided to design a 1,000-mile-a-day sailboat. As he told Brian Hancock, who described the SpeedDream project in PBB No. 141, if it took 20 years to improve a yacht’s longest day run by 50% (he was referring to the yacht Ericsson 4 in the 2008–2009 Volvo Race), in another 20 years 900 miles a day should be possible, but “why wait 20 years?” For creative minds like Murnikov’s, obstacles are made to be overcome. The future is now. Which brings us to his correspondence of 2017 and the Golden 21. Today he’s thinking of a “future classic” to rival Riva and other iconic small powerboats. “The boat looks pure avant-garde,” he writes, “like nothing ever seen before, yet at the same time she evokes the classic runabout style of

Right—The Golden 21 prototype was built of wood/epoxy by Mark LeBlanc. If a production run is in its future, construction would be in composites.

The design career of Vlad Murnikov, posing in front of his Golden 21 (6.4m), has always focused on speed, whether sail or power. He first came to the attention of Western designers with his 82' (25m) Fazisi maxi, the first and only Soviet Union entry in the Whitbread Round the World Race.

the 1930s and 1950s. With her reversed bow, elegantly curved sheerline, and swooping barrel-back stern, Golden 21 looks fast while standing still. Narrow hull and wavepiercing body add to great seaworthiness and comfortable ride, and sponsons on the back greatly enhance stability.” As with other slender hullforms with very fine entries, mention of the proverbial “wet ride” arises, to which Murnikov replies: “The ride in a chop is very smooth with barely noticeable pitching and no slamming. There is a bit of spray flying around, which only adds to the excitement. Some people who tried the boat have called her a jet ski for grown-ups, but the most common comment is ‘She looks like the next James Bond boat!’” The prototype featured here was built in wood by Mark LeBlanc of IMX Composites: cold-molded with mahogany plywood frames, Douglas-fir stringers, okoume skin, and sheathed with a few layers of fiberglass. He hopes for production of limited-edition semi-custom boats, but he thinks big: “We could think of a multitude of applications, from runabouts to express cruisers and perhaps even super fast and seaworthy luxury yachts.” When asked about his apparent fascination with wavepiercing hullforms, he wrote: “I love innovation, and the tired old ideas are not for me. Evolution is great, but I prefer revolution. At the same time, I’m a great admirer of the classics. My Left—The protoall-time favorites are the schootype of Murnikov’s ner America among sailboats Golden 21 jumps a wake, showing and Baby Bootlegger among its fine entry and powerboats [see page 62 in this wave-piercing issue—ed.]. Aesthetically, in my hullform. designs I’m trying to create a totally unique futuristic look that is based on the classic lines and proportions. Wave-piercing bow seems like a controversial idea—to let the boat cut through the waves instead of gliding over them. The truth is, though, that traditional fast boats, both sail and power, are not gliding over

22 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Rovings169-ADFinal.indd 22

8/24/17 7:05 PM

the waves; they are crushing through them, hitting hard, slamming, pitching, jumping into the air with the bow high up after hitting the crest of the wave, only to crush down into the trough. At the very least, this is very uncomfortable and it could be dangerous. The wave-piercing bow greatly reduces pitching, almost eliminates slamming, making the ride smooth and comfortable. It is also faster, as the boat doesn’t throw aside huge amounts of water. There is only a small amount of spray and mist flying around.” The SpeedDream project mentioned above is still prominent in his thoughts and plans. Always looking for a quantum leap forward, his thinking for a fast sailboat incorporates a long, skinny canting keel with a bulb that could be rotated entirely out of the water. In this position the carbon blade and bulb continue to act as a counterweight for stability, but also reduce drag. To facilitate tacking, why not attach the keel to a ring integral with the hull? Murnikov filed for a patent on his Ring Keel in 2013. “Unlike a conventional canting keel,” he writes, “there is no large opening in the hull, and structural integrity is fully preserved. And with a modest internal motor you can rotate the ring and place the keel at any angle you want: 90 degrees, 120 degrees, anywhere you like.”

W-I-D-E Films Vacuum bagging films are available up to 16m (52.5 ft) wide!

*Photo courtesy of Loïc Vénec

Variety of films available Many temperature ranges Cost effective No seams Widest in our Industry: 414 ºF 212 °C

40 0 º F 2 04 °C

Murnikov’s idea for a canting keel is to fix the keel fin and bulb to a rotating ring in the hull that can lift the entire appendage out of the water.

SpeedDream makes the Golden 21 look tame. Though spawned from the same fertile imagination, maybe it’s just time to focus (a little bit anyway) on a production boat. Maybe it’s just time to make a buck. Principal specifications for the Golden 21: LOA 21.5' (6.6m), beam 5.5' (1.7m), displacement including driver and passenger 1,600 lbs (726 kg), outboard power 70 hp–115 hp (53 kW–86 kW), top speed 35–45 mph (56–72 kmh). Contact: Vlad Murnikov, mxDesign, vlad@speeddream .org, tel. 616–861–7184. —D.S.

Ipplon ® KM1300 – up to 9m (356”) Ipplon ® DP1000 – up to 9m (356”) Wrightlon ® 7400 – up to 9m (356”) Securlon ® L-1000 – up to 7.1m (280”)

340ºF

Securlon ® L-500Y – up to 8m (315”)

2 50 º F

Big Blue L-100 – up to 16m (630”)

171 °C

121 °C

INTERNATIONAL INC.

EUROPE Sarl

See us at

ADV DV DV VANCED ANCED MATERI A ALS L LTD LS L

ASIA LTD

Booth 1037

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Rovings169-ADFinal.indd 23

2017

23

8/24/17 7:05 PM

ROVINGS

Providing Technical Representation

NMEA 2000© Displays, Senders and Gauges

Waterproof Foam Filled Antennas

www.nixonmarineglobal.com NMG NA

174 Newburyport Tpke, Box #303 Rowley, MA, 01969, USA

Phone: +1 978 394 1330

IBEX Booth #3907 See us at

On a recent passage along Norway’s fjord-strewn coast, I visited a research, development, and manufacturing facility belonging to the well-known life raft manufacturer Viking. Its full name, Viking Life-Saving Equipment, far more accurately reflects its broad offering of products, from the ubiquitous but small life rafts found aboard so many recreational and commercial vessels, to gargantuan models used aboard cruise and military vessels, along with an array of sophisticated evacuation systems. The family-owned company, now in its 58th year, was originally established by fishermen in Esbjerg, Denmark, as Nordisk Gummibådsfabrik, or Nordic Rubber Boat Factory. The business made an early name for itself in lifesaving. Just three years after the company’s inception, the Danish fishing vessel Dagmar Larsen sank in the North Sea; the crew abandoned ship and took to a Nordisk rubber raft, where they remained for three and a half days before being safely rescued. For the era and region, this was an uncommon event, and the attention it garnered put Nordisk Gummibådsfabrik on the map. Located in Straume, on Norway’s southwest coast, the Viking plant I visited—called the Viking Norway Offshore Production Plant by the company—manufactures the SES, or Safety Evacuation System. The SES is an ingenious design that can be deployed from either a ship or a drilling platform, from a height of up to 265' (81m), and in conditions of up to sea state 6. Once the cylinder-like fabric device is deployed, it automatically launches rafts at its base station, which remain in place until released by escaping personnel. Those using it do so by sliding in a zigzag pattern, enabling a controlled if somewhat uncomfortable descent speed. It’s fire- and blast-resistant before being deployed, and fireresistant after deployment. It is capable

STEVE D’ANTONIO

From Rubber Rafts to High-Speed Evacuations

The Safety Evacuation System gets personnel from ships and offshore oil drilling platforms down to life rafts in the water.

of evacuating 200 persons in a little more than 12 minutes. Watching testing videos of the SES in use at the Straume facility, I was impressed by the speed with which people can move from an oil rig or ship to rafts. As mentioned, the product range is broad, with the largest sectors in the offshore oil and gas industry, as well as commercial shipping and defense. These include life rafts, personal protective equipment such as chemical, dry, and exposure suits as well as flight suits for aircrew and passengers, aviation life jackets, smoke hoods, rescue boats, lifeboats and launching davits, firefighting suits and equipment for

Booth 3907

24 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Rovings169-ADFinal.indd 24

8/24/17 7:05 PM

shipboard and land use, and offshore evacuation equipment including slides and chute systems. I’ve often wondered why lifesaving equipment like rafts and immersion suits is so costly. While touring this facility it became apparent, at least in part: much of it is handmade, and it is then tested and retested to ensure that it works properly. In addition to the SES, one of which was being tested during my visit, the Straume facility manufactures, tests, and recertifies immersion suits. Each suit is pressurized within a specially made assembly and then checked for leaks. Repairs are also carried out on-site. Viking has more than 2,000 employees worldwide, located at 260 service stations and 71 branch offices, with four manufacturing facilities in Denmark, Norway, Thailand, and Bulgaria. The 76,000-sq-ft (7,068m2) facility I visited employs 50 people in a mixture of engineering, sales, R&D, and manufacturing/service positions. Viking claims its equipment has saved more than 4,000 lives (its website contains a “Survivors’ Stories” section, which makes for interesting reading). Much of Viking’s efforts go toward support of the petroleum industry, which makes it a natural for Denmark and Norway, as both countries possess mature oiland gas-extraction industries. With the petroleum industry’s varying needs, Viking has developed regionspecific research and development for the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Africa, and other regions south of the equator, as well as the Arctic. Viking was the first to offer a life raft specifically designed for use in the Arctic, and its SES escape system is also designed for high-latitude applications, with a heated option to prevent freezing on oil rigs operating in the Russian and Alaskan Arctic in winter months. Viking Life-Saving Equipment, Saed­ ding Ringvej 13, 6710 Esberg V, Denmark, tel. +45 76 11 81 00, fax +45 76 11 81 01, website www.viking-life.com. —Steve D’Antonio

Lonseal’s Lonmarine Stone and Lonmarine Wood series of resilient vinyl flooring visually enhance any watercraft semi-exterior space with striking designs while providing: •

Flexible construction allowing for moisture-free seams, baseboard coving and vertical surface applications

•

Low-maintenance finish that eliminates re-finishing expenses

•

Durable commercial wear-layer that stands up to years of usage in marine environments

•

Coordinating trim available for hatch covers and access panels

•

IMO compliance for international markets

•

MED-approved flooring per IMO-SOLAS requirements

•

USCG-APPROVED ...

Lonmarine Stone boasts a stylized marble pattern that helps mask the routine scuffing that can occur with heavy foot traffic, while the color offerings provide warmth and elegance. Lonmarine Wood features ultra-realistic graining detail with vivid combinations including teak, holly, mahogany and walnut. Contact [email protected] to inquire about the following open opportunities: • Stockist in Europe • Distributor in Australia and surrounding regions

® IMO Compliant lonsealspecialty.com

See us at

Booth 1911

October/November

Rovings169-ADFinal.indd 25

2017

25

8/24/17 7:05 PM

Schneider_Xantrex-169-01.indd 26

8/24/17 3:00 PM

See us at

Schneider_Xantrex-169-01.indd 27

Booth 1745

8/24/17 3:00 PM

REFIT

SOLUTIONS At Wrap Boats a technician squeegees trapped air outward in a vinyl film installation on the hull of a 28' (8.5m) Cutwater cruiser. The Vancouver company is taking steps to make vinyl film a more attractive coating option for the marine industry.

It’s Not Paint A survey of three refit projects demonstrates the potential of vinyl wrap as an alternative to sprayed or brushed coatings for a range of marine applications. Text and photographs by Shelley McIvor

T

hough vinyl film graphics have covered airplanes, city buses, passenger ferries, and other forms of transportation for decades, it is a relatively new alternative to conventional coatings for recreational boats. To understand how it works in the marine market, I shadowed vinyl wrap specialist Jason Hoffman, co-owner of Wrap Boats (Wrapboats.ca), and his crew during three very different vinyl film installations: the hull of a 28' (8.5m)

Cutwater cruiser, an interior refit of a 58' (17.7) Bayliner, and the full hull and superstructure of a 102' (31m) Ocean Alexander motoryacht. Wrap Boats is also new, joining other yacht refit and repair businesses located among the Platinum group of companies in Vancouver, British Columbia, two years ago. In that time, Wrap Boats has experienced a steady increase in the number and scope of its projects by marketing its services as a refit option. Their first steps involved collaborating with 3M to adapt the product for the Vancouver markets by developing color-matched films for popular marine paint colors (e.g., AlexSeal Matterhorn White) and increasing product length to eliminate vertical seams on larger hull-wrap projects. Both were pioneering moves in the marine market, according to Andy Stilin, business development manager at 3M in Vancouver. “Customization is a major driver of innovation in many industries, and marine coatings are no exception,” he said. “Options to personalize the look and feel of our technology have been around [the electronics and communications industry] for more than a decade. It was an obvious progression to promote customized automotive, and now marine, finishes.”

Understanding Vinyl Wrap Even if you haven’t seen vinyl wrap on boats, you’ve seen it in many other places. More than 40 years ago 3M started manufacturing vinyl films in North America as an alternative to painted sign graphics. Its first applications were in the financial and hospitality industries, providing company branding on translucent vinyl for backlit signs. By the 1980s, opaque vinyl

28 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Wrapboats169-ADFinalr.indd 28

8/30/17 5:24 PM

film branding was widely used on trucks and semi-trailers and has since expanded to the printed graphics (color images digitally printed on white vinyl) that are ubiquitous today. Unlike the graphics printed on a white vinyl, the 3M Wrap Film Series 1080 used by Wrap Boats is a cast color film, according to Stilin. Well known in the auto industry, 1080 film is an exterior-grade vinyl made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) containing color pigments and UV inhibitors. During the casting process, liquid PVC is poured onto a web on a highspeed conveyor belt, which draws the PVC into a thin (90 µm), uniform film with its own fused surface protection (overlaminate). Baking the film increases the stability of the final product. Because PVC is a thermoplastic, the application of heat expands and contracts the material so it can conform to compound curves such as the bow of a motoryacht. The film contracts as it cools, which is ideal for surface-refinishing projects. Under the backing paper, the vinyl adhesive is barely tacky. 3M’s Controltac system embeds microbeads into the adhesive. This surface (microbeads enveloped in adhesive), designed to bond lightly, allows easy positioning and repositioning of the vinyl to find the best fit on compound

Two technicians prefit a compound curve. After the backing is removed, the vinyl’s adhesive is only slightly tacky, allowing the sheet to be repositioned to fit tricky shapes.

curves. When the film is in place, mechanical pressure from a squeegee on the surface crushes the microscopic beads into the adhesive, enabling it to make full contact with the substrate. To avoid trapping air during film installation, 3M imprints the adhesive with a crisscross pattern creating channels to move air rather than trap it. Installers apply consistent squeegee pressure to push trapped air toward a release point along the film edge or at a hull fitting. Adhesives bond best to sealed (nonporous) high-energy surfaces, which allow the adhesive to “wet out” and maximize contact for bonding. Unwaxed FRP is a high-energy surface that bonds well. Sikaflex and other marine sealants are low-energy surfaces that don’t bond well. Simple adhesion tests check the strength of the chemical bond with the surface before the installer commits to wrapping. Room-temperature (61°F to 73°F/ 16°C to 23°C) application is ideal. In temperatures above 79°F (26°C) or in direct sunlight, the unbonded film softens, making it more difficult to apply. Below 39°F (4°C), the unbonded film can fracture as if it were brittle. However, once it’s bonded to a surface, 3M Wrap Series 1080 withstands temperatures from –76°F to 225°F (–60°C to 107°C). The bonded film minimally expands and contracts with ambient temperature changes, so butt joints are never used for seams. On installations requiring more than one piece (60"/1.5m maximum width), The Matterhorn White wrap shown here was developed by Wrap Boats and 3M as part of an effort to match vinyl to popular marine paint colors, so that the film can seamlessly blend in with adjacent painted surfaces.

installers use a ½" (12.7mm) overlap seam. While the seams don’t disappear entirely, edges aren’t visible unless you’re close up and looking for them. A skilled installer will know best how to strategically locate seams so they are concealed, often disguising them in natural shadows. The cast-in vinyl color is created with pigments. Like paint, vinyl film’s uniform color will shift throughout its life span depending on exposure to UV rays. The angle of UV exposure also affects longevity. For example, hull side film will last longer than cabintop applications. In the marine industry, color film technology is not yet widely understood, according to Frank Braeuer, a color film specialist at WRI Supply, one of Canada’s largest distributors of 3M graphic solutions. While vinylwrap installer courses are common in the auto industry, nothing is available specifically for custom marine applications. Skilled marine installers are critical to achieve a quality finish— after all, boats have different wear patterns than cars and trucks.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Wrapboats169-ADFinal.indd 29

2017

29

8/28/17 1:09 PM

REFIT SOLUTIONS: Vinyl Wrap

Vinyl wrap allows for a high degree of customization, such as in the owner-requested graphics on this 82' (24.9m) motoryacht.

COURTESY GREGORY C. MARSHALL NA/VINYL GRAPHICS DESIGN BY THE OWNER

longer acceptance in Europe’s marine industry. Wild Group International, a vinyl wrap refinishing company based in the U.K. and Monaco, for example, was established in 1995.) When designing for vinyl wrapping, Gord Gailbraith, vice president at Gregory C. Marshall’s design office, tells me that while the coating material is different, the design categories under consideration are really the

According to the designers at Gregory C. Marshall Naval Architect Ltd in Victoria, British Columbia (see “The Marshall Plan,” Professional BoatBuilder No. 167), some recent refit designs have come with ownerspecific requests for vinyl wrap coatings and graphics. The firm has been working on marine vinyl wrap projects for the last six to seven years. (The technology has enjoyed a

same as paint. They factor in the limitations of the coating and the most likely repair requirements. Other considerations include breakout points for repair in high-traffic areas, seams designed to be part of the overall aesthetic (like a reveal in joinery), and permanent hull wraps applied below changeable graphic elements so the owner can change the aesthetic more frequently. “The future possibilities are endless,” says Greg Marshall, CEO, “and it’s very project dependent. While the final

Added Value in Every Tank New Moeller Diurnal Components!

Our new Direct Fill, Grade Valve, and Fluid Level Vent Valves give you the guaranteed compliant performance you need at the price you demand. Moeller Diurnal Components are: ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Designed and tested to CFR 40 and ABYC-H24 Standards Sized to meet builder requirements Compatible with E-10 fuels Compliant with USCG CFR33 requirements, including fire testing

To learn more about New Moeller Diurnal Components and other fuel tank design services, contact your Regional Sales Manager or call 800-432-8344. Ask about our new pricing. Check out our new website: www.moellermarine.com Study Detai

TIP STU

DY SUM

ls

Study Numbe MMP00XX Study Revisio r: 0 Date Compl n: eted: 11-10-2 Completed 015 By: D. Mauck Customer: CONFIDENTIAL Vessel Model: --Vessel Length : Bow Pressure

city BOW

100% Fill:

⇒

As part of Moeller’s commitment to value, we offer TIP studies— produced in-house by one of our fuel system engineers.

@ Static Tip 51.9 gallons

(88.8%)

Componen t Placement

Each highlig Component Fluid Level Vent Valve

Valve

hted area Qty 1 1

MARY

MMP00XX

Static Tip: Tank Part Number: Tank Materi al: Tank Wall Thickness: Tank Orienta Fuel System tion: Type:

@ 4° Bow Up 55.5 gallons (94.9%)

the centerl

Part Numbe SPAFLV002-00 SPAGRV

ine of at

r X

001-00X

55.6 gallons

Special Instruc On 0.25”

Durable. Reliable. Moeller! The industry leader in tank design and production.

800-432-8344

least 1 vent.

Supplier Moeller Moeller

Max Allowa ble Fill (95%):

@ 4° Bow Down 46.9 gallons (80.2%)

& Selection

must contain

58.4 gallons

tions

boss.

See us at

ISO 9001-2008 Certified

Booth 505

30 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Wrapboats169-ADFinal.indd 30

8/28/17 1:09 PM

finish doesn’t compare with a high-end paint job, sometimes a wrap is the only way to achieve a particular effect.” He cites an example of the growing use of outboard motors as they become quieter and more powerful and efficient. Outboards are now part of the overall vessel aesthetic design on increasingly large vessels. They can visually match the hull and superstructure, including lighting control systems. Colored film is an obvious solution to meet those customization demands. He also considers the environmental implications. “While the vinyl is not easily recyclable, the environmental impact of application (not comparing manufacturing) has to be less,” says Mar­shall. “There is no airborne contamination or containment required. It’s approximately as thick as paint in terms of amount of material. Removal can be directed to proper waste facilities, compared with sanding dust from paint.”

Vinyl Wrap versus Paint When does vinyl wrap make sense? One of its biggest advantages is that it’s fast. It doesn’t need the exclusive planning and scheduling that paint-refinishing projects do. Repainting requires significant staging (surface protection, hardware removal, sanding and surface preparation, climate control, compatibility of coatings). Other refit tasks are often put on hold to accommodate the paint schedule. “The downtime for a hull wrap is typically one-third but can be as little as one-quarter the time required to prep and repaint…that’s huge for a lot of people,” says Tim Charles, founder and co-owner of Wrap Boats and Platinum Marine. Shorter downtime means fewer lay days on the hard. Commercial customers have fewer days of lost income while the boat is out of commission. Less staging, prep, and cleanup time means lower billable

See us at

hours to complete the work. Less time to completion also adds a dimension of flexibility to the equation. Customers don’t have to lose the use of their boat for weeks or wait for the off-season. For smaller vessels, customers can drop their boat off after the weekend cruising and have it back before the next weekend. These time-based factors lower the overall costs compared to a full marine refinishing job from prep and primer to polishing topcoats. However, colored film coatings are not equivalent to paint and aren’t right for every application. Vinyl film can’t hide underlying surface defects. “The outcome [of a wrap project] can only ever be as good as the substrate,” says Hoffman, who is a 3M Preferred Installer with more than 25 years planning vinyl wrap projects. Dents, cracks, paint or gelcoat chips will all telegraph through the film—vinyl can’t hide defects any more effectively

Booth 733

October/November

Wrapboats169-ADFinal.indd 31

2017

31 

8/28/17 1:09 PM

REFIT SOLUTIONS: Vinyl Wrap These spider cracks under a glossy black wrap demonstrate that vinyl wrap can’t hide surface defects. They must be repaired prior to wrapping.

MADE FOR EACH OTHER. Gore has added Navy Blue to the range of GORE® TENARA® Sewing Thread colors! It’s the perfect match for your favorite, durable navy blue marine fabric. Give your projects a custom, polished look with the premium outdoor sewing thread that’s guaranteed to last a fabric’s lifetime. • Unaffected by UV sunlight • Weather-proof • Will not stain • Designed for high-speed sewing • Non-fading colors • Backed by Gore’s lifetime warranty*

Navy Blue, like all TENARA® colors, is available in regular and heavy (3-ply) weights. Contact your distributor for details.

* Limited lifetime warranty in North America; 15-year warranty outside North America.

W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. 100 Airport Road • Elkton, MD 21921 USA Phone: 800 276 8451 • [email protected]

gore.com/tenara FOR INDUSTRIAL USE ONLY. Not for use in food, drug, cosmetic or medical device manufacturing, processing, or packaging operations. GORE and TENARA are registered trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates © 2017 W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.

than paint. Even minor spider cracks will show through the film (as seen in the photo at left). If those cracks were properly repaired and prepped prior to wrapping, the film surface would not show evidence of the repair. PVC has less resistance than paint to abrasion or chafe, so colored film is not ideal for high-traffic areas. It does not perform well submersed in fresh water or salt water. Areas above the waterline subject to standing water are not recommended. Below the waterline, algae and barnacle growth will damage the film. Antifouling should be applied right up to the edge of the film. Vinyl film should be regularly cleaned with warm water, mild soap, and a soft cloth, and doesn’t need wax. Environmental abrasives like airborne dirt and pollen should be rinsed off frequently. Although the color is consistent through the thickness of the film (a surface scratch won’t expose white vinyl like scratching a printed graphic), polishes, which contain abrasives, or stiff brushes will damage the surface. Hoffman makes sure owners understand that gloss finishes are easier to maintain than matte or textured finishes. Many owners decide to refinish because their paint or gelcoat is dull, scratched, and beyond polishing. Gloss film can quickly brighten the look of the boat, and minor scuffs or scratches in the new material are easily touched up by applying heat. In contrast, matte finishes quickly show fingerprints and other surface contamination. Polishing imperfections with heat is limited—too much heat will start to produce a gloss surface. Certain textured finishes scratch more easily and work best in low-traffic areas. When Hoffman evaluates a boat for a wrap project, he looks at the customer’s reasons for refinishing, the use of the boat, and the physical properties of the film and the bonding properties of the film adhesive. There is an advantage if you want to change the look of a boat frequently. 3M has created different classes of adhesives. Changeable adhesives are specifically designed to last only up

32 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Wrapboats169-ADFinal.indd 32

8/28/17 1:09 PM

to two years, making them ideal for graphics expected to change frequently. Removable adhesives are engineered to last four to five years, and permanent adhesives have a sevenyear life but frequently last more than a decade, with product durability and warranty ratings depending on use and environment. Removal is a time-consuming process typically involving solvent and heat, depending on the age and type of adhesive. Assuming the wrap started with a substrate in good condition, film removal within the engineered adhesive time frame should leave the underlying substrate completely unchanged, with minimal adhesive residue. To remove residue, 3M recommends its Controltac Adhesive Remover R231. Once removal is complete, the boat owner can choose to paint or to wrap again. To better understand the potential range of marine applications for vinyl film, I looked at three different installation projects.

Wrapping a Cutwater Cruiser Hull The first boat is a 2012, 28' (8.5m) Cutwater cruiser in the shop at Milltown Marine in Vancouver. The gelcoat is badly discolored from UV exposure; cut polishing can no longer renew the dull surface. But since the hull surface is in good shape, colored film is a fast way to give this boat a fresh look. This Cutwater hull has many through-hull fittings and pieces of mounted hardware. In some cases, hull fittings need to be removed. This step can seriously impact the time and overall job cost, as fittings are often corroded or difficult to access because of the boat’s interior layout. The Cutwater fittings were in good shape, so Hoffman decided to wrap around them using a tenting technique. While this complicates the film installation, Hoffman assures me that a skilled installer can guarantee tight tolerances and good adhesion around hardware (see page 36). Substrate preparation begins. Like paint prep, all surfaces must be free of

This photo taken of the Cutwater cruiser hull before wrapping shows a dull surface discolored by UV exposure.

contaminants. The crew washes and cut-polishes the hull to remove oxidation, dust, and oil residues that will prevent adhesion. Next, they fill, fair, and seal any chips, voids, or deep scratches, and then wipe down the clean surface with an isopropyl alcohol/soap mixture to remove final contaminants; any dust particles trapped under the film will be visible on close inspection, particularly in a solid-color gloss finish. Hoffman tests a small area of the hull for adhesion with a small sample of offcut vinyl. Even without full curing time, experience tells him the substrate will bond properly. (Note that any surface that is drying or curing can create bubbles under the film. If this hull had had any recent repairs with fillers or finishes

that could outgas, he would have also tested those before beginning.) The crew marks off all hull penetrations and extrusions for protection. All edges and the perimeter around fittings are specially prepped with a layer of 3M Primer 94, a liquid adhesive-promoter designed to improve bonding up to 200%. It’s time to wrap. The owner has chosen gloss Boat Blue. The room-temperature film is tacked in place with tape along the stainless steel rubrail and rolled out along the hull. Although it’s a thin film, the weight of the material soon makes it harder to handle; it’s

Technicians dry-fit vinyl wrap to the Cutwater cruiser before rough-cutting the vinyl to the approximate boat length, getting rid of heavy excess material before the actual wrapping begins.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Wrapboats169-ADFinal.indd 33

2017

33

8/30/17 11:32 AM

REFIT SOLUTIONS: Vinyl Wrap 1.

2.

3.

4.

1—To begin wrapping the Cutwater hull, technicians remove the adhesive backing while tacking the sheet along the rubrail and knuckle. 2—Once the film is in place, the first squeegee pass is done with light pressure, moving air to a release point at the rubrail or the knuckle. 3—The squeegee’s edge is wrapped in felt so the crew can apply enough pressure to activate the adhesive without scratching or tearing the glossy wrap. 4—Fingering that occurs around compound curves can be smoothed by applying heat to tighten the film.

important to dry-fit and rough-cut the vinyl to length so the crew doesn’t fight with the bulk of extra material. The standard 60" width of the film extends beyond the waterline, so there will be no horizontal seams to hide. As the crew gets to the bow, they ensure that they have enough excess material to account for the compound curve before cutting off the roll. The film hangs in a sheet against the hull. Pulling the paper backing off the adhesive requires more than one pair of hands. Starting from the stern, the crew peels back a short section along the top to tack the upper edge of the film to the rubrail at the hull-to-deck joint. Then they pull off the full width of the backing, pull it taut, and tack it in place from the rubrail to the knuckle. Done correctly, this methodical peeling and tacking should leave a smooth skin lightly attached to the hull. The vinyl is surprisingly forgiving at this stage. Before the material is squeegeed, the film can be peeled off and repositioned or relaid. The squeegee, an important tool for these installations, is wrapped in felt, so the crew can apply the pressure required to activate the adhesive without scratching or creating microtears in the gloss. A smooth, soft squeegee is even more critical when applying textured vinyl finishes. A rough edge on a Teflon or acrylic squeegee catching on a textured pattern can make a catastrophic tear. In the same way, the unbonded film is more temperature sensitive before installation; it is also more susceptible to tearing, so the first pass over the hull is with light pressure. The crew works from the stern forward and from the midline out to tack the film in place and direct trapped air toward the rubrail or the knuckle, where the film can be adjusted to release it. Air pockets are also directed toward through-hull protrusions and penetrations. As the hull flare compounds, fingering occurs in the vinyl. The thermoplastic properties are an advantage here—heat from the torch will tighten the film to prevent a wrinkle or crease

34 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Wrapboats169-ADFinal.indd 34

8/28/17 1:09 PM

thermwood MADE IN USA

• Large Scale Additive Machine • 5 Axis Machining Center

• 5 Axis Machining Center

www.thermwood.com [email protected] 904 Buffaloville Rd., Dale, IN 47523 800-533-6901

Thermwood-169.indd 35

8/24/17 3:01 PM

REFIT SOLUTIONS: Vinyl Wrap 1.

2.

3.

4.

Technicians wrap around the Cutwater’s hardware using a tenting technique. 1—Working a squeegee around the perimeter of a through-hull seals off the area around it. Air is released through an X cut in the fitting’s center. 2—A very sharp, lowprofile utility knife is ideal for trimming around hardware. 3—After trimming, the excess vinyl can be peeled off, exposing the masking tape applied to the fitting prior to wrapping. 4—The masking tape is peeled off, revealing a precise edge and a clean stainless steel fitting.

from forming. When the crew arrives at the midline of the bow, the starboardside vinyl is smooth against the hull. Now the crew is ready to deal with the bonding around the hull fittings using a tenting technique. Heating the vinyl surface expands the trapped air, tightening the vinyl air tent around the fitting. As the vinyl cools, the film contracts and smooths, creating even pressure around the fitting. They work the squeegee around the perimeter of the trapped-air tent to seal off the area around the fitting, and then cut an X into the center of the through-hull to

release the air. Working in tighter and tighter rings around the through-hull, they repeatedly squeegee out the last air to ensure good contact with the adhesive Primer 94 around the edge of the fitting. Then areas around all hull penetrations and hardware are bonded and trimmed. Tight tolerances around fittings are achieved with a combination of the right blade angle for final trimming around the fitting and experience with the vinyl’s contraction during the final post-heating. Excess vinyl is peeled off the masking tape over the top of the fitting. Finally, the

masking tape is peeled off the stainless steel, leaving a clean edge. The area from the knuckle to the waterline is also bonded and trimmed. The entire hull surface is then squeegeed three times to ensure that the adhesive has properly wet out the film for maximum chemical adhesion to the surface. In the final stage, the crew applies heat from a propane torch over the whole surface to help the adhesive flow and reveal any remaining air bubbles. With an air-release tool they create a small puncture that pops air bubbles. These punctures selfseal with a light application of heat. The post-heating also polishes or cleanses any surface imperfections in the vinyl, leaving a smooth, glossy Boat Blue hull. A full bond takes 24 hours at room temperature. The Cutwater hull was a 32-hour job for a three-person crew, including preparation and cleanup.

The Cutwater 28-footer is wrapped in glossy Boat Blue. The complete hull wrapping (including cleanup) took a three-person crew 32 hours.

36 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Wrapboats169-ADFinal.indd 36

8/28/17 1:09 PM

WORLD CHAMPION SKIMBOARDER FALLS IN LOVE! Designed to deliver unrivaled sound quality and remarkable resilience to the elements, Clarion’s award-winning marine product line is engineered specifically for marine applications and extreme environments. Just ask the World Skimboarding Champion and Clarion Brand Ambassador, Austin Keen, and he’ll tell you how much he loves the pure, powerful audio produced by Clarion’s new CMS4 multimedia system when he is out there shredding waves! Learn more about our impressive product line and what Austin has to say about Clarion at clarionmarinesystems.com

See us at

Clarion-169.indd 37

Booth 3101

8/24/17 2:52 PM

REFIT SOLUTIONS: Vinyl Wrap 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

1—After surface preparation and testing, refinishing the 58' (17.7m) Bayliner’s teak veneer interior begins with applying adhesive primer along all edges. 2—Next, vinyl wrap is positioned and tacked into place. 3—It is then smoothed with a feltcovered squeegee. 4—An interior door is removed first and then fitted with an overlapping miter cut. 5—After trimming excess material and wrapping top and bottom edges, the corner is finished. 6—The new wrapped interior refreshes the tired original teak veneer.

6.

Bayliner Interior Refit

For the second project, the owner of a 58' 1999 Bayliner 5788 chose an interior vinyl wrap for several reasons. The teak veneer was in reasonably good shape with evidence of maintenance over the years, but it was scratched, and discolored by UV light. For this owner, a traditional repair would have been cost prohibitive. The scope of the vinyl wrapping allowed the boat to stay in its marina slip; in contrast, any spray repairs on permanently installed cabinetry would have required moving the project to a boatyard. Plus, roughly half of 3M’s 900 DINOC interior-grade finishes are wood grain, so it’s a good option for an interior refit or for custom design elements on a new build. For the interior job, Hoffman and the crew first check for major damage (e.g., peeling or missing veneer) that can’t be covered by vinyl. The veneer surfaces look like they need only minor repairs, so the crew follows the same surface-preparation steps as for the Cutwater hull wrap. The owner wants to replace the cabinet pulls, so they are removed. The crew fills and seals minor flaws. They can’t cut-polish the existing teak veneer, but they clean and degrease the surfaces before performing adhesive tests. In this case, the adhesive test indicates not only how well the adhesive will bond, but also whether removing the vinyl wrap will damage the existing coating. In this case, the adhesive bonds extremely well, and later removal might also remove some of the existing finish, but the owner is willing to proceed with the wrap. With the surfaces prepped, Hoffman applies the liquid adhesive promoter around the perimeter and hardware cutouts. The teak film, cut to rough dimensions, is placed and squeegeed down to bond to the old veneer surface. The time spent on fine details for an interior is significant—similar to refinishing by spray or veneer. And on a textured surface, the use of heat is limited so the surface won’t become glossy. Door edges are folded over on the long edge and finished with an

38 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Wrapboats169-ADFinal.indd 38

8/28/17 1:10 PM

ALL

T E C H D E C K ON

LET’S PICK THIS UP AGAIN NEXT YEAR. . . Great conversations, knowledge sharing, tech know-how, new products, skilled training, and can’t-miss business opportunities.

THE MARINE INDUSTRY RETURNS TO TAMPA OCTOBER 2–4, 2018

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! www.IBEXShow.com Tampa Convention Center I Tampa, FL USA

IBEX-169.indd 39

8/24/17 2:51 PM

REFIT SOLUTIONS: Vinyl Wrap overlapping miter cut before the top and bottom edges are wrapped individually. The solid wood trim and stair nosings were all wrapped to match the existing wood grain and reveals. Applying vinyl film to the saloon and bridge was a 60-hour project for a crew of three.

Wrapping an Ocean Alexander The third and final project on my list is a full hull and superstructure wrap on a 2007, 102' Ocean Alexander in the construction and refit hall at Platinum Marine. Though the yacht is only 10 years old, the original gelcoat suffered accelerated UV damage while it cruised in Asia before coming to the British Columbia coast. The owner decided on the Matterhorn White custom-color-matched vinyl by 3M for the hull and superstructure. When I ask Hoffman what changes from a 28' to a 102' wrap project, he

said it’s mostly logistics. Scissor lifts rather than scaffolding help the crew constantly move lengthwise from bow to stern and back and at varying heights. The team worked section by section with a static broom to wipe the hull free of fine dust right before laying

See us at

the vinyl. The weight of more than 100' (30.5m) of film plus backing paper requires significant support, so the team makes a vertical rolling dispenser to keep the application process smooth. This project required 1,500' (457m)

Booth 519

40 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Wrapboats169-ADFinalr.indd 40

8/30/17 5:18 PM

Facing page—To wrap a 102' (31m) Ocean Alexander, which required 1,500' (457m) of 60"-wide (1.5m) film, the crew used scissor lifts rather than scaffolding to constantly move up and down along the length of the hull. Right—The top piece of film is applied to the forward quarter. Far right—To wrap the height and curve of the bow, two horizontal seams were required. They are imperceptible here.

of 60"-wide film. No vertical seams are required as the vinyl film lengths are continuous from bow to stern, but horizontal seams are inevitable on a hull this size. Because the stainless steel rubrails at the bulwarks and above the waterline are less than 60"

apart, no horizontal seams are required until the forward quarter. There are two horizontal seams at the bow to accommodate the increasing compound curve. On a vessel this large, extra protection for relaunching in slings is a

critical consideration for both paint and vinyl film. The rubrails keep the slings off the hull, and soft carpet lined the lifting slings for extra protection against any potential chafe points. This was a 600-hour wrap project for a crew of four. Tim Charles

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Wrapboats169-ADFinal.indd 41

2017

41

8/28/17 1:10 PM

REFIT SOLUTIONS: Vinyl Wrap estimates prepping and priming the gelcoat plus painting the hull and superstructure would be more than 2,000 hours over a three-month span at Platinum. In addition, no other work had to be put on hold during the wrap.

A Note on Repairs For Wrap Boats, one of the most fre­ quent questions from customers is what happens when the surface is damaged. The answer depends on the extent of the damage, as it would for paint. The vinyl, a thermoplastic material, can be polished (or reprocessed) by low heat from a torch to remove light scratches and scuffs. Small punctures can also be healed with heat (e.g., releasing and bonding small air bubbles under the film), whereas a knife cut that separates the material cannot. Small tears can be

rebonded if the adhesive is still active, or spray adhesives can be carefully applied to small areas. But for most damage, a patch is the repair of choice. Color-matching castcolor film has the same variables as paint and depends on manufacturinglot consistency and any fading of the original surface. Wherever possible, seams are hidden under chines, knuckles, rubrails, and mounted fit­ tings. The finished result, like most things, largely depends on the skill of the installer. A well-planned patch with hidden seams plus color- and texture-matched edges shouldn’t stand out from a few feet away.

Conclusion Colored film coatings are not equiv­ alent to paint and aren’t right for every application. But with the planning flexibility, time and cost savings, plus the wide range of colors, textures, and

patterns to choose from, it’s obvious this market has growth potential. “I never tell customers that vinyl wrap is superior to paint,” said Charles, of Wrap Boats. “While you can wrap nearly anything, a customer’s decision to wrap their vessel or part of their vessel depends on their personal per­ ception of value. “Picking the right application is key,” he continued. “Platinum group also has full paint and refinishing capa­ bilities, so we aren’t limited to offer­ ing just vinyl wrap. We can really sell customers what is best for their boat and budget in every space.” About the Author: Shelley McIvor is a tech­nical writer and communications consultant for the marine industry. In 2015, she joined Quadrant Marine Insti­tute as the managing director of its Marine Service Technician apprenticeship training program.

When choosing flotation foam, think about the next generation. ■ ■ ■ ■

No HFCs or HCs No smog/VOCs No marine pollutants US Coast Guard/US EPA compliant FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT US AT BOOTH #1033.

Compliant

foamsupplies.com

See us at

Booth 1033

42 Professional BoatBuilder

Wrapboats169-ADFinal.indd 42

8/28/17 1:10 PM

UPGRADE YOUR BOATING EXPERIENCE

DRAWER REFRIGERATORS AND FREEZERS ICEMAKERS WINE CELLARS COOLING UNITS

100% Made in Italy

www.vitrifrigo.com

SEPTEMBER 19-21, 2017

Booth 1020 Vitrifrigo America LLC - 2200 N.W. 32 St., Suite 1200 Pompano Beach, FL 33069 - Ph: 954.979.7737 See us at

Vitrifrigo-169.indd 43

Booth 1020

8/24/17 3:18 PM

WOOD TO

MATERIALS

GLASS

Lazzara & Sons From early glass to advanced composites, two generations of boatbuilders recount the milestones of 60 years in the business. by Dan Spurr

A

erial footage of the powerboat race off Deerfield Beach, Florida, in 1999 captured Richard “Dick” Lazzara’s spectacular crash. Still frames from the video show the 39-footer (11.9m) hit an irregular wave, tail walk, launch, and then stuff. Lazzara was thrown over the windshield and face-planted on the foredeck. When help arrived, his throttleman would not let medics turn him onto his back for fear he’d drown in his own blood. He was airlifted to the nearest trauma center, where his brother Brad consulted with emergency room doctors. There was a choice of how to proceed and Brad chose wisely. Dick lived. After five surgeries, 400 stitches, four titanium plates, months of reconstructive surgery, and a year in recovery, he looks great today…but if you compare those looks, the cheekbones, the forehead, the perfect teeth, to old photos, there are differences. Some other things about him have changed, too. If he didn’t have religion before, he does now. But some things

remain the same: a passion for designing, engineering, and building boats. Dick, married and living on a 10-acre (4-hectare) horse ranch east of Tampa, Florida, where his wife breeds Clydesdales, and Brad met me in the game room, an outbuilding with a chalet-style roof that houses all sorts of

GRAPHICS COURTESTY BRAD AND RICHARD LAZZARA (EXCEPT WHERE NOTED)

44 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Lazzara169-ADFinal.indd 44

8/28/17 5:48 PM

memorabilia, from Lazzara Yachts models of the stylish motoryachts they once built, an antique jukebox, and a barbershop chair, to football jerseys signed by the likes of former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino. Our conversation started back, way back…about the family that produced the first large fiberglass-production auxiliary sailboat, helped develop biaxial- and triaxialweave fiberglass fabrics and early prepreg composite panels, became one of the largest producers of fiberglass sailboats of all time and a classy yacht company, which not so long ago went down as suddenly as Dick’s raceboat.

Early Glass Salvatore Lazzara, descended from generations of Sicilian fishermen, immigrated to America in 1906 through Ellis Island, eventually becoming a butcher and seller of wholesale meats and produce in Chicago. He married a second-generation Italian woman, “Nettie,” and together they raised five children. The oldest, Vincent, was born in 1917 and grew up with a view of Lake Michigan. His first aspirations were to become a doctor, and he attended college before World War II interrupted. After serving in the U.S. Navy, and a postwar stint working in a chemistry lab at DuPont, he found work selling cutlery door-to-door. In the late ’40s he was employed by a foundry that made investment castings. He was the top salesman and after a year, in 1946, he started his own foundry, Casting Engineers, making small stainless steel parts such as turbine blades for jet engines and trigger mechanisms for bazookas. Dick says, “He was a tough sonofabitch. Had a heart of a bear, but you had to get through the claws to know it.” Always fascinated with the water, Vince had built small boats since he was 10, beginning with the 8' (2.4m) Skimming Dish to plans from Popular Mechanics magazine. He joined the Sea Scouts and built Snipe onedesigns. In 1931, each cost him $160 to build; he doubled the price and sold them for $320, which he must have perceived as offering his customers good value, because

DAN SPURR

Facing page top—Vince Lazzara (center) is flanked by his youthful-looking sons Brad (left) and Richard (Dick) in this late-1970s photo celebrating the completion of hull #100 of the Gulfstar 50 (15.2m), a center-cockpit model popular in the Caribbean charter trade. Facing page bottom—In the mid-1950s Vince partnered with Fred Coleman to convert the Phil Rhodes–designed 39' (11.9m) Bounty from wood to fiberglass. Top—The Lazzara 110 (36m) Cockpit Motor Yacht was designed in-house, led by Dick Lazzara. Above—Brad (left) and Dick Lazzara met with the author in the latter’s house, filled with models and memorabilia.

value and quality would become central to his future business plans. Now with a family and a good job, he bought a 22-Square-Meter-class sailboat, which he kept at the Chicago Yacht Club in Belmont Harbor. Noticing how the heavy castings connecting sheets to headsails caused them to luff in light air, Vince developed the first stainless steel snap-shackle, which later found service on the astronauts’ backpacks on a NASA trip to the moon. By 1952 the business was doing very well, but when he was made a generous offer to sell, he jumped at it, declaring to his family that he was now going to build boats.

D)

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Lazzara169-ADFinal.indd 45

2017

45

8/28/17 5:48 PM

WOOD TO GLASS: Lazzara & Sons Lazzara’s career in boatbuilding is well documented in Gulfstar Vince Lazzara was nothing if not practical, reasoning that my book Heart of Glass; here are the essentials: Lazzara found a partner in Fred Coleman, who had been if he went to the time and expense of designing and tooling building the 39' (11.9m) Phil Rhodes–designed Bounty in a new boat, he might as well get maximum mileage out of it. wood before and immediately after World War II. Lazzara And what better way than to design a hull that could be had a one-third interest in the business, which they renamed finished as either a trawler or a motorsailer? With the boat already in development, Vince waited until Aeromarine. Construction was in Sausalito, California, in a split mold: gelcoat, fiberglass cloth, and 7–10 layers of woven April 1970 to legally incorporate Gulfstar Yachts. Son Brad, roving. The precast iron ballast was dropped in and set in who’d completed a civil engineering degree from Stanford epoxy resin. Dick says the Bounty II had a glass liner, engine and an MBA from the University of Washington, joined the bed, and stringers formed over Styrofoam. The owners also new company. Dick joined a few years later, after serving in experimented with prepregs, in which reinforcements were the U.S. Coast Guard. The two brothers were complemenwetted out with resin and refrigerated until placed in the hull tary: where Brad brought a keen, somewhat conservative and cured—not for the reasons prepregs are attractive today business sense, Dick was like an unbroken horse, anxious to (precise control of reinforcement-to-resin ratios) but mainly try out new ideas in design, materials, and processes. “I because they had difficulty controlling the rate of catalyza- guess I wanted to prove to my dad I knew something about tion. When 30 years later son Dick began working with pre- composites,” he says. Vince, remembering how stifled he’d pregs, the elder Lazzara was quick to remind him he’d already felt at his first job out of the Navy, the one he left to start Casting Engineers, vowed to never do the same to his been there and done that. After selling Aeromarine to Grumman Allied Industries, employees, especially his own sons. Lazzara bought controlling interest in Glas Laminates, a Costa Mesa, California, start-up run by Dick Valdez and Maurice Threinen, who were building a variety of industrial and aircraft products as well as boat hulls. Lazzara renamed the company Columbia Yacht Corp. after the America’s Cup 12-Meter. Bill Tripp was commissioned to design the new sailboats. Their flush decks and blister cabintops became instantly identifiable in any marina. The model line expanded from 22' to 57' (6.7m to 17.4m), the latter a formidable accomplishment in the mid-1960s. (For more on Bill Tripp, see “Bill Tripp’s Boats” in Professional BoatBuilder No. 105.) Columbia grew quickly, producing thousands of boats, probably making it the largest sailboat builder in terms of units and dollars in the U.S. Lazzara took it public, with about 700 investors. In 1967, the three principals sold to the Whittaker Corp., which next bought Bertram Yachts and Trojan International. By now, Lazzara had moved his family to St. Petersburg, Florida, and there he developed the first fiberglass houseboat, Sea Rover, a boat type not prohibited under his noncompete agreement with Whittaker. Once free from his noncompete, he set about doing what he’d been itching to do To economize, Vince designed the first Gulfstar 36 (11m) as either a motorsailer or since the sale—start another sailboat motor cruiser. As the chart shows, the model line soon expanded into betterperforming sailing yachts, trawlers, and by the end of the decade, motoryachts. company.

46 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Lazzara169-ADFinal.indd 46

8/28/17 5:48 PM

A lifetime of electrical experience. A family of services. • Dockside Services

• Engineering

• Inside Services

• Engraving

• Refit & Repair

• Switchgear and Power Management

• Paint • Surveys

#TheWardsWay wardsmarine.com SALES | ENGINEERING | SERVICE & SURVEYS | PRODUCTION

Wards-169.indd 47

8/24/17 2:39 PM

WOOD TO GLASS: Lazzara & Sons Left—The Lazzaras credit Richard Bertram, who opened a yacht brokerage after selling Bertram Yachts, with adding a top over the after deck—a feature that, coupled with a full-width aft cabin, became known as a sundeck. Vince Lazzara called it the ugliest thing he’d ever seen, but it sold like hotcakes. Below—The Gulfstar 44 (13.4m) Motor Yacht’s popularity quickly led to development of the Gulfstar 55 (16.8m), tested here with the stations drawn on the topsides to enable recording of the hull’s behavior under way.

Around 1975, with multiple models in production, one of the Lazzaras’ Gulfstar 50 (15.2m) charter boats in Tortola suffered damage on a rough passage, and Dick, Brad, and Vince flew down to take a look. Some tabbing in the bow sections had failed, and a chainplate had come adrift. All three were taken aback. “You know, Dad,” said Dick, “this is embarrassing. I don’t want to build and worry about every dime. I want to build the best boat money can buy.” That ran counter to what Vince had believed his entire business life. He cautioned the boys, “You can always sell price. But it’s a lot harder making money selling quality. You’ll always be able to sell value. Finding the blend of the two is what’s important.” Dick and Brad call this a defining moment in their boatbuilding careers. It led directly to three important changes: fit and finish, sales plan, and research and development of new composite processes. “I knew we could do a better job,” Dick says. Nautor, the Finnish maker of high-end Swan sailboats, was varnishing interiors, and Dick wanted to do the same, to upgrade Gulfstar’s image. “We switched mahogany for a varnished teak interior. That turned the company around. Dad told the dealers, the boys want to build a higher quality boat, varnish the interiors, and charge more. And if you don’t want to

participate, that’s fine. One dealer said, ‘That’s not who you are. We can’t sell a Gulfstar for that kind of price.’” But Vince was steadfast in his defense of Brad and Dick, even though he had doubts: “Well, I guess you can’t be a Gulfstar dealer anymore,” he told the skeptical dealers. The boats got sexier. The motor cruisers became motoryachts. But cost was a concern. Initially Dick and Brad hired house painters to apply interior varnish, but “they’d come back from lunch and all be drunk.” So Dick approached the women who cleaned the boats at the end of the line. He was paying them $4–$5 an hour. “How’d you like to make $6?” he asked them. They were happy to accept, as long as he let them work together so they could talk about their “kids and husbands.” Dick collaborated with Interlux to develop a proprietary interior varnish that was easy to apply, and it became their standard interior varnish coating. The early trawlers, based on the same hull as the motorsailers, gave way to the first motoryacht, the Gulfstar 44 (13.4m), introduced in 1979. Dick recalls how the transition began: “Dick Bertram, who became one of our biggest dealers, was selling sportfishermen. He came in one day for lunch and said, ‘You know, Vince, if we can find some way to cover the people in the back of the boat and give them extra deck area, you’d really have something.’ Dick’s [Bertram] idea was to tie the afterdeck into the top with four supports. We sketched it on the spot. ‘There you go!’ said Dick [Bertram]. ‘That’s what I’m talking about.’ Dad looked at the sketch and said, ‘That’s the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.’ We built one a week for years.” Vince’s personal passion, however, remained sailboats. The center-cockpit 41 (12.5m) was tested at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, where the Lazzaras met and later hired engineer David Jones, who was to make significant R&D contributions to the business (see “DJ&A,” in

48 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Lazzara169-ADFinal.indd 48

8/28/17 5:48 PM

what

stands for:

• Insight • Invent • Innovate • Integrity Now offering PET and PVC! I-CORE designs and manufactures a full line of high-quality, lightweight structural core materials for use in marine, transportation, automotive, military and wind-energy applications. Our end-grain balsa is a highly processed, ultra light, engineered wood product for use in composite sandwich construction. High Performance Through Core Values™

CORRITE Structural Foam

™

Ph: 256-739-6627 • Fax: 256-739-4334

®

EG Balsa Armor Products

™

I-Core-165-02.indd 49

I-CORE COMPOSITES, LLC 802 23rd Street SW • P.O. Box 1675 Cullman, Alabama 35056-1675 USA www.icorecomposites.com [email protected]

8/24/17 2:39 PM

WOOD TO GLASS: Lazzara & Sons

By the time the Gulfstar 44 center-cockpit motorsailer was produced in 1974, the shop was running a half-dozen lines building as many different models. Hiring staff to handle the work continued apace. Vince Lazzara is standing at far left.

Professional BoatBuilder No. 149). There they also met sailmaker Ted Hood, who they commissioned to design a centerboard 40 (12.2m), the only time the Lazzaras used an outside designer. But the remake wasn’t without problems. “It took years to overcome the perception of what Gulfstar was,” Dick says. “There were times when it would have been easier to rebrand the company. In retrospect, I might have done that.” Along with the upgrade in product quality, distribution changed, too. And it wasn’t due just to pricing. Brad: “In the early ’80s the prime rate was like 18%. We came into Dad’s office and he said, ‘I’m going to fire all our dealers and sell direct. Our discount is 15%; who would ever order a boat for inventory? They’d have to order it when they sell a boat; we’ll never be able to survive.’ He erected a nice sales office at a downtown St. Petersburg waterfront location 10 miles [16 km] from the yard, and we learned to sell direct.” Gulfstar was profitable. In 1977 volume had increased to the point that the St. Petersburg yard was doubled in size to 252,000 sq ft (23,436m2), with six lines and separate shops for molding, milling, electrical and mechanical, upholstery, and rigging.

the 1982 SORC. Reba was pumped up with longitudinal stiffeners, S-glass, biaxial, triaxial, and carbon fiber reinforcements, and balsa core. Dick called the program Dynamic Loading Analysis, in which sensors, mounted on the inside skin of the hull bow, recorded in pounds per square inch the loading on the outside skin as the boat rose and fell with the waves. From a company report: “The signals from the sensors were amplified and switched to an oscilloscope. The oscilloscope stores and digitizes (converts to binary numbers) the signal, which is then sent to an Apple II Plus computer…

Stress Test Even with interior upgrades, Gulfstar boats were fairly standard construction: hand layup in female molds with conventional reinforcements of E-glass woven roving, mat, and cloth. Dick Lazzara knew the fast-evolving world of composites promised stronger, lighter, faster, and more fuel-efficient boats, and he set out to learn as much as he could as fast as he could. Working with David Jones, he affixed “an array of pressure transducers and accelerometers on the Gulfstar 60 [18.4m] Reba, which competed in

In 1981, Dick, seated, set out to determine slamming loads on a boat’s forward hull panels. Data from sensors affixed to a Gulfstar 60 (18.4m) were sent to an Apple II Plus computer. At left is David Jones, an engineer who graduated from Stevens Institute and landed his first job at Gulfstar.

50 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Lazzara169-ADFinal.indd 50

8/28/17 5:48 PM

The Dynamic Loading Analysis experiments on the Gulfstar 60 sailing yacht yielded some interesting data, shown here in traces reprinted from a Gulfstar newsletter. In both graphs, pressure was measured in psi (pounds per square inch), time in seconds, and acceleration of gravity, or g.

developed in conjunction with University of South Florida professors Dr. J. Anthony Llewellyn and Dr. Stanley C. Kranc of the College of Engineering.” After 1,100 sailing miles in moderate seas, with a true wind of 25 knots and a mean wave height of 6' (1.8m), the maximum pressure beating to windward was around 16 psi and the maximum acceleration of the boat (15% aft of station 0) was 4.5 g’s. Not the extreme conditions Dick and team would have liked for their tests, but enough to learn a few things and draw some conclusions. “When a wave hits a boat we wanted to know how fast the impact load was,” Dick says. “We were getting into core-skin ratios with thin skins and thick cores, and we didn’t know how they were going to fracture. We hooked that boat up and tested it in the Conference [SORC] and found that the speed with which the load was applied was significantly faster than we’d thought prior. It was in the milliseconds…fast as a tennis ball hits a racquet.” Later, in 1983, they put accelerometers on a 28' (8.5m) powerboat called Trophy Hunter, built with prepregs. The duration of slam was not much different than for the sailboat, though impact doubled from 14 psi to 28 psi (0.096 N/ mm2 to 0.193 N/mm2). A Dr. Smith, a scientist who was with the Boeing hydrofoil program, and coincidentally owned a Gulfstar sailboat, suggested using S-glass to make Gulfstar boats stronger. He gave Dick the name of Jack Harper at Orcon, who had built a tow 12" (305mm) wide of 5-oz unidirectionals. It

was held together with sewing machine stitches, which Dick says didn’t work. “My wife used to make flowers with hot-melt,” Dick says. “So we used a glue gun to hold the fibers together, with a dab every few inches. We built a plug [for a 24'/7.3m MORC racer] and laminated it inside out. No mold. We laid the glass and balsa core down and bagged it with vinylester resin. A full inch of vacuum was pulled, and all the resin went through to the core.” Dick sought the aid of Ray Olson, a salesman for Baltek, maker of end-grain balsa core, and told him what had happened. Olson suggested spraying vinylester resin and crushed walnut shells onto the core to keep the resin from going down inside. They did that, pulled less vacuum, and it worked. That idea eventually became Baltek’s AL-600. Dick built a whole new boat with 2" (51mm) carbon fiber tows. “Two guys could pick up this boat,” he said. “Lars Bergstrom did the rig. That was the Starship, which won the MORC that year.”

The hull of a Lazzara 106 (32m) motoryacht (right) has just been pulled from the sectional hull mold seen in the background.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Lazzara169-ADFinalr.indd 51

2017

51

8/30/17 1:57 PM

WOOD TO GLASS: Lazzara & Sons Full-Time Research In 1979 Dick had diverted some of his attention from Gulfstar to start Advanced Technology and Research (ATR) in Largo, Florida, where over the next several years he got involved designing, engineering, and making aircraft parts, such as the first Kevlar shoulder harness for Bill Lear (Learjet was later bought by Cessna) before ultimately returning to boatbuilding to apply what he’d learned. His research led him into prepreg materials and processes, unidirectional reinforcements, and honeycomb cores. Ron Kruger (https://www.google.com/patents/US45 67738) and Rod Burwell of Knytex patented a process (assigned to Proform Composites) to stitch unidirectional fiberglass for the making of barge covers used on the Mississippi River. Initially, the 36-oz fabric was too stiff to conform to a hull mold, but by removing and loosening stitching they made it drapable. The Lazzaras used it in the first Gulfstar 60, the first boat Dick knows of built with biaxial and triaxial reinforcements. Dick also was keen to work with prepregs. Bill Higgins, who’d built the 1,111-lb (498-kg) Stiletto 27' catamaran (starting in 1976) with honeycomb core and prepregs (Force Engineering), was in Sarasota, and Dick asked him, “How’d you like to do some research and help us build some big boats?”

Dick: “We had these honeycomb panels we’d used for the raceboat, but there was no way to put them together. So we invented the Panel Pin, which started as a piece of copper tubing flared at one end. You cut the ends off, and you’ve got your ¾" honeycomb and drilled 1⁄8" holes in it and dropped through the top panel and injected glue into it. In 1981 we started selling the Panel Pin. “John Staluppi came to me; he owned one of our 63s, and he said he wanted to build the fastest motoryacht in the world. ‘I’ve got this guy who’ll design it for me,’ Staluppi said. ‘I hear you’re doing this lightweight stuff. I want to bring this guy in and show him what you’re doing.’” Dutch yacht designer Frank Mulder, working with Diaship/Heesen Shipyard, designed and built the 132' (40m) Octopussy incorporating ATR’s Panel Pins in the interior. Launched in 1988, it was the fastest superyacht in the world. The Panel Pin “sent my kids to college,” Dick says, “but I decided I wanted to build boats with what I’d learned, so the family sold their shares of ATR to Bill Higgins.”

After ATR A competitor of Gulfstar, especially for the emerging bareboat charter trade in the Caribbean, was Jack Van Ost, a dentist whose career took a left turn into boatbuilding. He developed

JOIN THE Revolution Come Back to Yacht Painting

The way it used to be

Proven Technology we are bringing back to the future We have gone back to chemistries time tested on a broad range of boats, epoxy primers, urethane topcoats & specialty products all designed to solve problems now in this market and take boat owners into the future with easy maintenance and long lasting beautification to their yachts. Oceanair Performance Coatings 4500 Williams Drive, Suite 212 Georgetown, TX 78633 Jeff Roemer // Ph: 512.688.7607

935 East Road Tiverton, RI 02878 J.T. Walsh // Ph: 401.595.7878

52 Professional BoatBuilder

Lazzara169-ADFinal.indd 52

8/28/17 5:48 PM

a line of 33'–44' (10m–13.4m) center-cockpit cruising sailboats called CSY, and built them on Tampa’s waterfront. The same year Dick began making the Panel Pin he saw that Van Ost had gone under. Vince decided to buy the property, and Dick developed a facility geared toward advanced composites, particularly prepreg processes. The new company was named Lazzara Marine Corp. The first order of business was to construct a large oven for curing the resins. Billed at the time as the largest oven in the world, it measured 88' long, 28' wide, and 22' high (27m x 8.5m x 6.7m). A three-million-Btu burner circulated air via a squirrel cage blower at 56,000 cu ft (1,585m3) per minute. Temperature and humidity were closely controlled with huge fans in the corners of the oven, and monitored with digital thermocouples around the oven and affixed to the heated boat hull. Company literature stated, “Even the doors of this monster are huge, weighing 2,650 pounds [1,202 kg] each. Visitors are always startled to find they can easily open or close them using only two fingers. No electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic assists are necessary.…” The first build out of the oven was Fury, a 60' (18.3m) all-carbon-prepreg catamaran to compete in the 1984 Original Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race (OSTAR). Dick: “The next prepreg boat we built, in 1984, was designed by German Frers, who was just starting out. Morningstar won its class in the SORC [Southern Ocean Racing Conference] with John Kolius at the helm. “Jack McCann of McCann Manufacturing Co. made the unidirectional stitched prepreg, which he got from Krueger and Burwell. Builders weren’t using balsa core in an oven, because the heat would blow the skins off [the core] at 212°F [100°C] by steaming the moisture in the balsa. Aircraft prepregs were baked at 250° [121°C]. We went to 200° [93°C], because we wanted to use balsa core and so had to come up with a way to do it. Instead of B stage, where they run the fabric through the dipper and it goes through a tower where all the fumes come off, they roll it up, freeze it, and send it to you. That’s 250°. We wanted 200°, and Jack developed an epoxy for us at that temp, which we ran down a conveyor, and with a curtain coater we dropped a hot-melt epoxy resin on one side. The resin-toglass ratio was like 40:60. It cured in one hour plus time to ramp it up and down.” The largest Gulfstar built, the Lazzara Custom 80 (24m), was built with wet-pregs and launched in 1985.

Back to Gulfstar By 1983 the Lazzaras were building the MY 38 and 49 (11.6m and 15m) motoryachts, and six sailboat models from 36' to 62' (11m to 18.9m). Then in 1986 they stopped making sailboats. Where prior to 1980, 90% of production had been sailboats, by the mid-’80s that had changed to 90% powerboats. In Nautical Quarterly #43, Vince told writer Mindy Leaf, “The writing was on the wall—a choice had to be made. It was a hard-nosed business decision. We

The largest yacht from Gulfstar was the 80 (24m), built with wet-preg layup. She was launched in 1985.

couldn’t let our emotions control us.” The last sailboat out the door was a Sailcruiser 63, the largest in a line of luxurious twin-engine yachts. Dick: “Dad said we needed to come up with something new. He’d owned a Hatteras 53 [16.2m]. I took the 53 and tried to design something to compete with it. I drew a 55 [16.8m]. Very lightweight. I used to have to put the oil in Dad’s Hatteras 53, which had a center hallway; you’d get in the engineroom and get burned. So we thought we’d go all the way across for a full-beam engineroom and make it modular with a front part and back part. We’d already been doing that with the trawlers. And we started varnishing the interiors.” Much of the boat was cored with Baltek AL-600, plus foam-filled stringers and bulkheads, prepreg reinforcements, and vinylester resin. Displacement: 56,000 lbs (25,390 kg). Sales of the 55 took off. The boat was fast—24 knots up and out of the hole in 8 seconds with its twin 650hp (488-kW) GM diesels. In 1987, Viking Yachts of New Gretna, New Jersey, run by brothers Bob and Bill Healey, had been building mostly sportfishermen. Dick: “Bob wanted to do motoryachts. Bob thought it would be easier to acquire a company than build the technology. Dad was getting cancer, and he had all his money tied up in Gulfstar and wanted a merger; actually, Viking bought out Gulfstar—Dad for cash, Brad and me for stock.” As a result of the merger, the name Gulfstar was soon dropped, and the company continued as Viking. Dick says he stayed “three years, four months, and two days, but who’s counting?”

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Lazzara169-ADFinal.indd 53

2017

53

8/28/17 5:48 PM

WOOD TO GLASS: Lazzara & Sons A wide-bodied sky-lounge Lazzara 76 (23m) motoryacht in the shop with easily maneuvered scaffolding in place. When then-PBB editor Paul Lazarus visited in 2000, he noted that the shop floor was kept incredibly clean and tidy.

Lazzara Yachts Corp. (LYC) In the late ’80s, early ’90s, the Tampa yard once owned by Van Ost had been leased to Wellcraft, and when the tenant encountered financial difficulty, the Lazzaras let Wellcraft out of its lease and took the property back. “But what was I going to build?” Dick wondered. The question was soon answered when a Gulfstar 63 MY owner called for a refit.

See us at

He had a list of 192 items he wanted incorporated. “He said, ‘Actually I’d like a new boat.’ I said, ‘Look at our 65.’ He said, ‘Why would I want a 65? I got a 63. I’d need at least a 70 or 75.’ I said, ‘You should see our 75 drawings.’ This was on a Thursday. He said he’d come down from Michigan on Monday, so I had three days to draw a 75 [which became a 76]. I didn’t sleep. Put all these new features on it, like two jet skis James Bond style.” A price was settled on, several investors who also wanted boats helped capitalize the project, and now Dick had to make the tooling. Sales of the 76 motivated LYC to develop new and bigger models. In PBB No. 67, then editor Paul Lazarus visited the plant and described the hull tool of the

Booth 838

54 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Lazzara169-ADFinal.indd 54

8/28/17 5:48 PM

Left—The 64-part mold could be configured for multiple models of different lengths, beams, and bottoms, all by two men and a forklift. Above—Cabinet modules were constructed outside the boat; Lazzara bought a furniture company to facilitate supply.

94/106/110 models as “likely the most imaginative mold in the industry. Sixty-four segments connect to each other in different configurations, not unlike Legos; alternate arrangements, all of them color-coded, change numerous design parameters, including hull length, beam, chine width—even bow shape. Dick Lazzara designed the tool so that two men and a forklift could handle any segment.…

The entire mold, which is stripped from the hull, can be knocked down and stored to save space.” Dick: “Our concept was very simple: how many boats could we build with 100 people? And develop the processes to outsource as much as possible. Modularize everything. Interchangeable. I didn’t want to build anything. I had to build the hull and deck because I couldn’t find anyone to do

The Experts You Can Rely On.

SIDE-POWER STABILIZERS

Comfort Without Compromise

Premier Products

•

Unbeatable Service

•

Unsurpassed Expertise

See us at

•

• Stabilization at any speed – including at anchor • Patented Vector Fin™ for best in class performance • Advanced hydrodynamics for remarkable efficiency

508.995.7000

•

www.imtra.com

Booth 723

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Lazzara169-ADFinal.indd 55

IMTRA COLORS 2016 Primary Use

2017

55

8/28/17 5:48 PM Secondary Use

WOOD TO GLASS: Lazzara & Sons After performing load tests on a 60' sailboat, in 1983 Dick affixed sensors to the 28' (8.5m) powerboat called Trophy Hunter, which later went into limited production as the Aura 28.

it. Everything else was subbed out. So we had very few people. Material cost was a little higher because we didn’t have a cabinet shop. But you could control it all. As it turned out, our vendors’ quality diminished. They got greedy, and we ended up owning them as subsidiaries of the company and then bringing them into the company.” LYC bought a cabinet company in Largo, and moved the shop and personnel to its Tampa yard and renamed it American Quality Furniture Co. Brad: “Dick created a ‘corebox’ cabinet with decorative insertable/removable side and top paneling so the customer could choose among several wood veneers. Brilliant. The panels, as well as interior cabin doors, were finished by a company in Dubai, U.A.E. Also, we purchased a company from Kawai Piano in Greer, South Carolina, that finished their pianos in a beautiful high gloss. We then had our high-gloss finishes for all wood surfaces done up there.” Hull reinforcements were wetted out with an impregnator and vacuum-bagged. Prime suppliers Baltek (for kitted

balsa products) and MTU (for propulsion) were negotiated to supply on demand so LYC didn’t have to inventory materials. Computer-integrated management of the supply line (CIM) helped deliver hull #1 exactly on the day promised to the client. Floors in the 70,000-sq-ft (6,510m2) plant were painted

TM

MASKING PRODUCTS FOR THE

i tape with

MARINE INDUSTRY

IPG’s masking products are the industry standard for performance and general purpose masking applications. Our product line offers: Learn more about our full line of products for the Marine & Composites industries: itape.com/marine

• Clean paint lines • Designed to adhere to semi-permanent mold release agents • Superior conformability and clean removal e a few of the reasons why many These are OEMs can say, “I tape with IPG!”

CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION: Cindy Stoner: 901-486-3323 | [email protected] See us at

Booth 1050

56 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Lazzara169-ADFinal.indd 56

8/28/17 5:48 PM

white to reinforce cleanliness. Innovation didn’t stop there: an employee gym for pickup basketball games, a weight room, and a flower garden between buildings were included. When I visited in 2002 to write the cover story for Showboats International on Lazzara’s new 106, I was asked by the receptionist if I’d like to dine on a full-course steak dinner in the Italianate greeting rooms before meeting Dick. (Unfortunately, I’d stopped at McDonald’s on my way.) As the 76 was being launched, Vince’s health began to fail. Dick and Brad desperately wanted him to get a firsthand look at the boat. As it happened, they’d engineered a hidden davit in the topsides of the boat, which they used to swing Vince aboard from his wheelchair. They took him for a ride around Egmont Key and back. Vince, taciturn and skeptical as usual, said, “You’re charging too much.” They weren’t. Vince died not long after, on June 20, 1996.

With the formation of LYC, Brad says, “We were customer-centric. We lavished the customer with programs.” They boasted a 24-hour-response time to customer service

Customer Service When Vince let go his dealers to sell direct in 1983, he established the Gulfstar Mall, an aggregate of marine businesses surrounding their facility in St. Petersburg. One-stop shopping enabled a customer to buy a boat, obtain financing and insurance, outfit the boat with electronics, and have access to marine suppliers, including a sail loft.

A Lazzara 106 (32m) motoryacht in construction shows the lower module and longitudinal aluminum saloon floor chases set in place. Note the LYU training facility for owners.

Winning the Race!

The Most Cost Effective Panel Products for the Marine Industry Contact Us Today with Your Design Requirements

1-800-352-3300 www.tricelcorp.com

See us at

Booth 1332

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Lazzara169-ADFinal.indd 57

2017

57

8/28/17 5:48 PM

WOOD TO GLASS: Lazzara & Sons calls, even coding them like a hospital codes heart attacks: Category 1 meant “boat down.” Category 2 was any equipment failure. Category 3 simply meant the owner was “pissed off ” because the toilet wouldn’t flush. If you wanted to buy a boat from Lazzara, you had to attend Lazzara Yacht University, a two-day intensive study of the yacht and its systems. At ATR, Dick had worked closely with Cessna on its aircraft and noted the disparities between that industry and marine: “The FAA made you have your airplane checked every so many hours. Here we are with $2–$3 million yachts, you give them a bunch of

manuals and say goodbye? How dumb is that?” Reducing or eliminating warranty work (Dick refuses to use the word warranty) is key to financial health for every boatbuilder. The Lazzaras had already improved their products by studying structural loads in the Dynamic Loading Tests, and by developing resultant reinforcement products, but neither addressed systems problems. “How do you engineer a better boat?” Dick asked. “With real-time feedback. We used customer support.” That translated to a program called SeaCheck (introduced in the late 1990s), whereby a Lazzara tech visited the

Brad Lazzara on Customer Service 1. Sell the dream, close customer, and then allow the Lazzara family to build a yacht for their family. 2. Give a top-notch customer-friendly experience to the owner and family during the build, from Visit the Villa presentation to an in-house ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) designer to execute their wishes, to a full and complete standard equipment list to include electronics, generous decor package, minimum optional equipment choices, free commissioning, Lazzara Yacht University, special proprietary marine insurance proIt was obvious to us in the very early stages of the com- gram, to referral to Mercedes Benz Credit Corp. (early pany that we needed to develop a cradle-to-grave approach days) for financing. We even assisted in vetting prospecfor the owner/customer fleet in order to maintain our tive captains. presence in their eyes. All done with a one-page two-sided contract. A short version of the “contact loop” was as follows: Give the owner and family a full-day highly orchestrated christening celebration. Meet customer through show or Web or advertising or During the two-to-three-week period the boat was in referral. the water undergoing sea trials and final outfitting, the owner was not allowed to see the boat. It drove them crazy. So when we put them up at the Vinoy Park Hotel in St. Pete, we drove the boat over the morning of the christening celebration, called them to look out the window to see their yacht coming into the marina. Then we invited them down to see the boat for the first time. A total surprise and shock! Their favorite music was playing on board. Dick and I decided we would not be present for the debuting and presentation of the boat. That was the owner’s time. Only our ASID designer and Customer Support VP were there to present. Tears by On this occasion, two Lazzara yachts happened to be in the yard at the same time, prompting a call for the entire crew to come down to the docks for a photo op. far the first reaction, followed by The remarkable careers of the Lazzaras are very much centered on innovation, and not just technological, but also in how they conceived their relationship with customers. It seems rooted in their Italian heritage, where the importance of family—of how families develop esteem and respect for each other—guides every contact, where the sale is not the end of the relationship, but the beginning. The following is Brad Lazzara’s description of how that relationship was forged.

58 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Lazzara169-ADFinalr.indd 58

8/30/17 12:00 PM

boat once a year and spent two days aboard, checking mechanical, plumbing, hydraulic, and electrical systems, as well as electronics, even a sea trial—everything. He would download data from the black box stored by the Integrated Shipboard Information System, which contained data points recorded over a long period of time. “We broke it down into fuel analysis, electrolysis, rpm, how long the yacht went at various rpm, port-engine-coolant temperature, starboard-engine-exhaust-water temperature—every six seconds. We could tell what was happening to our products real time via satellite. If an air-conditioner impeller

overwhelming joy. That’s when we knew, as Dick said, we weren’t building boats, we were fulfilling dreams. That was followed by lunch on board during a trip around Tampa Bay, followed by a full five-course meal in the hotel ballroom. Jewelry, speeches, hugs—a true everlasting connection between families.  3. Provide our factory captain to help owners and their captain deliver the boat to East Coast Florida. 4. Factory-trained techs administered the customersupport field-service visits, either under warranty or billable work, and performed the SeaCheck inspections when required. 5. At the end of ownership period, take the listing for their now pre-owned boat. Initially, we would charge only 5%, not the usual 10%. We thought the owner deserved that 5% savings as a gesture of our appreciation for his confidence in our company to build a boat for them. What was interesting is that the brokerage community did not endorse this 5% commission model. Why? I’ll never forget the broker who stated that in his mind he didn’t get enough commission to justify recommending our boat, that it was a waste of his time. What a sobering thought. 6. Sell the boat to a new client. Enroll them in same Chubb owner-insurance program and SeaCheck annual visit program, and have an onboard Lazzara Yacht University course—on us. 7. Perform customer support work, now generally billable, and get ready to list the boat again someday. So now the cycle is complete. What we did was to “manage our fleet.” Dick developed most of this, inspired by Disney for its impeccable presentation of facilities, and Harley-Davidson for development of its cultlike following. I remember telling many an early customer when they delayed signing and complained about receiving no discount on the price, “It’s not what price you’ll pay. It’s a question of whether you’ll get a Lazzara.”

The

POWER of PEEL PLY If you see something sleek and fast in the water, chances are PFG Peel Ply had something to do with it. We consistently create new solutions for engineers needing something beyond existing material and process limits. Working together, we can help you develop products for your specific applications.

For more information about PFG Peel Ply and other innovative high-performance fabrics, contact Allen Leonard at 1-888-PEEL-PLY, or [email protected]

1-888-PEEL-PLY (733-5759) | Fax 336-510-8003 | precisionfabrics.com Precision Fabrics is an ISO 9001 certified company

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Lazzara169-ADFinalr.indd 59

2017

59

8/30/17 12:01 PM

WOOD TO GLASS: Lazzara & Sons

Source all your water, waste and fuel tanks through the industry’s most friendly and knowledgeable plumbing specialists! You’ll get competitive pricing, reliable shipping, and responsive service. Order online or call us at 401-683-4434. Sanitation | Tanks | AC | Heat | Watermakers | Pumps

Use code PROBOAT for 10% OFF tanks!

Order online: oceanlinkinc.com

1 Maritime Drive | Portsmouth, RI 02871

See us at

Booth 2124

kept failing, we changed from brass to stainless steel. We had more data on MTU engines than they had. We were able to tell customers, your W5 and W6 inspections [required by MTU] were pushed off, because we could prove to MTU that the duty cycles were not as severe as they thought.” Cost to the customer for this annual health check was around $3,000, which wasn’t an optional expense. Brad and Dick, working first with Liberty Mutual Boat Insurance and later with Chubb, brilliantly negotiated an arrangement whereby the customer didn’t have to pay. Brad: “We asked ourselves, how about we get the insurance company to pay the $3,000 fee? We gave Chubb this pitch: If we can bring you 40–60 yachts you can insure, would you pay the annual fee? And they said yes. They had 75–80 out of 100 policies on our boats, which made Chubb very happy.” And Chubb could afford it, considering a typical annual premium for a Lazzara 76 at that time was around $30,000.

Credit Line Lost Brad: “We got caught in the recession of 2008, when Lehman Brothers failed. Our main facility was in Tampa. We acquired 16 waterfront acres [6.5 hectares], which increased our debt, along with a floor plan line so we could build boats for inventory to keep staff employed. You sold a boat in mid-construction and the client took over the construction loan. You have too much debt. Your sales plummet and you’re in a tough situation. In ’05, ’06, ’07, things were rocking and rolling, and that’s when we increased debt.” Indeed, LYC continued to push the envelope. In 2006 it debuted the first of its LSX line fitted with Volvo’s IPS drive system. As described in PBB No. 106, “Changing the System,” their 75 had four drives and joy stick fly-by-wire controls. What happened next was, Brad admits, a one-in-a-million chance: “A small bank in Tennessee, which we used for a $15-million-floor-plan line, which is not easy to get, collateralized against barrels of resin and fiberglass. Banks understood a floor plan after the boat was completed, but not this. The small bank, Tennessee Commerce Bank, went bankrupt in January 2012, and our loans were sold to the FDIC [Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.]. The bank went down and the FDIC took all the money out of our accounts. We had to scramble to pay vendors and payroll that the FDIC reneged on. It was very difficult,” Brad says, “because there were no lenders at that point that would advance construction loans for ‘spec’ yachts of our size and cost. So construction could only begin once a yacht was sold—a severe limitation for a production company.” The bank loans were resold by the FDIC to a venture capitalist in August 2012. “In 2013,” Brad remembers sourly, “the new lender group foreclosed on our real estate but allowed us to remain at our location.” Despite the high

60 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Lazzara169-ADFinal.indd 60

8/28/17 5:48 PM

rent and burdensome loan servicing, LYC continued building some boats and performing service/repair work. Then in 2014 the lender foreclosed on their remaining assets, which along with their real estate were sold to various parties. “We were then forced to leave the premises we had owned since 1981.”

Poly - u - Mac ADVANCED CORE MATERIALS

MATERIALS FOR MARINE COMPOSITE CONSTRUCTION

Stru- Cell

The Aftermath It’s been 18 years since Dick stuffed the raceboat. He looks good. He feels good. He’s got health issues, but life on the ranch is good and his wife is a nurse. The Clydesdales are handsome draft horses, but you get the feeling that if Dick got into equine, he’d breed thoroughbreds for the track. Brad has had both knees replaced and has no intention of starting another business. Two of Dick’s boys are in yacht brokerage, and a third is in yacht design. Their mother, Betty, “the best sailor you’d ever know,” passed away at age 99, the week before my visit. “Manufacturing is a young man’s game,” says Dick as he leads me to his drafting table to show me some designs he’d love to have built. “I would hate to leave the Earth the way my dad did. My dad had a lot more knowledge than he could share.” What he said next could have been for the boys, whose intentions today are unclear, or for anyone else thinking about a start-up. “You have to understand what your business plan and mission statement is relative to what kind of boat you’re going to build—quality boat or volume boat? How many boats are you going to build dictates distribution, which dictates your cost and pricing. Very early in the logic tree you have to answer those questions. “What has changed over the years is we now have to understand global markets. Europeans are coming over to this country. Look at Galeon from Poland. The variable has always been the cost of labor. Cost of materials in China isn’t that much different than here. Cost of labor is. But in another five years I think it’s going to cost you as much to build in China as here.” Just when you think there are no new markets, someone finds a profitable niche and is mindful of trends. “Look at Malibu ski and wakeboard boats,” he says. “It’s a $300million company. They’re making a ton of boats. Look at the growth of pontoon boats. Outboards are going up. I/Os are gone. Diesel outboards are coming.” “Parting thoughts?” I asked. Brad: “Dad said: ‘Even in the Depression, Ford sold cars to people who had money. Even if the market goes down, people who perceive quality will continue to buy. In difficult times, people gravitate to quality.’” Dick: “This industry could do better with customer service. You know what they say: The best customer is the one you already have.” About the Author: Dan Spurr is Professional BoatBuilder’s editor-at-large.

STRUCTURAL PVC FOAM CORE • • • • •

Closed cell, will never rot Superior strength to weight ratio Outstanding fatigue properties Excellent impact resistance Good insulation properties

HIGH STRENGTH VINYLESTER CORE • • • • •

Economical structural foam core High strength Does not absorb water Dimensionally stable Can be processed up to 200°F

THERMOPLASTIC HONEYCOMB • • • • •

High strength to weight ratio Fully recyclable Excellent sound dampening Corrosion resistant Wide temperature range

FIBERGLASS REINFORCED FOAM • • • • •

High-strength, durable board Does not rot Plywood replacement High temperature performance 4 x 8ft. and 4 x 10ft. sheets

Air - Foam

P O U R A B L E FOAM F O A M S YSYSTEM STEM POURABLE

• Certified to USCG specifications for flotation foam • Fills cracks, voids & cavities • Good thermal insulator • Dampens noise transmission

We also supply CNC cut kits & transoms, sandwich panels, transoms, fillet strips and high density blocks. 1060 E. 30th Street • Hialeah • FL 33013 T: (305)-691-9093 • E: [email protected] • W: www.polyumac.com See us at

Booth 1137

October/November

Lazzara169-ADFinal.indd 61

2017

61 

8/28/17 5:48 PM

HIGH

BENJAMIN MENDLOWITZ

SPEED

How Fast Will It Go? For quickly estimating the projected speed of a planing powerboat, veteran British naval architect Lorne Campbell favors a formula conceived by George Crouch, designer of Gold Cup racers and dean of the USA’s Webb Institute. Here, Campbell shows how he’s applied Crouch’s Formula—and modified it for enhanced utility. Above—Both the photo boat, Miss Columbia, and the boat approaching off her starboard quarter, Baby Bootlegger, are Gold Cup racers designed by naval architect George Crouch. In 1926, the 30' x 6' (9.1m x 1.8m) Baby Bootlegger was on her way to a third straight Cup win when her marinized 300-hp (224-kW) Hispano-Suiza V-8 aircraft engine blew. Some 50 years later, Mark Mason meticulously restored BB with the help of several talented boat carpenters, completing the project in 1982. Mason subsequently replicated Miss Columbia from her original lines, which he’d acquired along with other Crouch designs. See page 109.

Text by Paul Lazarus Artwork courtesy Lorne Campbell Design (except where noted)

H

aving covered the design (and construction) of small craft, both sail and power, for three decades and counting, I’m well aware that, as a rule, many designers are reluctant to publicly reveal not only the lines plans of boats they’ve drawn but also their preferred methods of work. The former is understandable, given so few legal protections against plagiarism. Less understandable is the latter—that is, a tendency to withhold from view socalled tricks of the trade. Over the years, Professional BoatBuilder has been fortunate to publish a number of notable exceptions to the “rule” above, thanks to designers

62 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Campbell169-ADFinal.indd 62

8/25/17 2:04 PM

secure about their legacy. The article at hand now joins that group. It’s reminiscent of a critical disclosure by Sarasota, Florida–based designer Michael Peters, who presented a formula, along with the theme of applied consistency, in his two-part article titled “Peters on (Fast) Powerboats.” Those pieces appeared in successive issues in the late summer and early fall of 2010, in PBB Nos. 126 and 127. Peters’s articles demonstrate his eponymous firm’s design process across a full spectrum of custom and production boat types. He begins with a discussion of mathematically expressed speed-to-length relationships, then describes multiple performance-prediction formulas, including Crouch’s. At the latest edition of the biennial High Speed Boat Operations Forum, held May 2016 in Gothenburg, Sweden, Lorne Campbell, whose Dorset, U.K.–based naval architecture practice specializes in fast powerboats, offered a technical presentation that echoed Peters’s major points, namely: know the limits of your chosen estimating procedure, and then be absolutely consistent in how you apply it. Whereas Peters prefers a formula created by Cuban émigré Eduardo Reyes, Campbell relies on George Crouch’s. Campbell illustrated his HSBO talk with selected examples of his own designs including—for this audience of numerous special forces personnel from Western countries, among other maritime professionals—a generic RIB. Campbell’s tightly focused presentation on Crouch’s Formula was described in the HSBO schedule of events as a “quick preliminary performance estimate for fast planing craft.” Before we turn to Campbell’s talk, here is some relevant auxiliary information. The sidebar at right summarizes Campbell’s résumé. To get a sense of him on stage—at the small amphitheater-style lecture hall in the conference center where HSBO technical presentations are conducted—go to Professional BoatBuilder’s website,

www.proboat.com. There, a posting by PBB associate editor Melissa Wood titled “Lorne Campbell’s Notes on Stepped Hulls” provides a video link to a presentation he made at a previous edition of HSBO, in 2010. Finally, for a report on the invitation-only HSBO

2016 event—its venue, boat trials, exhibit hall, and presentations—see “RIB on the Göta älv,” in PBB No. 166.

The Original Formula Perhaps the best testimonial on behalf of Campbell’s 2016 HSBO

A Lifelong Passion for Fast Powerboats

L

orne Campbell, like many in the small-craft sector, was fascinated by fast boats at an early age. But, unlike those of us who pursued other interests before becoming professionally involved in boatbuilding, Campbell’s life course never wavered. He completed a formal technical education at Newcastle University and Portsmouth Polytechnic, and then entered an apprenticeship program at Vosper Ltd, “specialists in fast patrol boats and other military craft” at the time, he said. From Vosper, Campbell moved first to Fairey Marine (see Professional BoatBuilder No. 147), then to Rotork Marine. In 1977 he helped set up Capoco Design, a company that served as a design subcontractor for boat and auto manufacturers. In 1981 he started Lorne Campbell Design, in Dorset, “to concentrate solely on marine powercraft.” All of his personal history noted above happened in the United Kingdom. Campbell’s decades-long efforts at decoding the secrets of high-speed powerboats has paid off in three distinct but related realms: raceboats; commercial and military projects; and custom and production design and engineering, including subcontracted consultations on specific aspects such as stepped bottoms, and propulsion systems. A good example of an innovative Campbell raceboat is the Bradstone Challenger, a 51' (15.5m) Bladerunner—manufacturer ICE Marine’s name for its series of Air Entrapment Monohulls employing Campbell’s hull design—which captured the Round Britain speed record in 2005, breaking the previous record by more than 3.5 hours while averaging 50.2 knots (57.8 mph), even with five refueling stops. Additional achievements in his raceboat résumé are similarly impressive:

A 35' (10.7m) Bladerunner RIB, caught in stop-action at high speed, offers a profile view of Campbell’s stepped AEM (Air Entrapment Monohull) design. Driven by Jeremy Watts, who manages ICE Marine, builder of the Bladerunner series, this RIB won the 2010 edition of the Lymington Challenge, an offshore event run in the south of England. The carbon fiber boat was powered by a pair of 300-hp Mercury Verado outboards.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Campbell169-ADFinal.indd 63

2017

63

8/25/17 2:04 PM

HIGH SPEED: Crouch’s Formula presentation is this: two prominent naval architects in the combatantcraft field whose work has been featured on these pages—Tim Chalfant of Tampa (Florida) Yacht Manufacturing, and Petter Håkanson of Vector ProBoat and Petter Håkanson Marine (Vallentuna, Sweden)—were in the audience, paying close attention. Campbell would be the first to admit he’s not a dynamic speaker, but Chalfant and Håkanson know that Campbell has devoted his adult lifetime to solving technical problems inherent in high-speed boats, and that his accumulated knowledge comes through in his talks. Campbell began by stating that anyone designing fast boats is obliged to know just how fast their designs will go. “We always need to estimate boat speed,” he said, “for new-boat proposals, or for existing craft getting a different power plant, or for changes being made to a boat’s displacement.” The main factors involved, he continued, “are weight and power. But

hull size—length—is important, since larger boats are more efficient than smaller ones, generally speaking.” The constant “C” is what the Crouch Formula yields. Crouch was not only dean of Webb Institute (Glen Cove, New York), he was a professor of mathematics there, and an alumnus, “and a very successful fast-boat designer between the two World Wars,” said Campbell. For a given hull, Crouch assumed that the resistance per ton of displacement is proportional to the speed. Resistance, added Campbell, “broadly stated, is made up of frictional resistance, plus wave- and spray-making resistance. These each vary differently with speed, so it may seem odd that the above statement is the case, but tank tests have shown this to be approximately so—for a reasonable speed range.” Like Peters, Campbell cited papers and prediction formulas in the technical literature, for power estimation, by last name, in rapid fire: Savitsky, Keith, Hacker, Burgess, Reyes, Wyman,

Campbell-designed boats have claimed 11 offshore worldchampionships, 28 national and other championships, 11 world records, and more than 130 individual race wins. In the military/commercial realm, I like his 26' (7.9m) “bridging tug” for the British army, built originally by RTK Marine. (The company was subsequently absorbed into BAE Systems, a large multinational that began as British Aerospace.) This craft’s rugged appearance and damage-tolerant characteristics earned it a movie role as a “waterborne 4x4” in a popular commercial film. Diesel-powered and waterjet-driven, Campbell’s asymmetric catamaran, designed in 1997, features good planing performance even with substantial payloads. And a recognizable (to American eyes) example of Campbell’s production-powerboat subcontractual work is Formula’s well-reviewed 40' (12.2m) Super Sport model—a recreational “crossover” designed by John Adams for which Campbell engineered the steps on the hull bottom and assisted with “performance and other hydrodynamic calculations.” As indicated in the main text, Campbell’s expertise in stepped hulls was showcased at the 2010 edition of the biennial High Speed Boat Operations Forum in Gothenburg, Sweden. By his own description, Campbell’s design practice and consultancy specialize in “all types of planing powercraft, both mono- and multihull, stepped and nonstepped, using all varieties

Barnaby. Campbell further identified the latter: U.K. naval architect Kenneth C. Barnaby, author of the book Basic Naval Architecture (first edition 1948, sixth edition 1969, latest printing 1992). “I’m quite sure Barnaby’s formula came from Crouch,” Campbell said. “Barnaby’s constant is ‘K’ instead of Crouch’s ‘C’; and Barnaby’s formula specifies knots, feet, and tons versus Crouch’s miles-per-hour, feet, and pounds.” That said, here’s Crouch’s original formula:

√ WP

C=V

where C is the Crouch constant; V is speed (mph); W is total craft weight (pounds); P is power (brake horsepower, BHP). “As you can see,” said Campbell, “there’s very little to Crouch’s Formula. You’re free to use any units you want. I’m not going to give you numbers. It’s something you have to work out for yourself, with your own boat designs.

The British Army uses this relatively fast, burdensome, 26' (7.9m) utility as a “bridging tug” for work on structures near and over water. Campbell’s truck-rugged design—a composite-built, diesel-powered, waterjet-driven, asymmetric catamaran hull— won the contract for RTK Marine, a company later absorbed by British Aerospace. of propulsion systems.” His firm handles everything that comes under the heading naval architecture, and extends to styling and structural design as needed; the latter encompasses wood, FRP,

64 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Campbell169-ADFinal.indd 64

8/25/17 2:04 PM

But I will stress this: You must be consistent! Secondly, keep in mind that C is a constant, not a dimensionless coefficient!” (On the projected PowerPoint slide, Campbell had installed no fewer than four exclamation points after the word consistent, spelled with all capital letters.) Before elaborating on the individual factors of the formula, Campbell issued a series of reminders. “The original formula is very useful,” he said, “for comparing like-sized, meaning same length, boats of similar type. You have to collect known figures— data—from known craft, especially

5 4.5 4

Barnaby’s K

During the mid-20th century, British naval architect Kenneth Barnaby published a performance-prediction formula derived directly from Crouch’s, said Campbell. Barnaby’s constant “K” varies according to hull length (in feet) and hull type—basically mimicking plots of Crouch’s constant “C” (not shown, for clarity). Only the numerical values for the two constants would differ.

3.5 3 2.5 2 Round bottom V-chine stepless Stepped

1.5 1 0.5 0 15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

Length (ft)

your own. Again, you must use consistent units. You must input correct parameters. And, at the risk of repeating the obvious: The actual number calculated for C depends on the units you choose to use. If you’re a builder, collect known factors for your boats and graph those numbers. Or put them into a spreadsheet. As long as

you use the same units all the time, your numbers will be consistent.” Campbell projected the graph, above, showing different ranges for Barnaby’s constant, K, for three general types of hullform. Since Barnaby’s and Crouch’s are basically the same formula, Crouch’s C would show the same trends, although the numbers

Campbell engineered the steps for Formula’s John Adams–designed 40’ (12.2m) Super Sport model, a popular, well-regarded performance cruiser in the Indiana company’s product line.

and aluminum primarily, and exotic composite materials occasionally. The firm’s varied portfolio of entire designs and specialty projects spans boats ranging in size from 11' to 100' (3.4m to 30m), though Campbell states that “any design which will plane can be catered for.” In 2007 he was awarded the U.K.’s Royal Institute of Naval Architects Small Craft Group Medal for “contributions to fast-powerboat design.” Finally, by way of a postscript, Campbell mentioned to me in the course of preparing this article, that he devised still another modification to Crouch’s Formula. “An alternative to using hull length (LH ) in the Cc version,” Campbell said, “would be to use the cube root of the volume of displacement. Although it is valid and might even work better, I haven’t utilized it because that would mean redoing all my records, although with spreadsheets, that shouldn’t be difficult. And it would also mean I’d have to convert my mind to think of different factor numbers, which is much

more difficult than mere spreadsheets! It also means the samelength boat would have different factor numbers at different displacements, which might, or might not, be a good thing.” Campbell encourages PBB readers to try the alternative methodology above, if so inclined. “Possibly someone has already tried it.” —Paul Lazarus

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Campbell169-ADFinal.indd 65

2017

65

8/25/17 2:04 PM

HIGH SPEED: Crouch’s Formula would be different. It is important to note how the value of C—and K— increases with an increase in hull length. “Now then,” Campbell continued, “regarding P, for power, use either shaft horsepower, SHP, or installed brake horsepower, BHP, or the equivalent in kilowatts, kW. Whatever unit you select, stick with it every time; don’t mix them. Also, don’t mix brake horsepower, BHP, and metric horsepower, MHP. “Quoted outboard-motor power is usually measured at the prop; that is, SHP. If you’re comparing one of your boats with inboard power versus the same boat with outboard power, an inboard is normally measured at the flywheel; thus, BHP. So you have to deduct some amount off the inboard value—converting BHP to SHP—to account for drivetrain losses. You can apply the following standard

deductions: say, 3% for waterjet, single or twin; about 5% for surface drive, single or twin; and anywhere from 6% to 8% for sterndrives. Those are deductions that I use, but you may wish to obtain your own estimates. Also, so you know, I favor SHP with the Crouch formula.” As for speed, V, Campbell recommends knots, although he actually uses mph “for consistency, because this is the way I started 48 years ago. You can use miles per hour, kilometers per hour, meters per second…or whatever. But be consistent!” Same with weight, W. “Use whichever units you prefer: metric tonnes, long tons, kilograms, pounds. What matters is that, again, you be consistent. I wish to point out that weight in this formula is the actual displacement of the craft on the water. That’s all-up weight, and therefore must include everything: basic vessel weight plus crew, fuel, water,

equipment, cargo, stores, et cetera.” Next, Campbell reminded the audience that Crouch’s Formula works only if you compare similar craft types. To illustrate his point, Campbell brought up a PowerPoint slide of two boats photographed in profile under way, in split screen. In one photo: a Downeast-style round-bottomed, semi-planing, commercial tuna boat, fitted with a conventional submergedshaft drive, a long pulpit off the bow, and considerable top-hamper above deck—trunk cabin, pilothouse, outriggers, and an array of communications antennae on a flying bridge. In the other photo: a sharply raked bow on a high-performance stepped hull fitted with surface drives, and a min­ imal low-slung, swept-back superstructure. “Crouch’s Formula may seem simple,” said Campbell, “based as it is on speed, weight, and power. But it won’t

66 Professional BoatBuilder

Campbell169-ADFinal.indd 66

8/25/17 2:04 PM

Mark Mason, whose New England Boat & Motor Co. (Laconia, New Hampshire) specializes in distinctive early-20th-century race- and speedboats, declared the award-winning Baby Bootlegger to be “…the most marvelous riding, best handling, most manageable boat I’ve ever been in.” Double-planked longitudinally to a skin thickness of ½" (13mm) and fitted with transverse frames on 6" (152mm) centers, the mahogany “cigar” trims level (virtually no bow rise) and delivers speeds of 50+ mph. At the 1925 Cup event, Crouch designs finished 1-2-3 in all three heats. LINES BY GEORGE CROUCH

cover this kind of gap between two very different types of boats with widely differing speed ranges. The boats pictured are not comparable. A

common mistake is to expect the same constant C here; in actuality, you need to put comparable boats in separate organizational tables.”

See us at

Continuing to drive home his message of comparing like with like, Campbell said that even with the same hull, “Crouch’s constant C will vary

Booth 2141

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Campbell169-ADFinal.indd 67

2017

67

8/25/17 2:04 PM

HIGH SPEED: Crouch’s Formula from boat to boat depending on whether they’re equipped with a surface drive or sterndrive, and, if outboard powered, different mounting heights of the motor.” Campbell returned to the graph shown earlier, in which C (and Barnaby’s K) increased with hull length. “Another mistake people frequently make,” he said, “is to take the constant calculated from a boat of a given length, and apply that value of C to a similar—but longer—boat. It would take me more time than I’m allowed here to present the mathematics behind why a longer boat does in fact seem more efficient, so I’ll just say this: If you’re comparing boats of similar length, then Crouch’s original, basic formula is all you need. But, if you wish to compare similar boats with differing lengths, then we have the following modification to the formula.”

Crouch’s Formula, Modified For the same type of craft but different lengths, the modified formula (in which LH is the hull length) yields the constant “Cc”:

√

Cc = V

1 W ×4 LH P

√

or

Cc =

√√g

Fn =

V × LWL

where “g” is gravitational acceleration. There is a simpler version of this, known colloquially as the Speed/ Length ratio:

C

√√L 4

Froude, a British 19th-century engineer and pioneer of tank testing. Works for planing craft, too:

H

Campbell now showed the profile rendering of a generic RIB hull. “We need a consistent definition for hull length, LH,” he said. “Here’s mine: I go from the extreme bow to the heel.” He then asked rhetorically, Why is this modification necessary? “It comes,” he said, “from a speedto-length relationship described as a dimensionless number, Fn, by William

V

√LWL where the speed is divided by the square root of the waterline length. By tradition, the terms of this equation are, invariably, in knots and feet. For equivalent speed in craft of different lengths, this should stay constant. That is, if V/LWL^0.5 = 6, then V is 26.8

Let CZone® do the thinking With CZone Digital Switching you can control your boat’s electrical system with a single touch. Create start-up, shut-down and customized user modes to control multiple devices. CZone ensures you will never again forget a critical item.

Key Fob

CZone® Touch 5

iPad

CZone® Touch 10

MFD

Control and monitor pumps, lights, and other electrical systems from dedicated CZone screens, iPad, wireless remote, or select MFDs from one of our integration partners.

Visit us at czone.net

Integration Partners Check out our CZone video

See us at MAR_AD_182_0617_CZone_halfpage.indd 1

68 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

Campbell169-ADFinal_rev01.indd 68

Booth 1633 6/9/17 4:21 PM

8/29/17 1:41 PM

Length on waterline (LWL) Hull length (LH)

Campbell’s rendering of a generic RIB illustrates how he routinely measures a given hull to enter its dimensions in a database of similar designs with different lengths. Campbell emphasizes the concept of like for like to correctly and consistently apply his modification of Crouch’s Formula—since the latter works only for similar designs of the same length.

knots for a 20' waterline length, and 37.9 knots for a 40' LWL.” With the modification to Crouch’s Formula comes a batch of bullet points and reminders regarding what

Campbell calls “usage.” • Applying the Cc modification is “not difficult,” he said, “if you’re a builder specializing in similar craft types.”

See us at

• “Since C works only with hulls of the same length, then I suggest that Cc be used all the time.” • Both C and Cc serve “as a measure of efficiency.”

Booth 1212

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

Campbell169-ADFinal.indd 69

2017

69

8/25/17 2:04 PM

HIGH SPEED: Crouch’s Formula • He emphasized once again that boats of different sizes “must be of the same type” for the Crouch modification to work. • In light of his stricture about “like for like,” Campbell said that Crouch’s Formula (as well as the modification) “does not include terms for differing appendages—rudders, struts, thickness

WORLD-CLASS NAUTICAL EQUIPMENT

• Designers and builders are advised to “collect reliable weight, power, and speed information on as many of your boats as possible, and calculate their Cc.” • Campbell repeated his earlier suggestion to “create a separate table or spreadsheet for each type of craft and/or drive system, and add notes as needed, identifying any smaller differences.”

www.quickusa.com

810 Oregon Avenue, Ste. F - Linthicum, MD 21090 - Ph. 410-636-5991 - Fax 410-636-5995 See us at

Booth 1647

of drive legs, and so forth—so these details must be similar between boats being compared.” • As for aerodynamics, Campbell pointed out that “when comparing two similar hulls, if one boat is basically flush decked and the other has a tall superstructure, then the constant Cc will probably be larger for the boat with less aerodynamic drag.” • “At very high speeds,” he said, “with boats that show significant aerodynamic lift, C and Cc can increase rapidly due to the increasing amount of craft weight carried by aero lift.” • A given boat’s center of gravity, CG, and craft weight “are important— and comparable. The constants will vary a bit.” • Propellers need to be consistent to deliver a reasonable comparison. “A surface prop in its suitable speed range will give you a higher constant than a submerged prop. Condition, too, is a determinant. For example, in one interesting comparison exercise we conducted, a damaged but still functional prop delivered a top speed of 67 knots, versus 71 knots with an identical, damage-free prop.” ____F____ Campbell concluded the presentation by restating what he considers to be the guiding principles of Crouch’s Formula. “The formula—in both its standard form, with the constant C, for same-length craft, and the modified form, with the constant Cc, for differing lengths—can be very useful if applied carefully. It’s also quick, once you’ve established and organized a database of vessels and their details.” Nevertheless, Campbell cautioned his audience: “The Crouch formula and its modified version are for preliminary estimates only. They are not a substitute for proper calculations when designing a new craft.” About the Author: Senior editor Paul Lazarus has written and edited for Professional BoatBuilder since its launch, in October 1989.

70 Professional BoatBuilder

Campbell169-ADFinal.indd 70

8/25/17 2:04 PM

THE WORLD’S

LARGEST MARINE EQUIPMENT TRADE SHOW

MEET THE WORLD IN AMSTERDAM The METSTRADE show is the world’s largest marine equipment trade show and the only truly international B2B exhibition. With excellent networking opportunities, a broad range of showcased innovations and located in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, the METSTRADE show is an unmissable event for every professional in the marine industry.

1,470 exhibitors

23,700 visitors

107 nationalities

The METSTRADE show is the flagship event of METSTRADE, the world’s leading platform for professionals in the marine equipment industry.

ORGANISED BY

METS-169.indd 71

POWERED BY

MEMBER OF

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

SYP OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

MYP OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

8/24/17 3:15 PM

SYSTEMS

Best Gas A comprehensive guide to onboard installation, safety, and maintenance of liquefied petroleum gas systems. Text and photographs by Steve D’Antonio

D

espite suggestions to the contrary, the days of onboard liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) are not yet numbered. It’s true that for many new build projects I work on, LPG stoves are being displaced by induction cooktops, many of which operate from the vessels’ inverters. On the other hand, LPG is still an efficient, compact, and costeffective means of cooking and cabin heating, making it ideal for smaller vessels without gensets, and for infrequent users. Thus, I believe we will continue to design, sell, install, and service LPG systems on boats for many years to come. At the same time, the volume of violations and safety issues I encounter indicates that installers and repairers often do not understand these systems, and that misunderstanding presents potential dangers. While rare, stories about shipboard LPG explosions causing serious injuries or fatalities are well known among professionals and boat owners. At eight pages, the American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) chapter on LPG, A-1, is among the organization’s shortest standards. Yet it isn’t overly dramatic to suggest that your customers’ lives may depend upon your knowledge of it. Motivated by that responsibility, and informed by the highlights that follow, you should carry out at least a cursory inspection of any LPG system on a vessel, regardless of your reasons for being aboard.

What Is LPG?

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) installations, when carried out in accordance with ABYC and equipment manufacturer guidelines, can be safe and reliable. Here, a fiberglass tank is installed in a compliant locker with a horizontal gasketed and latched lid.

In 1912, LPG was discovered after Ford Model T owners reported that a full tank of gas would mysteriously shrink to seven-eighths of a tank overnight. Dr. Walter Snelling, a chemist and explosives expert for the Bureau of Mines, found that one of gasoline’s components was liquefied petroleum gas, and it had evaporated from the fuel tanks. After further research, propane was put to use for lighting and

72 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

LPGas169-ADFinal.indd 72

8/25/17 5:20 PM

metal-cutting, and then for cooking after the Tappan Stove Company began producing gas ranges in 1927. The first Servel propane-powered refrigerators followed in 1928. (Though not widely practical for boats because they must always remain level, LPG refrigerators use no electricity or moving parts, and a small group of manufacturers supply them primarily to off-grid homes and remote locations.) It’s important to understand that LPG is not the same gas supplied to a home or business from a utility company through underground pipes and known variably as natural gas, street gas, or compressed natural gas (CNG). LPG for appliances and heating is stored in bottles or tanks, which are typically replenished by a delivery truck. The primary differences between the two are their storage methods, their specific gravity, and their energy content. CNG does not liquefy easily, and thus it must be stored as a gas in cylinders under great pressure, approximately 2,500 psi. (The tanks resemble SCUBA bottles.) CNG is lighter than air, which means leaked gas rises and usually won’t accumulate in a bilge or a basement; however, it becomes flammable at roughly 5% concentration, so if it leaks into a confined, relatively airtight space, such as a boat or house, explosive limits can quickly be reached. While CNG gained a measure of popularity in the marine industry for a short time, CNG-equipped vessels are now rare. Storage bottles are heavy and cumbersome, and refilling stations are few. LPG is a hydrocarbon derived from petroleum during the refining, or “cracking,” of light crude oil. It possesses some unique characteristics that may require a little mind-bending to understand. As a two-phase liquid/ vapor fuel, LPG “boils” at –44°F (–42°C), at normal atmospheric

Many boat owners mistakenly think that the gauge used in LPG systems is designed to measure gas quantity, rather than pressure. The gauge is a mandatory component for leak detection, and owners should be made aware of this and taught how to read it.

pressure. As the pressure is increased, as it is when an LPG tank is filled, the boiling point also increases. (It’s similar to the inside of a pressure cooker, where increased pressure raises the boiling point of a liquid.) At approximately 100°F (37.8°C) and 180 psi, LPG becomes a liquid, which is why you can hear it sloshing around inside a partially full tank. When gas is drawn from the tank, the pressure of the vapor bubble trapped within the top of the tank momentarily drops, allowing a small amount of the liquid to boil off, which reequalizes the pressure of the vapor bubble, and the boiling ceases, until more gas is used. (LPG tanks should never be completely filled with liquid.) If the gas is used continuously, a state of equilibrium is reached where the vapor pressure within the tank remains constant as the liquid boils, typically between 100 psi and 250 psi, depending on the ambient temperature. For this reason, a pressure gauge

cannot determine the quantity of fuel within an LPG tank; the pressure will remain more or less constant until the tank is all but empty. Fuel quantity should be determined by weight or through a liquid level gauge, which is an option well worth seeking out when purchasing tanks for customers (see, for example, my review of the LPG Gauge from Gaslox, which displays tank weight digitally, in “Editors’ Picks: Top Gear” on ProBoat.com). Or, the fuel level can be observed through newer translucent-fiberglass tanks. Unlike CNG, LPG is about oneand-a-half times heavier than air. Like a liquid, if it leaks from a tank or an appliance, most of it will settle in bilges or the bottoms of lockers and cabinets, particularly those whose bottoms are airtight and liquidtight. Strictly speaking, LPG is nontoxic; however, in high enough concentrations it will displace enough air to make proper respiration impossible for humans and animals (particularly small animals with high metabolisms like the canaries once used in coal mines as methane “gas detectors”). Because LPG is odorless, the odorant ethanethiol was added to LPG refined in the U.S. beginning in the 1930s. That distinctive odor is now so well ingrained in most adults that it has doubtless prevented the loss of thousands of lives. One of LPG’s greatest attributes for cooking and heating is its flame’s intense heat, approximately 3,600°F (1,982°C). This, combined with the extremely rapid flame-propagation rate of 2,800'/853m per second (faster

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

LPGas169-ADFinal.indd 73

2017

73

8/25/17 5:20 PM

SYSTEMS: LP Gas than most bullets travel), makes it extremely explosive and destructive. Also, its flammability threshold is a scant 2.4% to 9.6%, which means it doesn’t take much LPG to sustain flame and/or an explosion. It ignites between 920°F and 1,120°F (493°C and 604°C)—any flame, spark, or glowing metal surface is easily this hot. The positive tradeoff is that it packs a lot of Btus into each gallon of liquid, approximately 91,500 Btus at 60°F (15.5° C) compared to CNG’s 82,000 Btus, which is why even a small cylinder lasts so long.

Tanks and Valves LPG tanks for marine applications come in a variety of shapes, sizes, materials, and configurations. Traditionally, the two most popular materials are steel and aluminum. Department of Transportation–approved fiberglass tanks have also been available for several years. These are virtually impervious to corrosion and rust, and are translucent, offering a built-in gas gauge of sorts, because the level of liquefied gas can be observed from the outside. In North America, steel tanks commonly used in marine applications are available in 4.25-, 11-, 14-, and 20-lb varieties (1.9, 5, 6.3, and 9-kg), while in aluminum the sizes are 6, 10, and 20 lb (2.7, 4.9, and 9 kg). Fiberglass tanks are currently available

LPG tanks carry a series of markings, the most important of which is the manufacture and recertification date at the bottom.

in 10-lb and 20-lb capacities for marine use. In all materials, more sizes exist for domestic and industrial applications. If you’ve looked at an LPG cylinder, you’ve probably wondered what all the letters and numbers stamped on the handle mean. For safety and installation, it’s important to know at least some of these: WCW, or WC, stands for water capacity weight. This is the weight of the tank if you filled it with water. Since LPG is about four-tenths the weight of water, determining the capacity of a cylinder requires only a little arithmetic (multiply by 0.42). One of the most common LPG cylinder sizes, 20 lbs, has a WCW designation of 48. TW refers to the tare weight, nothing more than the weight of the empty tank. Anything more than the TW is LPG. DT represents dip tube depth or length in inches. A dip tube is the tube that drops down into the tank from the underside of the valve. It comes in lengths varying from 2.2" to 7" (56mm

to 178mm), for tanks between 4.25 lbs and 40 lbs (1.9 kg and 18.1 kg). Correct dip tube length is critical to avoid drawing liquid rather than vapor from a tank. DOT, for Department of Transportation, means the cylinder met all specifications for LPG tank construction at the time it was manufactured. The DOT has jurisdiction over all portable LPG tanks—those that might be transported over the nation’s highways—up to 100 lbs (45 kg) of propane capacity. The date code, perhaps the most important figure of all, indicates when the cylinder was manufactured, for example, 8–99 or 12–06. DOT regulations require that the cylinder be “requalified,” meaning that once 12 years have passed (10 years in Canada and five years for a composite tank),

While more costly, aluminum tanks, on the left, are corrosion resistant and lighter than steel. Fiberglass tanks, below, are corrosionproof, lightweight, and translucent, enabling users to see the liquid within and thereby determine the quantity remaining.

74 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

LPGas169-ADFinal.indd 74

8/25/17 5:20 PM

Drop In & Chill Out Come see what‘s cool!

IBEX 2017

NEW Slim Footprint Webasto FCF Platinum Series Self Contained Systems

Booth #2052

• Long and slim footprint allows for easy replacement of existing units • 2-year warranty with unmatched product reliability • 6,000-25,000 BTU/h | 115V / 230V (50/60Hz)

Webasto BlueCool C, Q & P Series Chiller Systems • Fully customizable chiller series with different tropical versions • Full line of chiller systems to fit any size vessel • BlueCool Expert Tool - allows access to core systems operations, parameter settings & trouble shooting diagnostics from anywhere in the world with USB and Wi-Fi signal • Continuous cooling capacity even in tropical conditions • 16,000-1,500,000 BTU/h | 230 - 400V (50/60 Hz)

Webasto Premium A/C Products & Service Nothing ruins a weekend of summer fun more than an AC unit that isn’t working! Webasto A/C systems are designed for quick installation - just drop in and chill out. Backed by Webasto’s NEW Marine Master Tech Sales and Service Dealer Program, Webasto brings installation and repair training, sales and service from the factory to the dock.

Webasto BlueCool V-Series Chillers • Variable speed fully integrated chiller system • Preventive maintenance monitoring system • Smooth, silent operation with no electrical surging peak • BlueCool Expert Tool - allows access to core systems operations, parameter settings & trouble shooting diagnostics from anywhere in the world with USB and Wi-Fi signal

www.WebastoAC.com (844) WEBASTO

• 8,500 - 50,000 BTU/h | 230V (50/60 Hz)

MyTouch Controller • Standard display for all BlueCool A/C Units • Full color, high resolution, interactive touch display • Customizable display with 3 different user designs and password protection See us at

Webasto-169.indd 75

Booth 2052

8/24/17 2:38 PM

SYSTEMS: LP Gas the tank may be rehydrostatically tested and stamped with a new date, renewing its 12-year-inspection interval. For steel tanks, these tests are not common and typically not cost-effective. More likely is a visual inspection, which will provide a five-year-inspection period indicated by the letter E stamped after the previously expired

manufacture date. (Any facility with a gas supply onsite must be certified to carry out inspections.) If the tank is severely rusted, corroded, or otherwise damaged, don’t bother trying to recertify it; LP inspectors are typically conservative about this evaluation. It’s worth noting that steel, aluminum, and composite cylinders of the

A combination regulator, solenoid, and distribution manifold. Each tank is equipped with its own gauge for leak detection of lines beginning at the tank’s valve-to-hose connection.

The color of your boat travels at 186,000 miles per second. Think fast. Think Epifanes.

Color travels at the speed of light, so your new paint job is certain to make an instant impression. Experience what boatyard pros and backyard amateurs have discovered by rolling and tipping with Epifanes premium paints—the proven method for achieving a stunning, durable, mirror-like finish. Look for Epifanes paints and varnishes at your local chandlery, and watch our roll-and-tip video on Facebook. AALSMEER, HOLLAND

■

THOMASTON, MAINE

1-800-269-0961

■

■

ABERDEEN, HONG KONG

www.epifanes.com

FOLLOW US

See us at

Booth 1340

same capacity all possess different external dimensions, meaning they are not necessarily interchangeable. Beginning in October 1998, all new portable LPG cylinders with capacities between 4 lbs and 40 lbs (1.8 kg and 18 kg) had to be manufactured with overfill-prevention devices, or OPDs. These devices leave a vapor space of approximately 20% at the top of the tank to prevent gas or liquid from venting through the tank’s pressurerelease valve if the ambient temperature increases (for instance, the tank is filled on a cool morning and then left in the sun or placed in a hot storage locker). Liquid propane from an overfilled tank may also flow to appliances, causing excessive pressure and possible fire or explosion. As of April 1, 2002, no U.S. LPGfilling facility should fill tanks in this capacity range unless the tanks are equipped with OPDs (with the exception of portable horizontal tanks manufactured before 1998, which are exempt). While this is probably old news to most yards and vessel owners,

76 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

LPGas169-ADFinal.indd 76

8/25/17 5:20 PM

If, for example, a 40-lb (18-kg) anchor dropped on a copper tube, or a rubber hose melted during a fire, severing the LPG supply line, the new valve would detect the gas flowing at a much higher rate than normal and ideally stop the flow almost immediately. The excess-flow feature can be inadvertently triggered if the valve is opened rapidly.

Overfill-prevention devices, or OPDs, have an external right-hand acme thread, which accepts a hand-wheel hose fitting. Easy to install without tools, the plastic fittings are designed to melt and cut off the gas in the event of a fire. If not properly tightened, they are prone to leakage.

several other safety measures occurred concurrently with the introduction of the OPD ordinance. These new valves also incorporate a positive seal mechanism that will prevent gas from freeflowing unless a hose is positively attached. This means that unlike the old-style valves, gas will not escape even if the tank is full and the valve is opened, unless a hose is attached. If the connection between the valve and the hose is not properly tightened, leaks can easily still occur, which is why proper gas lockers are so important. More on those in the next section. The new valves also utilize an external, right-hand acme thread, as opposed to the old valve’s internal, lefthand POL thread (turned counterclockwise to tighten), that is not only easier to use but also requires no tools. It works with new plastic couplings designed to melt and shut off the flow of gas in the event of a fire. Finally, OPD valves are equipped with an excess-flow feature that will prevent gas from flowing out of the cylinder if a supply hose or pipe suffers a catastrophic break.

Storage Requirements

The storage locker provisions are among the most difficult of ABYC’s LPG standards to comply with. The guide leaves little room for variation or creativity, and rightfully so. When dealing with an invisible, explosive gas, the standards must be clear and exacting.

Trusted by boat owners for over 15 years .

The world’s best foul release coating in the market.

www.oceanmax.com

See us at

Booth 3513

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

LPGas169-ADFinal.indd 77

2017

77

8/25/17 5:20 PM

SYSTEMS: LP Gas Far left—A stand-alone locker with a horizontal lid holds two tanks and all related LPG gear and plumbing. Left—Many integral lockers lack compliance because, among other things, the hatches are vertical; the one shown here leaves much to be desired.

Although it seems self-evident, it’s worth stating: The locker in which LPG tanks are stored must be vaportight from the hull interior. It can have no cracks, holes, seams, or gaps, no matter how small. It’s easier to meet this standard with purpose-made, offthe-shelf lockers, which are often a single piece of fiberglass or rotomolded plastic, eliminating joints or seams. Conversely, lockers that are part of the vessel’s structure, under a settee or within the coaming, for instance, are more apt to run afoul of this requirement, because they are often made from multiple components. A gastight seal must be made at every seam, as well as at all locations where tubes, hoses, and wires pass through the locker. This may be a purpose-made compression-type gland fitting, or a careful but liberal application of flexible sealant or caulk; I prefer the former as caulk can dry out or be easily dislodged. Each locker must be vented at its lowest point with a minimum 1 ⁄2"-inside-diameter (13mm) plumbing that travels continuously downward

from the locker base and overboard without dips, rises, or loops, so that if any water were to enter this vent, it would not be trapped. The overboard outlet for the vent must be above the static waterline and at least 20" (51cm) from any other breaches or openings to the hull interior. It should not vent inboard, even onto weather decks such as a cockpit or flybridge. The lid for the locker must open from the top—all vertical-door installations fail—be fully gasketed, latching, and should require no tools to access. Although it’s not an outright requirement, the lid

should open directly to the atmosphere. If the LPG locker is within a part of the boat’s structure, in a sail locker or under a settee, for instance, its opening must be as close to the boat’s locker opening as possible, and it must still be horizontal. Many are surprised that the ABYC guidelines also cover tanks that are not in use. Tanks not plumbed to the vessel’s LPG system must be stored in the same manner as active tanks. Thus, the LPG storage locker must be large enough to accommodate spares, empty tanks (which often retain some LPG), and small, portable camping cylinders. If multiple tanks are connected to the LPG system simultaneously, a shutoff valve or automatic check valve must be located between the tanks or at the cylinder manifold to prevent pressure feedback from other cylinders or potential leaks from a disconnected hose; purpose-made valves for multi-tank connections are readily available.

For existing designs, locker compliance can be challenging, because little can be done to rectify a vertical and, in this case, vented hatch.

78 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

LPGas169-ADFinal.indd 78

8/25/17 5:20 PM

A triangular knob identifies an overfillprevention-device valve. As the name implies, these valves are designed to prevent tanks from being overfilled and then venting. LPG service facilities should not refill a tank that does not have this valve.

Pay special attention to the hoses for LPG barbecues, where disconnected gas should not be able to flow from their connecting hoses. This is often achieved with a built-in needle valve that will allow gas flow only when the hose is connected to the appliance. Unfortunately, most portable barbecues do not incorporate this feature. All too often I’ll open a valve (many are unlabeled) located in the LPG locker, and a whoosh of gas escapes from a disconnected hose. At the very least, the valve supplying this hose should be a fail-safe design—opened only by releasing a thumb lock—and not able to be inadvertently pushed open. A hose of this sort, and all fittings, must reside within the locker. The LPG locker should not store any non-LPG-related gear. Additionally, disconnected tanks may be stored on deck, outside a dedicated locker, provided they are at least 20" from any opening to the vessel’s interior and if they and their associated plumbing, regulators, and valves are protected from the elements.

Plumbing The gas regulator is an ingenious device, capable of delivering a constant supply of gas while stepping it down from more than 100 psi to barely 0.5 psi regardless of ambient temperature or barometric pressure. (In fact, when Jacques Cousteau perfected the first SCUBA apparatus, it utilized a natural gas regulator.) In marine applications, LPG regulators are typically aluminum, although many incorporate some ferrous alloy components. They must be protected from rain and seawater. If housed within a dedicated LPG locker, they can last for decades, provided the locker does not leak water and thus accumulate high humidity, which takes a toll on metallic tanks as well. Seasonally spraying the regulator and other metallic components in the locker with a light corrosion inhibitor will help protect them. LPG systems must be equipped with a master shutoff valve that can be easily reached from the vicinity of the

“ Congratulations to Jarrett Bay on their Repeat Refit of the Year Award!

We could not be more pleased with the products and service we’ve received from ALEXSEAL®. The primers and topcoats are easy to use and have given us the best-looking paint finishes we have ever seen.”

Randy Ramsey President, Jarrett Bay Boatworks

ALEXSEAL.COM

EU: +49 (40) 75 10 30 > USA: +1 (843) 654 7755 See us at

Booth 1601

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

LPGas169-ADFinal.indd 79

2017

79

8/25/17 5:20 PM

SYSTEMS: LP Gas

Left—Unions or joints in LPG lines outside an LPG locker, including valves like the one shown here beneath a stove, are prohibited. While they may seem like a good idea, they push this installation into noncompliance. Right—Not just any hose will do. For LPG, only hose specifically designed and marked for the application should be installed.

appliance(s): however, no valves or plumbing unions are permitted outside the LPG locker (more on this in a moment). This is achieved with a remote DC LPG solenoid valve near appliance(s)—though not over or behind an appliance, forcing a user to

reach over a stove or barbecue that’s engulfed in flames, for instance. The switch activates the solenoid valve inside the LPG locker, controlling the gas supply at the source. The switch or control must also be equipped with a warning light to let the user know

See us at

when the solenoid is active and gas may be flowing. Because these solenoids sometimes fail, you should recommend that owners keep a spare aboard. Without it, those aboard may be eating cold food until a new unit can be installed. Under normal

Booth 841

80 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

LPGas169-ADFinal.indd 80

8/25/17 5:20 PM

operation, gas solenoid valves will become hot to the touch. Transferring the gas from the LPG tanks to the appliances in a safe, reliable manner is of paramount importance. The plumbing itself may be annealed copper tubing conforming to standard K or L, ASTM B88-75a for seamlesscopper water tube with a wall thickness of not less than 0.032" (0.813mm). Hose must be specifically suited for LPG use, such as UL 21–compliant LP Gas Hose. (Note that hose approved for LPG is always labeled; ordinary gasoline or diesel fuel hose is not compliant.) The inside diameter (ID) of the hose is determined by the appliance it serves, the gas flow requirements, and the length of the run. Very large stoves or heaters, for instance, often require larger plumbing. While LPG plumbing may be as small as 0.25" ID for small appliances, 0.375" ID is the most popular, because of its robustness and

the commonality of associated plumbing fittings. End fittings for LPG plumbing must be durable, leakproof, and easily assembled, disassembled, and serviced. Copper tube should utilize “long-nut” flare fittings, which are less prone to fracture. Threaded NPT or tapered pipe fittings must use a thread sealant specifically designed for LPG applications. LPG plumbing that utilizes hose may use swage terminals or field-assembled sleeve and threadedinsert flare terminals. Combination pipe-to-hose adapters and hose clamps, while suitable elsewhere aboard, may not be used for LPG plumbing. Among the most often violated LPG protocol for plumbing is the installation of Ts, unions, valves, or other connections outside the LPG locker. This must never be done; no connections are permitted outside the LPG locker. The only exception to this

See us at

rule is the transition between copper pipe and flexible hose for the gimbaled stoves typically used aboard sailing vessels. Hose and copper tube must be well secured and protected. Straps or P clips should support plumbing runs at regular intervals, and hose should be protected from chafe where it passes through bulkheads or other structures. Avoid running hoses or copper tubes over stringers and frames, or through locker bottoms where they will be repeatedly stepped on or have gear placed or dropped on them. Once LPG plumbing is installed, check for leaks. Gas professionals often pressurize new or repaired LPG plumbing with compressed air at approximately 5 psi, which is roughly 10 times the working pressure of the system. After it’s pressurized, spray the system with a mixture of water and liquid dishwashing detergent (though

Booth 1017

October/November

LPGas169-ADFinal.indd 81

2017

81 

8/25/17 5:20 PM

SYSTEMS: LP Gas

1.

2.

3.

4.

1—The seal made around hoses or wires that pass through an LPG locker wall must remain gastight under all conditions. Clay or plumber’s putty simply isn’t up to that task. 2—Unions, T’s, and other joints must not exist outside the LPG locker. Additionally, only long-nut flare fittings should be used. 3—Regardless of their purpose, such as this one for a gutter drain hose, all LPG locker penetrations must be made permanently gastight. 4—Durable and not easily dislodged, a compression-style fitting is the most reliable means of passing hoses and wires through LPG locker bulkheads.

not detergents containing ammonia, as it may damage brass fittings). Any bubbles indicate a potential gas leak. You should also permanently install a pressure gauge within the LP locker between the tank and before the regulator. Then, with all connections completed, the appliances turned off, and the solenoid valve opened or on, open the tank valve completely until the pressure gauge stops rising— between 100 psi and 200 psi. Then, close the valve. The gauge pressure should remain constant for at least three minutes but preferably 15 minutes or more. If the system will not hold pressure, check for leaks again with the soapy water solution. The sole purpose of a pressure gauge is for leak detection; it’s of little value if

this protocol is not carried out regularly. Make certain your customers understand how to do this. I also check for leaks using this gauge-drop method every time a tank is replaced, as many leaks can be traced to an improperly tightened hose-to-tank connection.

Safety The first line of defense is the owner or crew. As the professional, you should instruct them on how to react if they smell gas. Tell them to make sure the LPG is shut off using the tank’s own manual valve, and to open all hatches, ports, and bilge access panels. Avoid using any electrical gear, and don’t turn anything on or off (there have been reports of LPG explosions when equipment was switched off as

well as on), except the main-batterydisconnect switches, which are nearly always ignition-protected and thus will not ignite flammable vapors. Owners and operators should be aware that it’s difficult to remove large concentrations of LPG from a vessel’s deep bilges unless the boat has an ignition-protected bilge-evacuation blower. While these are mandated aboard gasoline-powered vessels to safely remove fumes, ABYC standards do not require them aboard vessels equipped only with LPG. If engineroom blowers are ignition-protected and able to draw air out of the engine compartment, as they should, they may also be used to create a vacuum and to enable ventilation within those bilges.

82 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

LPGas169-ADFinal.indd 82

8/25/17 5:20 PM

RELAX...

Sea-Dog has all the products you need, and so much more!

See all of this there and more at IBEX booth #1500

SEA-DOG.COM See us at

SeaDog-169-01.indd 83

Booth 1500

8/24/17 2:05 PM

SYSTEMS: LP Gas For galley stoves and barbecues with flat lids or with countertops that close over them, an off switch must be built into the system in case a user closes the lid and forgets to turn off the gas/flame, which would almost certainly cause a fire. Additionally, if a barbecue is installed over a locker, the two should be separated by a vapor barrier to prevent leaking gas from reaching the barbecue flame. Even if the vapor barrier is installed, having a fume detector beneath the barbecue makes good sense. LPG is a dangerous carbon monoxide (CO) producer, able to generate excessive amounts under the right circumstances. Intensifying the danger is the fact that burning LPG increases the quantity of CO within a vessel’s cabin. When the flame diminishes, it produces still more CO, further compromising the appliance’s flame and creating a runaway effect.

LPG barbecues present some special challenges. Among other things, if, as shown here, there is a flat lid (not designed to be closed with the flame on) rather than a hood, a switch should be installed that shuts off the gas when the lid is closed; and the burners must be equipped with a flame-failure device.

At one time, I preferred CO detectors that rely on the vessel’s own power rather than internal batteries. Today, however, CO detector batteries last longer. Internal battery units are also readily available, tend to be less expensive than hardwired units, and are clearly easier to install and replace. Expiration dates, typically five or 10

years, should be labeled on the outside of the unit. Some units are able to communicate with each other, which means if one detects CO, all units sound an alarm. If hardwired, the CO detector’s circuit breaker must be one that cannot be easily turned off (such as the pop-out variety), or it should utilize a purpose-made lock or cover.

Change colors with ease The LW05 Multi-color Gelcoater with its heavy duty GS engineered tracking system will allow you to do just that. Along with our X2015GL X-GUN® this system is ideal for your high production needs and our quick color change system allows for less downtime between color changes. Please visit our website for our complete product line of composite processing equipment. Standard Components ● X2015GL Low emission X-Gun® ● S1000-97 MEKP Slave pump assembly ● 25 Foot hose set ● Simple and quick GS color change system ● Up to 6 colors

System Specifications ● Output 1-8 lbs./min. (.45-3.6 kg/min.) ● Catalyst .75% to 2.5% by volume ● Pump ratios 15:1 or 22:1 ● Air consumption 5-7 CFM LW13-22-4 with 25 ft. hose set

We proudly serve these composite industries... Renewable Energy, Windpower, Marine, Rail, RV, Automotive, Truck, Aftermarket, Tub & Shower, Swimming Pools, Jacuzzis, Water Park & Playground, Storage Tank, Architectural, Recreational Products

985 W. 18 th Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627 949-642-1500 • Fax 949-631-6770 gsmfg.com

Composite Fabrication Equipment Pioneer of High Flow Structural Adhesive Dispensing Systems

84 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

LPGas169-ADFinal.indd 84

8/25/17 5:20 PM

If fuses are used, be certain they are easily accessible, clearly labeled, and spares are available. One final note on CO. I’ve heard many boat owners say, “I don’t have LPG aboard, and if diesels produce virtually no CO, why do I need a CO detector on my diesel boat?” The answer is that one night they may be docked or rafted up to another boat whose gasoline-powered engine or generator is running. All it takes is a light breeze to blow the exhaust from the running engine into your neighboring cabin through open ports. For this reason, every boat with an enclosed cabin needs CO detectors in every accommodation space. It’s common for builders to install domestic appliances aboard larger power and sailing vessels, causing two potential issues for gas kitchen stoves. One, many gas kitchen stoves come from the manufacturer set up for CNG;

their burners must be replaced for use with LPG. Two, the vast majority of domestic stoves I encounter aboard yachts lack a flame-failure device, a critical feature required for ABYC compliance. This device, included in most marine stoves, requires pressing a push button or knob and holding it for a few seconds after the flame lights. Doing so disables the flame-failure device until the burner heats up, allowing gas to flow. If the flame is extinguished, the device stops the flow. Instead of this device, many domestic stoves utilize an automatic 120V igniter, which will ignite flowing gas whenever a flame is not present. While this may work well in a home environment, 120V is not always available aboard a boat. I can often defeat the igniter by simply turning off the 120V stove circuit breaker, which is separate from the DC solenoid-control circuit breaker. This arrangement also often

See us at

relies on an inverter to supply 120V to the igniter when the vessel is at anchor and a generator is not running, adding yet another layer of complexity. Unfortunately, a flame-failure device cannot be retrofitted. The only practical solution short of changing the stove to a compliant domestic model is to install an LPG detector beneath the stove that automatically turns off the gas solenoid if gas is detected. Still, this is a half-measure; one which lacks ABYC compliance. The next line of defense is an electronic gas detector that detects LPG where its sensor is installed. Some alarm annunciator units can work with multiple sensors, and they may also be interconnected with the gas solenoid, shutting it off if a leak is detected. Sensors should be installed below appliances, especially stoves, as well as in LPG lockers. The sensors are often delicate, so carefully select a suitable

Booth 933

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

LPGas169-ADFinal.indd 85

2017

85

8/25/17 5:20 PM

SYSTEMS: LP Gas Right—Remote solenoid-valve controls should be located adjacent to, but not above, LPG equipment, stoves, heaters, and barbecues. If a fire occurs at the appliance, the user should not have to move closer to it to shut off the gas supply. Far right—LPG-leak sensors should be located beneath appliances and inside LPG lockers. Most sensors are delicate, making a toe kick installation like this a poor choice. Sensors should also be readily accessible for service without disassembling or removing appliances.

location; toe kicks, for instance, are unsuitable. Monthly tests are easy with the gas from a butane lighter. Simply hold the lighter adjacent to the sensor and press the trigger without lighting the flame. Ensure that sensors can be easily accessed for testing and replacement, ideally without the need for tools or disassembly of appliances or joinerwork.

While inherent and unavoidable risks are associated with LPG, as a professional it is up to you to ensure that your customers’ onboard systems are installed and maintained to offer the greatest possible safety. Also, make sure owners fully understand how these systems work, and how to carry out regular leak tests.

See us at

About the Author: For many years a fullservice yard manager, Steve now works with boat builders and owners and others in the industry as Steve D’Antonio Marine Consulting. He is an ABYC-certified Master Technician, and sits on that organization’s Engine and Transmission and Hull and Piping Project Technical Committees. He’s also the technical editor of Professional BoatBuilder.

Booth 826

86 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

LPGas169-ADFinal.indd 86

8/25/17 5:20 PM

USSuperyacht-169.indd 87

8/24/17 3:14 PM

MATERIALS

GREEN WATCHING Applying a comparative life cycle analysis to student-built wooden powerboats at The Landing School revealed that using local materials can lower costs, increase performance, and reduce the boat’s carbon footprint. The school is now refining the carbon calculation tool for boats of other materials. Text by Richard J. Schuhmann Graphics courtesy The Landing School

Above—Landing School students wave to a schooner from the Arundel 19 (5.8m) they built after analyzing carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions associated with the school’s boatbuilding program. Choosing materials with a lower carbon footprint included wood sourced from local mills.

A

t The Landing School in Arundel, Maine, we recently completed a greenhouse-gas life cycle assessment of the materials we use in building wooden boats, which led to the design and construction of a net negativecarbon-footprint boat. But, as things often do, this adventure began as the result of a financial analysis, so let’s begin at the beginning. In 1986–87 I was a student at The Landing School, where I built two boats:

a 17' (5.2m) Swampscott sailing dory and a 19' (5.8m) Buzzards Bay sloop. Both boats featured primarily local New England woods for the keel, planks, knees, and thwarts, with Sitka spruce used for spars, and Honduras or Philippine mahogany reserved for highlighting the transom, sheerstrake, and coaming. In September 2014, when I returned to the school as its president, the wooden boat building students were

88 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

CarbonFootprint169-ADFinal2.indd 88

8/28/17 8:59 AM

lofting a newly designed 17' lapstrake runabout. The Landing School 17, or LS-17, featured a developable bottom planked with 6mm okoume plywood and cold-molded Alaska yellow cedar; laminated Douglas-fir keel, stem, and chine logs; 9mm okoume plywood topside planks; okoume plywood interior structural components; and sapele for the transom, coaming, console, and seats. After I had gotten my sea legs in my new position, I had a look at the bill of materials for the LS-17 and had two shocks. First, I couldn’t believe the cost of modern boatbuilding materials; these were gourmet products at gourmet prices. Second, I couldn’t believe that in the great state of Maine, surrounded by lumber operations, we were building a boat containing not even a toothpick of U.S.-grown wood or even wood from our neighboring Canadian provinces. We were creating an expensive boat, built exclusively with wood from far-off lands, while wearing T-shirts that said, “Build Simply”? Things sure had changed in the 30 years I had been away.

A student works on an Arundel 19 at The Landing School in Arundel, Maine.

Practicing Designership The financial cost and the origin of the materials got me thinking. Importing all this stuff from the west coast of Canada and West Africa was not only expensive, it probably required lots of fuel for the associated transport on ships, trains, and trucks, which meant a large carbon dioxide (CO2) footprint. While this type of consideration is rarely applied to boatbuilding, it is common in other manufacturing sectors. My boatbuilding and nonboatbuilding pasts allowed me to depart from simple design questions and to practice instead what I call designership.

To understand this concept, consider the distinction between simply being a citizen and practicing citizenship. Our prisons are filled with citizens. Embedded within citizenship are the exemplary characteristics of being a citizen. Citizenship requires awareness and civic engagement; it requires caring and acting. Similarly, designership calls for one to care not only about the present but also about the future. This requires an ethical analysis of one’s design, understanding the embedded virtues and consequences. Just because a design appears strong, useful, and beautiful doesn’t necessarily mean it is good. Consider a wellterraced and -irrigated farm of beautiful poppies in bloom that will be harvested to produce illicit drugs. Designership also demands consideration of the three dimensions of

Today’s boatbuilding students may need to comply with future regulations that require calculating, paying for, and even leveraging the carbon emissions produced in the manufacture of their boats.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

CarbonFootprint169-ADFinal2.indd 89

2017

89

8/30/17 12:23 PM

MaterialS: Counting Carbon sustainability—balancing profits, people, and the planet—in meeting the needs of the present while not compromising those of the future. An inexpensive comb finely sculpted from natural materials by an indigenous craftsman does not meet the criteria for designership if it is made from the iridescent shell of an endangered tortoise.

In my visits to boatyards, marinas, and manufacturing facilities I have been struck by how hard people are working, and in my conversations have come to understand that for many the “future” is often only one day away. I was afforded the opportunity in academia to consider future states with much more distant time

horizons; and in my courses I taught students about sense-making, scenario-planning, risk assessment, and failure modes and effects analysis— ways to explore or “predict” the future. We all predict the future to a certain extent, whether shopping for meals that we anticipate cooking, blocking off dates on the calendar for events we expect to attend, or providing an estimate for a customer on a job not yet begun. Rarely, if ever, are our predictions spot-on; sometimes they are not even close. Yet, like a rhumb line drawn on a chart, without predictions we are like sailors at sea lacking an intended direction. Looking toward the regulatory horizon and considering what changes might lie beyond our line of sight that could affect the boatbuilding industry in the next five to 10 years, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change demand increasing attention; they are prominent in recent news coverage, and are probably at the top of the list of areas where public policy is likely to shift substantially in the next decade. The pledge of emissions cuts by China and the United States at the 2015 Paris Conference of Parties (COP) suggested that regulations to address greenhouse gas emissions might be just over the horizon. That push has also been coming from industry. In 2006, the U.S. Industry Climate Action Partnership, for example, which included companies like Dow Chemical, DuPont, Johnson & Johnson, PG&E, Shell, BP, Alcoa, and GE, urged action “sooner than later,” recommending “the prompt enactment of national legislation in the United States to slow, stop, and reverse the growth of greenhouse gas emissions over the shortest period of time reasonably achievable.” The Climate Leadership Council, headed by former Secretaries of State George Schultz and James Baker, is currently pushing a “conservative climate solution” in the form of a carbon tax as “mounting evidence of climate change is growing too strong to ignore.” U.S. corporations, including ExxonMobil and Conoco

90 Professional BoatBuilder

CarbonFootprint169-ADFinal2.indd 90

8/28/17 8:59 AM

Phillips, had urged Washington to remain in the Paris Agreement, with 25 companies going so far as to take out a full-page advertisement in the New York Times. Given the current uncertainty in Washington, it is impossible to predict what might happen in the next four years; however, based upon past events, a limited number of scenarios could play out on a five- to 10-year horizon. Future regulations could take the form of a “cap and trade” approach, as they did with acid rain regulation. This would allow industries most capable of emissions reductions to do so first, selling their credits to others for whom change is more difficult. That could also allow credits to be purchased and taken off the market, over time reducing the loading of GHGs to the atmosphere. Regulations could also appear in the form of a carbon tax, where the cost of currently externalized carbon emissions from a product or service would instead be embedded within the product. In other words, inexpensive items currently shipped to the United States from China might not be so inexpensive in the future if the cost of shipping included the cost of the emissions from transportation fuel combustion. Climate change regulation could radically change the way we look at the types of materials we choose for product fabrication and where those materials are manufactured. “Normal” materials today might become tomorrow’s expensive “exotics.” All industries would do well to consider the potential impacts of regulations intended to reduce carbon emissions.

quantify the ability of wood to capture and collect CO2 from the atmosphere. I incorporated this sequestration by the wood in the boat into my calculations as a “carbon credit” to offset the fossil carbon footprint. This approach is not new and is known as a life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA currently supports many of

today’s manufacturing decisions and will be a critical component of manufacturing planning in the future. ISO 14040 (2006) provides a structured framework for performing LCA, and, in addition to considering climate change, includes assessment protocols for emissions to the air and discharges to water and soil. Simply put, at each

COMPACT DESIGN. COMPACT DESIGN. COMPACT DESIGN. COMPACT DESIGN. RELIABLE POWER. RELIABLE POWER. RELIABLE POWER. RELIABLE POWER. COMPACT

DESIGN. RELIABLE POWER.

High-performance diesel marine engines Resilient Monoblock design High-performance diesel marine engines Best power-to-weight ratio design Resilient Monoblock

High-performance dieselengines marine High-performance diesel marine SOLAS-approved for highest safety Best power-to-weight ratio

engines High-performance diesel marine engines

Various certificates and type approvals available Resilient Monoblock design Resilient Monoblock design SOLAS-approved for highest safety

Selected accessories, special kits and packages COMPACT DESIGN. Various certificates and type approvals available Best power-to-weight ratio Global service network BestSelected power-to-weight ratio accessories, special kits and packages SOLAS-approved for POWER. highest safety RELIABLE Global service network

Resilient Monoblock design Best power-to-weight ratio

SOLAS-approved for approvals highest available safety Various certificates and type

POWER RANGE: 55-215 kW Selected accessories, special High-performance marine 190-600 engines TORQUE diesel RANGE: Nm

SOLAS-approved for highest safety Various certificates and type approvals available Selected accessories, special kits and packages

Various certificates and type approvals available kits and packages Global service network

Resilient Monoblock design RANGE: Global service network DRY POWER WEIGHT: 240-340 kg55-215 Best power-to-weight ratio

Selected accessories,kW special kits and packages TORQUE RANGE: 190-600 Nm

SOLAS-approved for highest safety

Global service network

POWER RANGE: 55-215 kW

DRY and WEIGHT: 240-340 kg Various certificates type approvals available

TORQUE RANGE: 190-600 Nm

Selected accessories, special kits and packages Global service network POWER RANGE:

DRY WEIGHT: 240-340 kg

55-215 kW

TORQUE RANGE: 190-600 Nm

240-340 kg

POWER 55-215 kW DRY RANGE: WEIGHT:

POWER RANGE: 55-215 kW

TORQUE RANGE: 190-600 Nm DRY WEIGHT: 240-340 kg

TORQUE RANGE: 190-600 Nm DRY WEIGHT: 240-340 kg

Initial Analysis: The LS-17 So, in my spare time I began to quantify the materials footprint of the LS-17, tracking all CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion resulting from wood-harvesting and -processing, plywood manufacture, epoxy and paint manufacture, and the transportation of materials from their points of origin to Arundel, Maine. In addition, I attempted to better understand and

STEYR MOTORS North America, Inc 2310 S. Hwy 77 Ste. 110#338 | Lynn Haven, FL 32444 | USA www.steyr-motors.com | 1-850-784-7933 STEYR MOTORS North America, Inc 2310 S. Hwy 77 Ste. 110#338 | Lynn Haven, FL 32444 | USA www.steyr-motors.com | 1-850-784-7933

STEYR MOTORS North America, Inc www.steyr-motors.com | 1-850-784-7933 2310 S. Hwy 77 Ste. 110#338 | Lynn Haven, FL 32444 | USA

www.steyr-motors.com | 1-850-784-7933

CarbonFootprint169-ADFinal2.indd 91

STEYR MOTORS North America, Inc 2310 S. Hwy 77 Ste. 110#338 | Lynn Haven, FL 32444 | USA

October/November

2017

91 

8/28/17 8:59 AM

MATERIALS: Counting Carbon

The high cost of building the 17' runabout called The Landing School 17, or LS-17, spurred the school to conduct a cradle-to-commissioning assessment, taking into account the energy used in wood harvesting and processing, plywood manufacture, epoxy and paint manufacture, and transportation of materials.

stage of a product’s life cycle there are opportunities for material and energy inputs and outputs. The LCA I performed focused exclusively on fossil CO2 from the extraction, processing, and manufacturing of materials, and their transportation between each of these stages (highlighted in red in Figure 1). I call this a cradle-to-commissioning assessment, as I track the CO2 footprint only from the forest up until the boat leaves our facility ready for use.

The transportation elements were pretty straightforward; and that was good, because in this case transportation was one of the primary drivers of CO2 emissions. Other elements of wood harvesting and materials manufacturing were more challenging, as you can see below. In reviewing many hundreds of pages of technical reports, I couldn’t find much data, and what I found was often not specific to common marineconstruction materials. Although

uncertainties and assumptions remain, we now have a functional tool ready for testing that allows a simple and rapid evaluation of the common materials used in boatbuilding. Analyzing the footprint of harvesting and processing trees into lumber is the first step in the materials LCA and is commonly referred to as a cradle-togate assessment. The CO2 footprint for cradle-to-gate activities is directly reflected by the total board feet of wood used in construction and the degree of treatment that wood received. For example, planed, kiln-dried wood requires more energy to produce than rough green wood and has a larger CO2 footprint. It was somewhat challenging to find quantitative references for domestic wood. It was impossible to find specific data for harvesting and processing a wood like sapele in Gabon or Cameroon, so I applied factors for U.S. wood-harvesting. Plywood requires even more energy than kiln-dried wood to produce and its manufacture consists of nine basic processes: (1) log storage, (2) log debarking, (3) log heating, (4) peeling logs into veneers, (5) drying peeled veneers, (6) gluing veneers together, (7) pressing veneers in a hot press, (8) cutting the plywood sheets, and (9) other finishing processes (e.g., sanding).

The “gourmet” (imported) materials in the LS-17 included the 6mmokoume plywood and cold-molded Alaska yellow cedar bottom; laminated Douglas-fir keel, stem, and chine logs; 9mm-okoume-plywood topside planks; okoume-plywood interior structural components; and sapele transom, coaming, console, and seats.

92 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

CarbonFootprint169-ADFinal2.indd 92

8/30/17 1:09 PM

Figure 1. Stages of a Life Cycle Assessment Materials transportation

Materials exploration

Materials extraction

Materials Manufacturing processing

Recycle

Marine plywood is manufactured to higher specifications than common interior-grade plywood, and much of it is produced from tropical hardwood. For example, Joubert okoume marine plywood is manufactured in southwestern France using okoume wood from trees harvested in Gabon. While I could not locate any data

Use

Retirement

Remanufacture Reuse

regarding the manufacturing CO2 footprint for marine plywood (though we do know that okoume and sapele are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List and classified as vulnerable, having decreased by more than 20% in extent over the past three generations), I found the CO2 footprint of plywood manufactured in

the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Southeast, and again confronted with an uncertainty, made an assumption and applied those U.S. factors to overseas production. The manufacture of modern wooden boats usually involves applying epoxy resin. Epoxy requires energy to manufacture, contains petroleumbased compounds, and has an associated CO2 footprint. The manufacturing footprint of alternative bio-based “green” resins fabricated with corn and soy amendments and a reduced fraction of petroleum constituents is 40% less than the manufacturing footprint of an exclusively petroleum-based epoxy. In calculating the total footprint for these resins, however, you also must consider the distance from the point of manufacture to the point of use and the CO2 footprint of that transport. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has defined

H.B.I. Yacht Cranes

Hung-Bridge Industrial Co., Ltd

Tel: 886-910 218 881 Email: [email protected] WWW.HBIMARINE.COM

See us at

Booth 839

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

CarbonFootprint169-ADFinal2.indd 93

2017

93

8/28/17 8:59 AM

MATERIALS: Counting Carbon

Hull weight (lbs material incorporated into boat)

1,479 (671 kg)

Hull material weight (lbs material acquired)

1,917 (870 kg)

Materials manufacturing CO2 footprint (lbs)

1,071 (486 kg)

1,708 lbs (775 kg) of fossil CO2 in the process of harvesting, manufacturing, and transporting materials to our facility (equivalent to driving 2,207 miles/3,552 km at 25 mpg/10.6 km/l). Of special interest is what I will call the “carbon intensity” of the LS-17 materials: 0.9 lb CO2 released for each lb of material acquired.

Materials transportation CO2 footprint (lbs)

637 (289 kg)

Building Local: The Arundel 19

Figure 2. LS-17 Materials Carbon Footprint Hull Design Name

Landing School 17

Length

17' (5.2m)

Total fossil CO2 footprint (lbs)

1,708 (775 kg)

CO2 intensity (lb CO2/lb material acquired)

representative CO2 footprints of various freight transportation pathways; these values are averaged from different studies and are easy to use. As an example, Gougeon epoxy is manufactured in and distributed from Bay City, Michigan (total trip to Arundel, Maine, is 950 miles/1,529 km). Entropy Supersap, a bio-based resin, is manufactured in Barcelona, Spain, shipped to the Port of New York, then on to Hayward, California, where it is sold to retail buyers in the United States (total trip to Arundel, Maine, is 10,000 miles/16,093 km). Because of the differences in shipping distances, in the end the CO2 footprint of Entropy Supersap is actually only 12% less than Gougeon epoxy’s for a user in Arundel, Maine. The final fundamental ingredient in a wooden boat is paint. Paint manufacture is a straightforward process of transporting raw materials to a formulation facility, mixing, and packaging. A 2007 survey of the paint and coatings industry found that the industry is not a significant contributor to U.S. manufacturing-sector GHG emissions. Marine paint can be chemically formulated in a variety of ways, but I focused on oil-based marine paints produced with alkyd resin as the pigment binder. Because of the transportation footprint, the CO2 footprint from Epifanes, manufactured in Holland, is 46% greater than that of an equivalent Pettit paint, manufactured in New Jersey. Armed with fossil footprints from harvesting and processing trees,

0.9 (0.4 kg)

manufacturing plywood, resin, and paint, and then transporting all this stuff to Arundel, Maine, the only thing left was to calculate the fossil CO2 footprint. The results of the LS-17 analysis, shown in Figure 2, indicated that by purchasing expensive foreign wood, we had built boats that were beyond the price point of many buyers, sent our money overseas instead of enriching our local community, and released

So, I had learned that we could build a small lake boat exclusively with expensive foreign wood that had a significant environmental footprint and a huge bill of materials—seemingly the worst of all worlds. What would it take to move in the opposite direction? Working with designers Derek Wright, a former faculty member who transitioned to Michael Peters Yacht Design during the project, and Alan Gilbert, who had served as chief engineer at Sparkman & Stephens, we pulled together a design for a 19' (5.8m) boat that would be manufactured with exclusively local wood

The designers drew on Nigel Irens’s slender, low-displacement-to-length, semiplaning hulls, as well as on Joel White’s 15½' Jericho Bay lobster skiff, to develop the Arundel 19, a center-console lobster skiff with 5" deadrise, shown here.

94 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

CarbonFootprint169-ADFinal2.indd 94

8/28/17 8:59 AM

MSH-M Series Inverter/Charger

PT-20-10 Solar Charge Controller

RELIABLE POWER WHEREVER YOU ROAM Enjoy the freedom reliable power gives you to work – and play – where you would like. Magnum Energy’s line of easy-to-install and easy-to-use inverters, charge controllers, and inverter/chargers provide that freedom with options to suit most power needs, budgets, and configurations.

ME-AGS Auto Generator Start

INVERTER/CHARGERS

CHARGE CONTROLLERS

ACCESSORIES

600 - 4000 watt output available in a lightweight, compact size.

Get the most out of the available power with MPPT solar charge controllers. Mitigate weather and angle effects as much as possible while charging your batteries. 20 amp and 100 amp options are available with MPPT, and other models available from 6 to 40 amp output.

Wide range of accessories available for even more versatility, from remotes to battery monitoring, to automatic generator starters.

Pure sine wave and modified sine wave options are available.

15

‘02

Providing reliable Solutions For Remote Marine Power • Shore Power • Mobile Power for 15 years. ‘17

YEARS

Check out Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to see why people are saying #ILoveMyMagnum www.SensataPower.com POWER FOR WORK. POWER FOR LIFE.

Stop by the Magnum Energy booth at IBEX Boatbuilders Conference in Tampa, Florida | September 19-21, 2017, Booth #212 See us at

Sensata-169.indd 95

Booth 212

8/24/17 2:37 PM

MATERIALS: Counting Carbon

In building the Arundel 19s, The Landing School used local wood, deploying ¾" eastern white pine strip planks for the rounded bilge; cold-molded pine panels for the center console; white oak for its keel, floor timbers, and frames; and black locust for the knees and transom.

(i.e., eastern U.S. and southeastern Canada), and nonwood materials selected for performance and proximity to Arundel. Where the LS-17 had placed form before function, the function of this new design was defined up front to be coastal sportfishing. The minimum

length was defined as 18'–19' (5.5m– 5.8m) with a hull shape consistent with that developed through centuries of coastal New England evolution for performance, and a keen eye toward Nigel Irens’s slender, low displacement-to-length, semi-planing hulls (see Professional BoatBuilder No. 145,

page 100): in other words, an 18'-plus lobsterboat. Joel White’s 15½' (4.7m) Jericho Bay lobster skiff provided the fundamental inspiration for the evolution of the final design, a 19' centerconsole lobster skiff with 5° deadrise we named the Arundel 19. The Arundel 19 has a round bilge and is strip-planked with ¾" eastern white pine. It has a white oak keel, floor timbers, and frames, a laminatedfir stem, and black locust knees and transom. The center console was fabricated of cold-molded white pine panels. The dash and front seat are cherry and the rear seats northern cedar. The majority of the wood was sourced in Maine and Massachusetts from suppliers we still had in our old Rolodex; we assume some wood probably drifted across the border from our neighbors in eastern Canada. By substituting black locust for sapele, we doubled the material density and increased its strength (and rot resistance) severalfold. Though we had increased the hull length by 2' (610mm) over the LS-17, we reduced wood costs by 70%. But all the money we spent went into our local or regional economy. The strip planking was kerfed top and bottom and bonded with 3M 5200, and the interior and exterior of the hull coated in Gougeon epoxy, which was also used for all cold-

School employees pick up black locust from a Massachusetts mill yard. For the majority of the wood in the Arundel 19 The Landing School relied on suppliers in Maine and Massachusetts, some of same sources the school had used decades earlier—back when boatbuilding with local materials was the normal practice.

96 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

CarbonFootprint169-ADFinal2.indd 96

8/28/17 8:59 AM

Visirt ou

NEsW ite Web

VentilationSolutions-169.indd 97

8/24/17 2:36 PM

MATERIALS: Counting Carbon Figure 3. Arundel 19 Materials Carbon Footprint Hull Design Name

Arundel 19

Length

19' (5.8m)

Hull weight (lbs material incorporated into boat)

965 (438 kg)

Hull material weight (lbs material acquired)

1,269 (576 kg)

Materials manufacturing CO2 footprint (lbs)

408 (185 kg)

Materials transportation CO2 footprint (lbs)

21 (9.5 kg)

Total fossil CO2 footprint (lbs)

429 (195 kg)

CO2 intensity (lb CO2/lb material acquired)

0.3 (0.1 kg)

Figure 4. Comparison of Fossil Footprints: LS-17 and the Arundel 19 1,800

CO2 footprint (lbs)

1,600

Landing School 17

Arundel 19

1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 Materials manufacturing

molding and lamination. We chose Gougeon over Entropy because of our familiarity with its excellent performance characteristics, and after transportation was considered, the net CO2 footprints of the two products were quite similar. The interior of the hull was finished with an Interlux clear coat and the exterior with Pettit bottom and topside paints. The result of the Arundel 19 life cycle analysis in Figure 3 indicated that by purchasing local wood, we had built a 19' boat for significantly less than it cost to build the 17' LS-17, made it more affordable, invested our money in our own community instead of shipping it overseas, and reduced our fossil carbon emissions by 75%. We released only 429 lbs (195 kg) of fossil CO2 in the process of harvesting, manufacturing, and transporting

Materials transportation

Total fossil CO2

materials to our facility (equivalent to driving 554 miles/892 km at 25 mpg/ 10.6 km/l). The “carbon intensity” of the Arundel 19 material (0.3) was

also significantly less than that of the LS-17 (0.9). In the end, what began as routine bookkeeping and materials evaluation turned into an exercise in designership that has cut our materials costs, enriched our neighbors, allowed us to offer highly efficient boats to a broader economic spectrum, cut our fossil carbon emissions by 75%, and helped preserve vulnerable ecosystems (Figure 4).

The Interesting Thing About Building with Wood Trees produce wood and oxygen by using energy from sunlight (hv) to combine CO2 from the atmosphere with water. This reaction allows trees to act as atmospheric CO 2 scrubbers, and oxygen emission sources—they are the perfect machines. In a sustainable woodlot, where trees are harvested at a rate commensurate with their growth, these harvested trees represent CO2 “canisters” that can be stored if used in manufacturing (taking the carbon out of the atmospheric cycle) or released through combustion or microbial degradation, returning the carbon to the atmosphere. As long as we get our wood from a sustainably harvested woodlot and as long as we don’t burn the boat or let it rot, then we have bottled up a mass of atmospheric CO2 within the hull of that boat.

Paint and epoxy manufactured in the U.S. were chosen to minimize the carbon footprint associated with transporting materials over long distances. Those selected included Gougeon epoxy, Pettit paint for bottom and topsides, and Interlux clear coat for the hull interior.

98 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

CarbonFootprint169-ADFinal2.indd 98

8/28/17 8:59 AM

KNOW BETTER BUILD BETTER Join us at IBEX 2017 for Professional BoatBuilder’s Technical Seminars September 19-21, 2017 Tampa Convention Center, Tampa, Florida

Visit us at Booth #905

Power Catamarans

Common Electrical Mistakes Nigel Calder Our contributing editor will look at common electrical installation errors and poor practices. Alarmingly, Nigel found many of the examples on brand new boats at various boat shows!

The Future of Foiling in Powerboats Pete Melvin and Andrew Bloxom Learn modern foil configurations and enabling technologies for powerboats directly from some of the leading designers of sailing and powered foilers at Morrelli & Melvin.

Albert Nazarov Expert catamaran designer Albert Nazarov returns to us from Thailand with new boats and design experiences from his last six years of practice. Learn hull shape design, general parameter selection, architecture/layout, and lessons in structural design.

Designing Boats for a New Generation of Diesel Outboards Jeff Wasil, Mark Riechers, and Scott Lewitt The transition from inboard diesel to outboard diesel is already under way in some sectors. Learn the challenges associated with lightweight structures and heavy fuels, boat design considerations, and the workings of these new-generation outboards.

Other ProBoat Seminars Include:

Nuts, Bolts, and Fasteners Steve D’Antonio ProBoat’s technical editor will take you deep into the complex considerations around choosing fastener types, alloys and installation configurations, techniques and torqueing, and will provide you with the tools you need to make proper fastener selections.

Hand Layup Essentials, Repairing Infused Composites, Gelcoat Repair, Fixed Price Quotes, Shop Floor Testing, Transom Engineering, Small Boat Stability, Non-Destructive Testing, When Weight Matters, Expert Witness Training, Datasheets, Composites Manufacturing Flaws and Repair, Choosing the Best Laminate, Advances in Marine Coatings, and more.

Go to IBEXSHOW.COM for more information. See us at

ProBoat_IBEXSeminar-169-02.indd 99

Booth 905

8/24/17 2:28 PM

MATERIALS: Counting Carbon Figure 5. Net Footprints: LS-17 and the Arundel 19 2,500 Landing School 17

CO2 footprint (lbs)

2,000

Arundel 19

1,500 1,000 500 0 –500

Net CO2 footprint Total fossil CO2 footprint

CO2 sequestered by wood

–1,000

There is no specific common chemical composition for wood, and no common composition for wood of specific tree species; wood composition can vary even by tree in common species. Some general assumptions, however, can be made on the general chemical makeup of trees. Wood is primarily composed of ~73% cellulose (C6H10O5) and ~27% lignin (C10H12O3). At this ratio, 1 lb of wood can remove as much as 1.8 lbs of CO2 from the atmosphere. When this effect is incorporated into the LCA, a very interesting thing happens—the CO2 footprint becomes negative (Figure 5). In other words, more CO2 was sequestered within the wood of each

Fiberglass Footprint: Preliminary Numbers

I

n June 2017 The Landing School completed construction of a 21' (6.4m) center-console fiberglass powerboat. The preliminary assessment of the carbon footprint of this boat’s construction included materials incorporated within the hull as well as consumables involved in its vacuum infusion. While the final tally is not yet complete, the preliminary numbers appear in the table. Because we built the boat with all synthetic composite materials, there is no carbon sequestration within the hull to offset the net footprint. Of special note is the carbon intensity of this boat (3.9)—more than 10 times that of the Arundel 19. —Richard J. Schuhmann

Fiberglass LS-21 Materials Carbon Footprint Hull Design Name Length Hull material weight (lbs material acquired) Composite consumables weight (lbs)

LS-21 21' (6.4m) 2,077 (942 kg) 149 (68 kg)

Materials manufacturing CO2 footprint (lbs)

7,876 (3,572 kg)

Materials transportation CO2 footprint (lbs)

199 (90 kg)

Composite consumables CO2 footprint (lbs)

825 (374 kg)

Total fossil CO2 footprint (lbs) CO2 sequestered by wood (lbs) Net CO2 footprint (lbs) CO2 intensity (lbs CO2/lb material acquired)

8,076 (3,663 kg) 0 8,076 (3,663 kg) 3.9 (1.8 kg)

As part of its efforts to develop a software tool that the industry can use to calculate carbon footprints, The Landing School conducted a preliminary assessment of a 21' (6.4m) fiberglass powerboat (left), which included consumables used in its vacuum infusion (right).

100 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

CarbonFootprint169-ADFinal2.indd 100

8/28/17 8:59 AM

Figure 6: Net Materials Carbon Footprint Hull Design Name

Landing School 17

Arundel 19

17' (5.2m)

19' (5.8m)

Hull weight (lbs material incorporated into boat)

1,479 (671 kg)

965 (438 kg)

Hull material weight (lbs material acquired)

1,917 (870 kg)

1,269 (576 kg)

Materials manufacturing CO2 footprint (lbs)

1,071 (486 kg)

408 (185 kg)

Materials transportation CO2 footprint (lbs)

637 (289 kg)

21 (9.5 kg)

Total fossil CO2 footprint (lbs)

1,708 (775 kg)

429 (195 kg)

CO2 sequestered by wood (lbs)

2,149 (975 kg)

1,410 (640 kg)

Net CO2 footprint (lbs)

–441 (–200 kg)

–981 (–445 kg)

0.9 (0.4 kg)

0.3 (0.1 kg)

Length

CO2 intensity (lb CO2/lb material acquired)

boat than was released in fossil emissions for the stages of the LCA that were investigated. We had captured 2,149 lbs (975 kg) of CO 2 in the wood we used to build the LS-17, resulting in a net fossil CO2 footprint

of –441 lbs (–200 kg), and 1,410 lbs (640 kg) of CO2 in the wood we used to build the Arundel 19, resulting in a net fossil CO2 footprint of –981 lbs/ –445 kg (Figure 6). This idea of leveraging carbon-

See us at

sequestering materials for construction is not unique to boatbuilding, and, in fact, multistory urban buildings are now being built using engineered wood products instead of concrete for just this reason.

Booth 1353

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

CarbonFootprint169-ADFinal2.indd 101

2017

101

8/28/17 8:59 AM

MATERIALS: Counting Carbon Next Steps: Going Public In fall 2016, The Landing School received a significant one-year grant from 11th Hour Racing (a program of The Schmidt Family Foundation) to review and refine our life cycle analysis and develop a software tool that the industry could use. We are currently triple-checking our calculations and expanding and testing the tool’s ability to include the assessment of materials commonly used in composite and metal boat construction (see sidebar, page 100, for a preliminary assessment of a 21'/6.4m fiberglass powerboat). In spring 2017 The Landing School and Maine Maritime Academy, in Castine, received generous financial support through the Maine Economic Improvement Funds Small College Initiative (MEIF SCI) to build a 21' proof-ofconcept low-impact commercial trimaran, using the life cycle analysis tool for materials selection.

During the upcoming school year, students will build a 21' version of this low-impact commercial trimaran, designed as a fuel-efficient lobsterboat.

While we recognize the many differences between a school and a commercial boatbuilding operation, we think we are onto something here. This experience has certainly changed the way we look at the world and build boats. The Landing School is currently beta testing our life cycle analysis tool with several partner designers and production builders, and we look forward to offering it to the marine community in the near future.

See us at

About the Author: Dr. Richard J. Schuhmann, president of The Landing School of Boat Building and Design in Arundel, Maine, is a 1987 graduate of the school, which offers yacht design, wooden boat building, composite boat building, and marine systems curricula beneath one roof. Prior to joining The Landing School in 2014, Schuhmann taught engineering and supervised research at Penn State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Booth 911

102 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

CarbonFootprint169-ADFinal2.indd 102

8/28/17 8:59 AM

at

Don’t Get Stranded With A Dead Battery A dead battery is one of the most common reasons for a tow

m-LVD Low Voltage Disconnect The Blue Sea Systems 7635 m-LVD senses low battery voltage and automatically disconnects non-essential devices to save power for starting or to preserve battery life. The m-LVD is ideal for any single battery boat or vehicle that wants to avoid getting stranded with a dead battery.

ATD Automatic Timer Disconnect The Blue Sea Systems 7615 Adjustable time or voltage based battery disconnect automatically shuts off devices to preserve battery power. Can be configured to be used as one of the following battery saving products

New for 2017!

4 BATTERY SAVING PRODUCTS IN 1!

b Timer Disconnect b Low Voltage Disconnect b Automatic Charging Relay b Solenoid

Bright, waterproof, daylight readable OLED meters. Mini OLED Meters The M2 OLED Digital Monitors measure essential electrical system parameters with adjustable alarms and an auto-dimming display in a compact enclosure. The gasket creates a waterproof seal on the unit face. *Mounts in a common 1-1/8” hole

M2 OLED METERS The M2 OLED Digital Monitors measure essential electrical system parameters with adjustable alarms and an auto-dimming display in a compact enclosure. The gasket creates a waterproof seal on the unit face. Meters available for monitoring Battery State-of-Charge, DC Voltmeter, DC Multimeter, AC Ammeter, AC Voltmeter, AC Multimeter, Tank Monitor & Temperature Monitor.

ARE YOU A PRO? WE WANT TO WORK WITH YOU! Fisheries Supply is one of the largest Blue Sea Systems distributors in the United States. We offer competitive pro pricing for qualified customers, same day shipping anywhere and outstanding, individualized customer service.

Apply today at fisheriessupply.com/pro

FisheriesSupply-169_FULLPAGE.indd 103

8/24/17 3:16 PM

DESIGN BRIEF

W17: Can Simple Hull Shapes Be Supported by Science? When creating the hulls of a small trimaran, naval architect Mike Waters drew on his extensive experience designing large ships and on a lifelong desire to combine efficient performance with simplicity of form and construction. Text and graphics by Mike Waters (except where noted)

I

have always been fascinated by things that work really well yet are simple in concept or execution. This immediately created an appreciation of hard-chine boats, and my first design, now 65 years ago, was like that. Even before that, the first boat I built had a bottom formed from a flat sheet with a long, gently curved cut in the center from the stern. I thought it was pure magic the way it took an attractive bottom shape by simply pulling the rear end together and closing the V at the transom, adding both rise of floor and a gentle rocker at the same time. I loved to cut out paper

Figure 1. Early Sketch of a Simple Shape

reproductions to demo this to my young schoolmates (see Figure 1). Fast-forward 35 years, when I was immediately drawn to the work of Jim Brown, Norm Cross, Lock Crowther, and Dick Newick, as pioneers in designing more efficient trimarans. One design in particular stirred the early juices of my youth, as it was called SIB for “Simple Is Beautiful.” Since then, I have continued to dabble with new designs based on the SIB principle, with just two factors overriding simplicity: efficiency to achieve design objectives and symmetry of design…as I am still reluctant to compromise efficiency for ultimate simplicity. Faced with the central challenge for all designers—where and how to compromise—my priorities lead to the question, “Can really simple, easy-tobuild shapes also yield high efficiency?” I recently had a chance to answer that while developing hull shapes for the W17, a 17' (5.2m) trimaran. (For more on Waters’s background and how the W17 came to be, see the sidebar on page 108.) I started by defining performance and efficiency as applicable in this case. This led to studying the hullform and how this might affect the creation of

104 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

DesignBriefW17-ADFinal.indd 104

8/25/17 2:51 PM

GEOFF KERR

Left—The development of the W17, a 17' (5.2m) trimaran, was the author’s attempt to prove that simple shapes could also be efficient using proven hydrodynamics. W17’s performance on the water (shown here on Lake Champlain) demonstrated that achieving both did not have to compromise either. Above—Two options for the sail plan’s rotating wing mast: a basic 167-sq-ft cruising rig (shown in the dotted lines) with 24' (7.3m) mast made of glass-sheathed wood and plywood, and a carbon wing mast for a 200-sq-ft race rig.

waves that can, in turn, create more spray, which will make the boat wetter to sail. Frictional resistance needed to be assessed also, but placed in proper perspective with wavemaking, because lowering one can raise the other. Then there are side effects such as resistance (or not) to leeway that feeds into overall performance for a sailboat; and

also the effect of pitching that not only adds to resistance through the water but also noticeably affects the efficiency of the sails by creating erratic airflow high up. There are certainly more variables to consider, but these four were the main measures of performance and efficiency I examined when designing the W17.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

DesignBriefW17-ADFinal.indd 105

2017

105

8/25/17 2:51 PM

DESIGN BRIEF: W17 Trimaran ut before diving into the detail, let’s revisit some important background for all ship designers. In the 1850s, when civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel was preparing to be the first to design and build iron steamships to cross the Atlantic, he asked an engineer working for him to look into any potential stability issues. That engineer, William Froude, made some fine wood models for performance testing, but realized he needed a reliable way to upscale resistance figures for full-size ships. So he convinced the British Admiralty that a long test tank was needed. This was approved, and public money built the first-ever ship test tank near his home in county Devon, United Kingdom. During the 1860s, Froude soon realized that hull resistance was split into two main factors that varied quite independently of each other, and that their “upscaling” from model to a large ship must be separately assessed and calculated. More experiments followed; and Froude discovered that, while the frictional part varied with surface area, surface roughness, and speed, the wave-resistance component varied close to the length of the wave the boat or ship created. A controlled series of tests followed and were so meticulously executed that the factors and formulas produced are still valid today, despite all the refined testing since. Froude’s tests for friction produced tables of data showing factors for roughness of different surfaces, as well as showing that longer surfaces (or ships) showed a slight overall reduction (up to ~10%) relative to shorter ones.

Figure 2. Approx. Ratio of Resistance Types to Speed/Length Ratio Multihulls 100

% Total Resistance

B

Wind + resistance

80 Residuary (wave) resistance 60

L/B = 15

L/B = 5 40

L/B = 10

20 Wetted surface (frictional) resistance 0 0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

3.0

Speed/Length

0.5

4.0

Ratio

Shading shows the approximate relationship when considering hull(s) of L/B = 10. Hulls that are slimmer (L/B = 15) or broader (L/B = 5) will move the dividing line, as wave-related resistance is even more predominant on broader hulls.

Further, for wavemaking resistance, his tests proved a simple, basic relationship now called a Froude Number (Fn). The initial formula, simply Fn = V/L0.5, with V in knots and L in feet, has since been known as the Speed/ Length ratio. Froude also noted that wave resistance was most dominant when his Fn equaled 1.34, which equated to a wave equal to the length of the boat, as shown in the photo below. (Because some countries use metric units, the formula now exists in a non-dimensional form, but for this article, the original ratio will be used and simply called the SLR.) So with that perspective from the past, let’s look at the graphic in

Figure 2. This is particularly of interest for slender hulls like multihulls, because it combines the relative distribution of frictional and wavemaking resistance, as discovered by Froude, with the modifying effect of the length-to-beam (L/B) ratio. While such distribution will vary somewhat with different hullforms, the information is close enough to see what’s typically happening as the SLR varies, and is therefore valuable in assessing the relative importance of one resistance to another for specific cases. (Note that “wind + resistance” is assumed in this case, to include resistance of appendages, such as foils, rudders, etc.)

This photo shows a monohull at near maximum speed with the wave almost equal to the length of the boat, the state at which wave resistance is most dominant (Fn 1.34).

106 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

DesignBriefW17-ADFinal-rev01.indd 106

8/30/17 1:15 PM

The main hull of the W17 has a L/B ratio of 9.5, so the L/B = 10 curve is very close. The relative speeds in knots for the SLR given, as they apply to the W17, will therefore be: SLR 0.5 SLR 1.0 SLR 1.5 SLR 2.0 SLR 3.0 SLR 4.0

Speed = 2 k Speed = 4.1 k Speed = 6.15 k Speed = 8.2 k Speed = 12.3 k Speed = 16.4 k

monohull cannot avoid them, as beam is required for stability. This results in the typical banana-shaped buttock lines (a lengthwise off-center slice down through the boat) that all monohulls have. Now, throughout this review, it’s important to remember that boats move forward through the water and

to consider how they displace water in their way. In general, we do not want the hull to move sideways. Even heeling over is generally negative, although this can be a way to actually lower resistance on some boats (more on this later). So, considering this forward motion, what happens in the area of these typical “banana” buttocks?

So what can we learn from these curves that might help guide our design? At 2 k, about 70% of the resistance is frictional and related mainly to the wetted surface. (This might remind you to pull out the daggerboard when going mostly downwind in light air.) At 4 k, nearly 40% is wavemaking, so form is starting to be a serious factor. At 6 k, about 55% of the resistance is wavemaking, and at 8 k (a common speed for this boat), wavemaking peaks at about two-thirds the total. As the speed increases to 12.3 k, the wavemaking is still more than 50%; and at 16 k, which would be a maximum for a W17 of designed weight, the wavemaking component is now about equal to the frictional resistance, which is rising again at the higher speeds. From this, it is clear that from 5 kts to 16 kts, wakemaking resistance will have the upper hand compared to skin friction and therefore justifies priority attention during the design under consideration.

S

o let’s consider how form can have an effect on wavemaking. First of all, it’s important to appreciate that wavemaking occurs at the surface, at the interface between water and air. As water is effectively incompressible, underwater waves cannot exist in the same way, and this is why only friction, form, and appendage resistance affect submarines. So what will cause surface waves and added resistance? For one thing, a typical rounded See us at

Booth 1512

October/November

DesignBriefW17-ADFinal.indd 107

2017

107 

8/25/17 2:51 PM

DESIGN BRIEF: W17 Trimaran Figure 3. “Banana” Buttock’s Effect on Surface Water

Typical buttock line

Water sucked up and dragged along

Figure 3 shows that the forward slope pushes water ahead of it as well as up and sideways. At the stern, the lifting buttock line will start to suck the water up and the boat down, further adding to drag and resistance—the principal reasons a displacement monohull struggles to exceed a SLR of 1.4. (See again that photo of a boat-form wave on page 106). We must also consider the waves caused by the wind, and how they might react to the hull shape that is being driven through them. As boats are a mix of shapes, let’s consider them in their simplest form and compare their attributes relative

Water flow

Water pushed forward, up, and out

to waves and resistance (Figure 4). All three shapes shown here will support the same weight or static buoyancy. The V shape is often applied to bow sections to cushion the ride, but there are issues, especially for a sailboat. For one thing, its wetted surface is the highest in relation to its volume, almost 19% more when compared to the curved hull section. The other characteristic that concerns me is that it tends to “pump.” By this I mean that as it rides up and down, it also forces surface water out horizontally. That’s a lot of work and energy being expended and in a direction that does nothing to help forward motion. Additionally,

hull buoyancy increases quickly with immersion, which aggravates pitching significantly, launching the bow in the air until it loses support and then allowing it to plunge back down with little initial resistance. So this is not one of my favorite “simple surfaces,” despite being perhaps the best for directional stability. The semicircle clearly has the least wetted surface in relation to volume, so it offers a clear benefit for a SLR of less than 1. While that speed range may be perfect for some manually propelled craft, a sailing multihull with efficiency perks like a rotating wing mast will be far less in that range. The section itself offers virtually zero form resistance against roll and little form stability, so it would have to be distorted to a more U shape to succeed in that way. This compromises the surface area, but there’s little option for a boat that relies significantly on hullform for stability, as do most monohulls. Multihulls are different though, as their stability comes from multiple buoyant hulls. Either way, the rounded bilge offers little

Journey to the W17 he W17 is a return to small boats for Mike Waters, who worked as a naval architect of big ships for more than four decades. During those years, he often tank-tested ship models to assess the performance of the full-size vessel. When asked to explain the similarity between designing a 600' (183m) ship and a 17' (5.2m) dinghy, Waters said that the models tested for both were typically in the 12'–20' (3.7m–6m) range, and that there are known and calculable relationships between the model and the finished hull, whatever its size. Waters has been building, sailing, and racing small boats since he was 12. He sold his first design at 17, followed by a 14' (4.3m) double-chine boat he built for racing and cruising in his native England. He also entered the famous onetime Coronation Dinghy Race around the Isle of Wight (about 70 miles), meeting with Ian Proctor, John Westell, and Uffa Fox, to check out their winning boats. One was Westell’s Coronet, which later inspired the 505. To Waters,

GEOFF KERR

T

Mike Waters, a big-ship naval architect, designed his first boat at 17, and at 19 he designed a new International Moth, which he sold through his small boatbuilding company, Singlehanded Products.

who was studying naval architecture at Southampton at the time, Coronet’s extended gunwale flare made a lot of sense. “Extra beam for crew leverage but sailing on a relatively narrow waterline,” he recalled. So that year, at age 19, he created a new design of International Moth, also with an extended flare, and formed a small boatbuilding company,

108 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

DesignBriefW17-ADFinal.indd 108

8/25/17 2:51 PM

Datum waterline

Underwater surface area Semicircle 1.00 Veed + 18.6% Box* + 13.7% Form

Depth with same W/L beam 1.00 + 57% – 21%

* Box of same depth as semicircle

gives 21% less beam.

resistance to lateral motion (leeway), and if the sides also have much flare, some of the same negative pumping as in the V-hull above will take place. Finally, the rectangular hull section. Compared to the fine wineglass sections of yachts, this can look really ghastly at first glance, but allow me to

share some of its hidden beauty and surprising efficiency. First of all, boats need to travel most easily in a fore-and-aft direction. Think of this section as you might the stealth section of a 500-mph aircraft, as it also looks ungainly in section but streamlined in profile. (In fact, its speed relative to the difference in

density of air and water is not so far apart.) The beauty of this section lies in the manner it does not disturb the critical water-surface interface, where waves are formed. The vertical sides virtually eliminate expenditure of energy on sideways pumping as the hull moves up and down relative to the water or, conversely, as the up-anddown waves move past the hull. Compared to the other sections, it also supports its displacement farther below the waterline, where it is increasingly harder for waves to form. The vertical-sided bow also limits the exaggeration of pitching, as buoyancy increases more slowly with immersion than it does in a V or flared bow. This is more akin to the Hazelett mooring buoy, a small-diameter vertical tube or spar buoy of significant depth that is far less affected by passing waves than a conventional mooring ball (see “On the Rode,” in Professional BoatBuilder No. 111). If the shape permits a fine bow to be matched with a fuller stern, this asymmetry further serves to control pitching. In the case of a boat that heels,

Singlehanded Products, to The cockpit (below) and main hull (right) under construction. Waters designed the W17 to combine advanced sailing with build his new Flying Moth, easy construction and maneuverability; special features and he received a dozen include a pivoting daggerboard and hinged akas that bring orders at the Earls Court the amas over the main hull for trailer transport. Boat Show. At the same time, he raced his own Moth two or three times a week, crewed for a Hornet champion, and also cruised the coastal waters of the Solent between Weymouth and Gosport in the locally popular 14' Lymington Scow. He moved to Canada to design ships at an expanding Quebec shipyard in the ’60s to the ’80s, but always owned and sailed small boats, and in 1976 attended the first World he needed a boat. After owning three previous trimarans, he Multihull Symposium, in Toronto. There he met veteran could not find the exact boat he wanted for his retirement. designers like Lock Crowther, Jim Brown, Dick Newick, Waters said that all his life he has looked for ways to achieve and Norman Cross, and became a trimaran enthusiast. “high efficiency with simplicity,” and saw this as an opporAs so often happens, Waters designed the W17 because tunity to take on that challenge. According to a Multihulls

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

DesignBriefW17-ADFinal.indd 109

2017

GEOFF KERR

Figure 4. Comparison of Hull Shapes

109

8/25/17 2:51 PM

DESIGN BRIEF: W17 Trimaran there is also more potential to lower the wetted surface with a flat bottom than with other shapes, so that at lower speeds, the potential negative effect of

a higher wetted surface can be reduced by heeling and trimming forward. This is how simply shaped scows and flat sharpies can perform

Figure 5. Flat Scow Heeled Slightly

Leeward side

Figure 6. Sketch of W17 Central Hull Sides as vertical as practical As much volume as low as practical

Knuckle to resist side slip

Deep forefoot Keel line knuckle as straight as practical with minimum rocker Waterline as straight as practical

Magazine article by Waters published in March 2016, other goals for the boat included: simple to maintain; easy to handle ashore; some rough-water capability; onboard storage; comfort; fully draining cockpit; feeling of security; relatively dry; sail and handle well; go to windward better than most; carry a rotating wing mast; not be expensive to build (it’s now available as a kit); and above all, look really good. According to a review, “The W17 Trimaran,” by Geoff Kerr, in our sister publication, WoodenBoat (January/February 2017, No. 254), the final design successfully solves these apparent contradictions: “easy construction with sophisticated engineering, high speed with a boxy hull, and easy handling with high-tech sailing.” Some of its unique features include a pivoting daggerboard that can be angled to reduce draft by 12" (30.5cm) in shallow waters, and hinged akas that bring in the amas over the main hull, folding the boat

remarkably well, and the narrower they are, the better. Even a scow with a round bilge can show a significant improvement in waterline shape when heeled a little, as seen in Figure 5. In fact, it would benefit all sailors to look at the waterlines of their own boats when heeled and trimmed, as they might discover much more efficient shapes are then available to them. Nearly all lines, such as buttock, chine, and waterlines, are much straighter with this “box” form, and once the knuckle is below that critical water-to-air interface, the straighter the line, the less form resistance is created. Here is a sketch of the W17 central hull (Figure 6), and by keeping the forefoot as low as practical, all the above positive advantages can be enjoyed. And there’s yet another advantage. This shape has the highest resistance to side slip (leeway), which means a smaller board is required, further reducing drag. Another interesting aspect is this: From the graphic of the three sectional forms (Figure 4), you will note that the box shape has 13.7% more wetted surface than the round bilge, indicating that the box gives more resistance when the speed is very low (or very high). But with the same draft, the beam of the box will be 21% less, so it causes far less surface disturbance and

to a size narrow enough (7'3"/2.2m) to be easily transported on a flatbed trailer. There are two options for the rotating wing mast, both of his design: A 24' (7.3m) glass-sheathed wood and plywood design for the basic cruising sail plan of 167 sq ft; and for the 200-sq-ft race rig, a carbon wing mast that Waters built on his front porch, demonstrating to potential home builders that advanced materials don’t necessarily require special facilities if selected and employed correctly. Interestingly, in April 2017, Classic & Vintage Racing Dinghy Association (CVRDA.org) reported finding “a rare, just discovered Moth-like dinghy that we all fell in love with, but no one can identify.” It turned out to be one of the first Flying Moths Waters had built 62 years ago in plywood, which has now been restored and is sailing again. —Melissa Wood, associate editor

110 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

DesignBriefW17-ADFinal.indd 110

8/25/17 2:52 PM

Need Wood? We’ve got it covered ✓ Largest Festool distributor in the U.S. ✓ Proud supplier of Teakdecking Systems ✓ Largest teak dealer in the Southeast U.S. ✓ Largest variety of hardware in stock in South Florida

✓

✓ In-house fabrication shop that can build to your specifications

✓ Knowledgeable staff with over 50 years experience in the yachting industry

✓ Boat accounts for captains

3100 SW 3rd Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315 • 954-763-4263 • Toll Free 800-771-8325

www.seafarermarine.com Seafarer-165-01.indd 111

8/24/17 2:32 PM

DESIGN BRIEF: W17 Trimaran This image of the W17 clearly shows that the critical surface interface suffers minimal horizontal “pumping.” The hull slices the water so cleanly that it remains translucent enough to see the keel 7.9" (200mm) below, even at 9–10 knots.

wave. Now further consider this: the fine box section clearly offers less side slip than a rounded shape, and if one can sail to windward with 4° to 5° less leeway, one can totally make up for the difference in speed theoretically offered by the round hull. Admittedly, this is only when going to windward, but as we may spend 50% of our time in that mode, it’s certainly worth

factoring in to our overall review of performance. Tests have shown that by using the proposed hullforms, leeway is indeed significantly reduced, sometimes to zero. Before leaving the main hull, a word or two about keel rocker. Experience has shown that less rocker typically contributes to more speed, although one generally has to balance that with

the need for some rocker to aid maneuverability. But on a small hull like the W17, the stern run can be relatively flat, as the crew are mobile and can readily move aft to keep the bows up. But on a larger, heavier boat, crew weight will have less effect, so the ability to keep things under control with the bows up needs to be designed in. One way to do that is to build in a slight underwater bustle toward the stern. Then, when going too fast down a wave or trying to handle an overcanvased situation, this bustle will create a slight suction at speed, helping to slow a boat a little as well as lift the bow. I’ve long suspected that noted trimaran designer Ian Farrier knows this well, and although his boats are not hard-chined, they are still fairly flat at the stern. This bustle in profile not only adds more buoyancy under the cockpit for trimarans more than 20' but also offers the safety aspect I mentioned above.

Access solutions. Online.

Our website has everything you need to specify and use our panel mounting systems. You’ll find specifications, installation videos, as well as access to CAD drawings and world-class support. Visit us at METSTRADE 2017, Stand 02.224

www.fastmount.com

Setting the standard for panel mounting See us at

Booth 913

See us at

Booth 533

112 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

DesignBriefW17-ADFinal.indd 112

8/25/17 2:52 PM

A

s the W17 is a trimaran, there’s another hull to think about, the so-called ama, or outrigger. Its shape needs to be very different from the main hull. While the nearly vertical, straight sides and straight longitudinal lines are just as important, these hulls need to also work when pushed to the deck to leeward, as well as fly airborne just above the waves on the windward side. To achieve this mixed role for the W17, I developed a triform hull shape—a bottom with three different angles, each designed to suit a purpose. At the bow, the bottom panel all but disappears, but what remains is twisted toward the vertical, so the entry is fine and low. Amidships, the bottom of the ama frequently contacts wave tops on the weather side, so when the boat is sailing inclined at 15°–20°, the bottom is designed to a 60°–70° V to silently slice through them, without disturbing or slapping the crests and creating

Each of the three angles of the outriggers’ hulls (far left) serves a different purpose, allowing for greater efficiency when pushed to the deck to leeward as well as when flying airborne on the windward side (inset).

annoying spray. At the stern, the bottom is much reduced in width and further twisted to be flat yet tapered down

to as close to a fishtail as practical for minimal resistance when submerged. This twist is accomplished by a slight keel rocker in conjunction with an outboard chine that’s dead straight (see photo on page 105) and typically working totally under the water. The resulting ama hull is slightly asymmetric with the inside nearly straight.

See us at IBEX Booth 1547

See us at

Booth 1547

See us at

Booth 1047

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

DesignBriefW17-ADFinal-rev01.indd 113

2017

113

8/29/17 3:14 PM

DESIGN BRIEF: W17 Trimaran This raises an interesting question. For many years now, catamarans, like the Hobie 14 and 16, have also had asymmetrical hulls, but these have been cambered in the opposite direction to the ama of the W17. In Figure 7, the lower image shows the asymmetrical hull of an early Hobie cat, and the sketch above it shows how it might relate to an airplane wing to create lift. The only way the Hobie cat can create the needed lift to windward to oppose leeway is to actually have some leeway in the first place! This means that its efficiency is very limited and will depend on maintaining good speed, so the angle of attack (the leeway) can be minimized. Now compare that to the reverse direction taken by the asymmetrical amas of the W17 (Figure 8). In this case, the forward motion will impose a positive pressure on the curved leeward side and literally push the boat to

Figure 7. Creating Lift: An Early Hobie Cat Lift

Airplane wing section (from the side)

Plane direction and attack angle to create lift wing

Hobie 16 ama (from above)

Lift Leeway

ama

Boat direction to “create” lift

windward. This is further assisted by slightly toeing-in the two amas so this force to windward is raised and maintained. To give a simple example of this, imagine picking up the rear of

any regular kayak so the deck is against your side. Now move the bow forward through the water, and you’ll see the bow turn away from the rockered keel. This design has yet another purpose

See us at

Booth 1248

114 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

DesignBriefW17-ADFinal.indd 114

8/25/17 2:52 PM

Figure 8. The W17 Ama Opposing Leeway W17 ama (from above)

Boat direction

W17 Side force

without leeway

Low pressure and minimal resistance on inside flat face due to boat direction

and advantage. The flow between the main hull and an ama is now far less compressed into a venturi, thus permitting the existing waves to pass without being further raised or in any way disturbed. Finally, it should be noted that the ama should not be too much shorter than the main hull, as on a heeled

See us at

Booth 2004

sailing trimaran, the ama’s length is important for speed as well as providing important diagonal stability. It’s not merely a stability/buoyancy pod. Although this does not exhaust all the design aspects that simple forms can offer the designer, I hope it shows that they are not necessarily as much

of a compromise as many would first think. In fact, the sparkling overall performance of the W17 has recently led me to consider a much larger trimaran of nearly double the length, because most of the above positives will equally apply, and the hulls will not only be easy to construct but will allow the boat to sit stably on its bottom without damage or heel. Only by sailing the W17 can one really appreciate the effect of all these factors, but they do work. This quote from an e-mail I received sums it up: “I cannot ever remember sailing on a boat that felt just so damned efficient!” About the Author: In addition to his career as a big-ship designer, naval architect Mike Waters has spent 60 years sailing high-performance boats and 40 as a trimaran enthusiast. Learn more at www.smalltridesign.com.

See us at

Booth 2124

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

DesignBriefW17-ADFinal.indd 115

2017

115

8/25/17 2:52 PM

BUILDER PROFILE

Betting on Bay Boats Launched into the decidedly moderate growth that has defined the boating market since the recession of 2008, Barker Boatworks has deliberately focused on building the best quality small production fishing boats. Text and photographs by Marilyn DeMartini

F

amily and fishing are the two passions that motivate Kevin Barker, founder and president of Barker Boatworks (Sarasota, Florida). While he didn’t originally want his family name on his company or his boats, “all the cool boat names were taken,” he recalls. So he followed his father’s advice: “You have a good reputation in the business. Why not take advantage of it?” Then Barker’s 15-year-old son, Ty, designed the “B” shield logo, branding every boat and communication with an indelible family stamp. Barker laughs about it. “I kind of like that people see the boat and ask, ‘What is that?’” It’s family. One of Barker’s earliest memories is of fishing with his grandfather on Calibogue Sound—the geographic

inspiration for the model name of his first 26' (7.9m) bay boat. Barker, on growing up in Hilton Head, South Carolina: “I always enjoyed being on the water and on boats. Boats and playing golf—that’s life in Hilton Head. I got my first boat at 12, a 13' [3.9m] Boston Whaler, and learned how to take care of it from my dad.” Those family memories carried forward into adulthood and determined the course of his life and career. While moving around the Northeast and to Clearwater, Florida, to pursue a home health care business in the ’90s, and working in insurance through early 2000, Barker became a competitive SKA (Southern Kingfish Association) fisherman and a customer of Yellowfin, the

popular Florida-based builder of fishing boats. He often talked to owner Wiley Nagler about getting into the business. In 2006, after Nagler satisfied a five-year non-compete agreement signed when he sold Back Country to Champion in 1998, he called on Barker to work with him on designing a new Yellowfin 24' (7.3m) boat. Nagler ran Yellowfin’s offshore larger boat division, and Barker worked on the smaller bay boats, a market he describes as “exploding” in recent years. After eight years, trying to blend two strong personalities proved stressful, so in 2014, Barker decided to “do my own thing.” He had ideas for a 26' bay boat. “I listened to customers and what they were looking for. I’d ask them, ‘What would you want if you were

Above—Shapely bows of Barker Boatworks’ 25'6" (7.8m) bay boat hulls sit side by side on the production line at the company’s Sarasota, Florida, shop. Despite increased staffing and productivity in the laminating shop that allow delivery of a boat in four weeks, the company is running with a backlog.

116 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

BarkerBoats169-ADFinalr1.indd 116

8/29/17 12:36 PM

creating a boat from scratch?’” Barker meshed those opinions with his own experience and started to design what he considered the “ultimate bay boat.” In basic terms, it would be a modestly sized boat with a hardtop, an upper helm station, and a comfortable, dry ride. He turned again to family to make his latest boating venture reality, tapping his parents as investors in the new enterprise.

A

mong Barker’s first calls was one to famed yacht designer Michael Peters. “I’m not a naval architect,” Barker says, “and I always had great respect for him. He’s an industry icon, and to have his name associated with my boat is a huge competitive advantage. I saw what he did with Invincible, and bottom design was integral to me.” For Peters, adapting his patented Stepped-Vee Ventilated Tunnel (SVVT) hull from the Invincible 33'–42' (10.1m–12.8m) range into a smaller boat was an opportunity. According to Peters, the SVVT hull solved the problem of stepped V-hulls spinning out in turns. In fact, he reports that his hull is the only stepped hull that the U.S.

Navy has ever built in its fleet. “We had the data [on the hull], and it’s nice to have a spread of ranges,” he adds. [For more on Peters, see “Peters on (Fast) Powerboats, Part 1,” in Professional BoatBuilder No. 126 and “Part 2,” PBB No. 127.] Peters also liked the fact that Barker was actually designing a boat. “The one thing we see a lot of in this business,” notes Peters, “is that the boats out there are put together by talented folks, but they are not designed. They happen. Barker has a professionally designed boat. I may be a little prejudiced, but we don’t usually work on boats that small.” Barker explained that in addition to the running surfaces, Peters helped with the topside design. “We did this together. He understood that it was our boat, but he helped us to do it right.” Barker boats are known for providing a dry ride, being a little wider at 9.3' (2.8m) and capable of more offshore operation—the main difference between a Barker and the competing 24-footers. “Offshore, [a small boat] gets a little uncomfortable,” he says. “We designed for comfort;

it just takes a couple of feet [610mm]. We can have all the greatest features, but if the hull doesn’t run or perform, if it beats the hell out of you, it’s not going to work. That falls back to Michael Peters. We’ve been lucky to work with him.” Peters gives plenty of credit for the success of the boats to the marketing of the Barker Boatworks company. “Kevin is very strong on the relationship end, but the promotional end is still staggering. He showed real polish at the boat shows, constructing his booth like a dock, with wood and markers—that’s impressive. You don’t see a lot of new builders doing that. He’s quality-minded and doing a good job, but the growing pains are harder than people think,” he adds. As Barker set up his company, having an attractive showroom was central to his plan, and Sarasota, his family’s home, where his kids were in good schools, was where he intended to stay. “Southwest Florida has great boatbuilding heritage,” he says, citing brands like Wellcraft, Chris-Craft, and Donzi. And so there are great suppliers and subcontractors nearby. “Marine Concepts

South Florida yacht designer Michael Peters designed the complex stepped running surfaces of the hull that serves as the base for Barker’s Calibogue Bay and more stripped-down Open models.

Particulars Length: Beam: Fuel:

Calibogue Bay

Open

25'6" (7.8m) 9'3" (2.8m) 90 gal (341 l) 125 gal (473 l) opt. 4,500 lbs (2,041 kg) 14"–16" (356–406mm)

25'6" 9'3" 90 gal 125 gal opt. 4,250 lbs (1,928 kg) 14"–16"

Weight: Draft: Fresh water: 15 gal (57 l) Max hp: 627 hp (468 kw)

15 gal 627 hp

COURTESY MICHAEL PETERS YACHT DESIGN (BOTH)

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

BarkerBoats169-ADFinalr1.indd 117

2017

117

8/31/17 9:01 AM

BUILDER PROFILE: Barker Boats

Kevin Barker invested heavily in the 8,000-sq-ft (743m2) Sarasota showroom that has become his company’s window on the market for high-end bay boats. Note the B-shield logo, designed by his son Ty.

does my molds, and my upholstery supplier, my tower supplier are all just a few miles from here,” he says. “When I saw this space [his current showroom in Sarasota], I said, ‘We’re taking this!’ We were going to design a boat for the higher net worth individual and wanted a nice environment. This showroom gives us that.” The adjacent space for the rigging shop, electrical, and tower installation is also immaculately maintained. “I want this to be like a NASCAR engine shop,” Barker explains. “Every other week, I’m at the airport picking up a customer flying in on his own airplane. We’re at the higher end of the food chain. The way our boats are built, the materials we use are always the best we can find. If something new comes up, we’ll test it and use it. We don’t want our customers to question our quality.” Barker and his vendors are always looking for

new materials and components. Each year he attends the International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition and Conference (IBEX) to ensure that if something is seen as “better,” his boats will be incorporating it. Barker Boatworks has spent “upwards of $1 million” to design and build molds and to construct an 8,000sq-ft (743m2) showroom and the nearby 10,000-sq-ft (929m2) lamination shop. For the latter, Barker was fortunate to find an existing boatbuilding facility that was wrapping up operations. But even with that space, he sees expanding lamination as his most essential production challenge as he faces a number of boats in various

stages awaiting completion. “Molds sitting inactive overnight are wasted time,” he says. “And that is holding up deliveries.” Barker’s planned solution is adding a shift and expanding his staff to better utilize the shop space and time. Every minute counts. In nearly three years of operation, the company has delivered 34 boats. But, “I’m behind,” Barker says, with an eye on the 38 boats he has on order and a 12-month backlog. Really, his numbers aren’t bad considering the six to eight months spent in design before launching his first 26' Calibogue Bay boat at the 2015 Miami International Boat Show—just seven months after starting the company in July 2014. While it has taken up to six weeks to build a boat, current deliveries are being accomplished in just four with his increased staffing and space in lamination, a schedule Barker intends to continue. “We have the best customers in the world,” Barker says. “To be as patient as they’ve been says a lot. Getting the business up and running is a lot harder than I expected.” Plus, continuing legalities from his split with Yellowfin plague both builders. An appeal of a suit won this year by Barker proves a drag on business, while both companies move forward with their own brands and some overlap in model size and style. During my visit to the shop I met one of those customers, Luke Hammer, an experienced boater, diver, and fisherman, who was getting ready to take off for the Florida Keys on a fishing weekend. The boat had been at

Neighboring Marine Concepts built the sophisticated tooling necessary for resin infusion hull construction, which Barker favors.

118 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

BarkerBoats169-ADFinalr1.indd 118

8/30/17 1:30 PM

#521

See us at

Booth 521

Better Boating, Better Business ABYC membership gives you and your team the tools for success: SAFETY

EDUCATION

STANDARDS

Join today for immediate access to vital industry knowledge and technical support.

ABYCinc.org See us at

Booth 3600

See us at

Booth 534

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

PBB169-fracts.indd 119

2017

119

8/24/17 4:21 PM

BUILDER PROFILE: Barker Boats

Ninety-gallon (341-l) aluminum fuel tanks are mechanically fastened to the structural grid of stringers and transverse frames before being foamed in.

Barker for a few maintenance details, and Hammer proudly told me about his newest boat, hull #1 of the open model. When asked why he chose Barker, he went right to his sea trial. “I

didn’t get wet in 3–4' [0.9m–1.2m] seas at over 60 mph,” he reported. According to Hammer, the boat’s seakeeping abilities and topside design details make it the best boat for all

around the Keys and offshore. “You don’t get stuck in-shore when you get 4' waves. And the fishing well works; you can stand up—there’s no stooping,” he said. He also commented on the layout, attention to detail, and the extras he was able to add to the boat, including lights under the hull for lobster fishing, a FLIR thermal imaging camera, recessed under-gunwale speakers, and a pull-down ladder. At the shop I also met Barker’s wife, Sarah, a former flight attendant, now the office manager. As the company got traction and grew, she easily made the transition from stay-at-home mom, and the couple balances parenting and business as a team. The kids come by the office after school, and the oldest, Ty, works with his dad while on school vacations. Barker often tosses questions to his wife, and she answers, completing his thoughts or helping with details. Two dogs, Sadie and

IBEX

Sept. 19-21, 2017 BOOTH 1910

METS

Nov. 14-16, 2017 STAND #07.159

www.cimqd.com [email protected] Fax: 0086-532-85841961 Ph: 0086-532-85776702

CHINA INDUSTRY+ MARINE HARDWARE GMBH (CIM) is a German company with a factory in Qingdao/CHINA. ISO9001 approved. Liability insurance covers 3 Mill. USD worldwide. See us at

Booth 1910

boat bumpers Ibex Show Booth 921 Fort Lauderdale Show Tent 400-500 Europort Stand 4005 Mets Hall 01.671

www.tessilmare.com

www.mate-usa.com See us at

Booth 921

120 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

BarkerBoats169-ADFinal.indd 120

8/24/17 7:56 PM

Stella, relax in the office, contented with an occasional pat and adding a familial feeling to the showroom. Barker’s phone is constantly buzzing. “He helps everyone,” Sarah says. “Even Yellowfin customers still have his number and call, and he always takes time to help them with questions. That is why so many of his customers followed him here.” Barker agrees that he will make every attempt to help people, but while he often does weekend sea trials or assists customers with an issue, he always works around his three kids’ sporting events—football, basketball, crosscountry, soccer, and lacrosse. Their complex schedules are tough to coordinate with customer demands, but “I won’t miss a game,” Barker insists. And then each weekend they are home, the family goes out on the boat to fish or hit the sandbar. “It’s all because of them. That’s why we do this,” he says.

B

arker Boatworks is a series production builder, but each boat is virtually custom-built. “We will do anything except change our molds— whatever the customer wants,” Barker says.

To start with, there’s no wood in a Barker. Hulls are vacuum-infused cored composites—a combination of biaxial, triaxial, quad, E-glass, some Kevlar, PVC foam, and 100% vinylester resins.

In the lamination shop, hull and deck tooling are readied for infusion. In the foreground are molds for smaller hand-laid parts and components.

The only school in the world offering the following accredited programs all under one roof: Yacht Design • Wooden Boat Building Composite Boat Building • Marine Systems “The #1 community college in Maine.” – BestColleges.com

Details and catalog available at landingschool.edu or 207-985-7976 286 RIVER ROAD, ARUNDEL, MAINE Accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC)

See us at

Booth 541

See us at

Booth 113

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

BarkerBoats169-ADFinal.indd 121

2017

121

8/24/17 8:02 PM

BUILDER PROFILE: Barker Boats

Above—Laminate materials in Barker’s shop include various weights and weaves of E-glass, Kevlar, and carbon fiber. Right—In the shop a builder finishes a hand-laid console unit.

About half the hulls are built with carbon fiber laminates as an option to save 700 lbs–800 lbs (317.5 kg–362.9 kg), roughly 20% of the boat’s weight, and to add strength. Lamination schedules for the Eglass and carbon fiber boats were

See us at

informed by Barker’s past productionboatbuilding experience, as well as by Michael Peters’s recommendations. The team also worked with Chris Noonan of Composites One, a supplier of high-tensile filaments, and Jordan Haar of VectorPly, a major

player in composite reinforcements— all professionals who Barker trusts and respects. Smaller parts, including the console, leaning post, hatches, fish boxes, headliner, and livewells, are hand-laid. It’s time-consuming, but in Barker’s

Booth 332

122 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

BarkerBoats169-ADFinal.indd 122

8/24/17 7:56 PM

Barker’s crew has grown to fill two shifts in the laminate shop to help meet the growing demand for their boats.

• Finishing: inspection and correction of any imperfections. • Rigging: installation of tower frame, hatches, trolling motor, batteries, and engine. Console and engine are fully completed. • Quality Control: water test of boat and all systems using a 75-point checklist.

estimation, the employees take pride in their craftsmanship on those components, and the results are worth the effort. Barker sees boatbuilding as a combination of new materials and tried-andtrue methods using fiberglass and resin. Vacuum infusion makes a difference in the integrity of the hull, he explains, but with the inclusion of the Kevlar and carbon fiber blends, advanced

Some tasks and components are subbed out to highly specialized shops. For instance, Stuart, Florida–based Marine Digital Integrators (recently acquired by SeaStar Solutions) handles the construction of Barker’s electrical harness systems. The company specializes in proprietary advanced plug-andplay electrical and battery-management systems that integrate with leading display manufacturers. This outsourcing saves rigging time, and according to Barker, “All the links are perfect. It took us a lot of time to set up the systems, but

materials technology adds to standard cored construction as well. After the lamination shop, workstations on the shop floor include: • Assembly: installation of fuel tanks, through-hulls, bilge plumbing, trim tabs, wiring harnesses, jackplate, power poles, and rubrail.

X2 The New Standard for Monitoring, Safety, & Security On a Single Platform. IBEX Booth # 3212 and Gemeco Booth # 1845 See us at

Booth 3212

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

BarkerBoats169-ADFinalr1.indd 123

2017

123

8/30/17 1:35 PM

BUILDER PROFILE: Barker Boats

Left—Shown here, electrical harnesses made by Marine Digital Integrators in Stuart are some of the systems components Barker subs out to a selection of the many specialized shops in South Florida. Right—Hatches are lined with foam flooring material that acts as a gasket to seal out water and prevent hatch and door rattles.

is key. The bilges are impeccably finished as well, and all wiring and conduit are accessible, an important factor for experienced boaters who’ve had to address some electrical issue while under way. The undersides of all hatches are lined with AquaTraction, a foam flooring system with UV-protected acrylic

now we have that dialed in; everything is bench-tested, and it is the best way for us to build boats.” One of the details that struck me most about Barker Boats is the precision of workmanship; from the automotive-inspired diamond-stitched upholstery to the smooth inside surface of the bait boxes and wells, finish

adhesive. The material serves as a gasket, making hatches rattle-free and avoiding traditional rubber gaskets that rot. AquaTraction is also used inside the console and on the footrests. Barker Boats installs coal tar epoxy– painted aluminum tanks with tabs that are secured to the stringers before the tanks are foamed in. Each tank has

SCREW-OUT. PRY-OUT: WATER OUT! Watertight quality your boats deserve!

Certified by independent lab testing to exceed FIVE CERTIFICATIONS FOR ALL DECK PLATES 4”, 6” & 8” ABYC H-3 Watertightness • ABYC H-4 NEMA 250 6P Submergence • ISO 12216 • ISO 11812 [email protected] 203.333.1412

o r B o ard Gat

ALL OF OUR BACK ISSUES Stored on a USB Flash Drive. that’s over 160 issues for $170.00 #199-USB

• High strength • Extremely durable • Never rots

Fiberglass Reinforced Reinforced Foam Fiberglass Foam T: (305)-691-9093 • E: [email protected] • W: www.polyumac.com See us at

• Replaces plywood • 4 x 8ft. and

4 x 10ft. sheets

Booth 1137

www.woodenboatstore.com See us at

Booth 905

124 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

BarkerBoats169-ADFinal.indd 124

8/24/17 7:56 PM

Barker’s so-called pilot hatch helm station allows the helmsman to sit in upholstered comfort on the T-top with an unobstructed view for fishing and navigation.

two 2" (51mm) fuel fills so that the boat can be fueled from either side. Bay boat and open models feature an assortment of options for storage, bait boxes, and insulated live fish wells. The boats have a 15-gal (57-l) bow baitwell and a 45-gal (170-l) stern baitwell; an additional 40-gal (151-l) floor baitwell is optional. All have numerous rod holders, cup holders, fiberglass leaning posts, Taco seats,

w

w

w

.

l

e

w

m

a

r

.

c

o

Odyssey batteries, and Livorsi or Lopolight LED navigation and courtesy lights. Barker says customers have their choice of Garmin, Raymarine, or Simrad electronics. A digital switching system is standard, because gauges have fallen out of favor with Barker’s customers. All engine data are transposed and displayed on a multifunction display of choice. The company installs JL Audio or Wet Sound

entertainment systems and has built special molds for recessed speakers so they do not snag any lines. The helms have Edson comfort-grip stainless steel steering wheels [see “Reinventing the Wheel (and the Pump),” PBB No. 158], bench or bolster seating, and the rear bench has a flip-up backrest. The 8' (2.4m) PowerPole Blade edition (for anchoring in shallow water) is standard. The open model has room for 10 passengers and has two optional 15-gal transom baitwells. The open also has under-the-gunnwale rod storage for six rods and lockable storage for four more. Garelick dive ladders are a plus for divers.

m

The NEW VX Windlass The Lewmar VX windlass range offers a new entry-level windlass product, giving the end user a stylish yet functional product at a competitive price point. Consisting of a cast aluminum core with composite outer and finished in a stainless steel pressing, giving the VX range its stylish design.

Tel: +1 203 458 6200 | [email protected] | www.lewmar.com 351 New Whitfield Street, Guilford CT 06437 USA

See us at

Booth 2033

See us at

Booth 2124

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

BarkerBoats169-ADFinal.indd 125

2017

125

8/24/17 7:56 PM

BUILDER PROFILE: Barker Boats

Left—Behind a forward-facing passenger seat that opens upward on hydraulic rams, the Barker console houses a cramped but private marine head. Above—Fully kitted out, the Calibogue Bay model sports two helm stations, a head, a total of 100 gallons (378.5 l) in bait wells, and outboard power between 300 hp and 627 hp.

The Barker tower system is noteworthy. Called a pilot hatch, it resembles a small flybridge and offers an outstanding perspective for the helmsman, ideal for sighting fish and

FOR

providing an unobstructed view while driving. The top station is easily accessed via steps or a ladder. When asked if any other builders are using this feature, Barker responded with a

grin. “Now they are!” Engine options vary, and while many prefer Mercury 300s or 350s, the 557-hp and 627-hp Seven Marine engines are also available, providing

PROFESSIONAL BOATS PROFESSIONAL USERS

www.hakansonmarine.com [email protected] +46 (0) 70 712 57 28 See us at

Booth 1013

126 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

BarkerBoats169-ADFinal.indd 126

8/24/17 7:56 PM

maximum horsepower for true speed freaks. Engine size accounts for most of the cost differential between boat models, as base prices range from $137,500 to $262,000.

C

uriously, Barker’s next project is a total departure from his bay boat base. He is creating a 40' (12.2m) catamaran to branch out into a new market. “Everyone is building bay boats now. Many customers are multipleboat owners, so builders want to keep them in their brands,” he explains. “We are going to build one heck of a fishboat!” The walk-around cat will have either twin or quad engines, and with helm seating in two rows will accommodate six comfortably. Extra features include a sun pad, bow seating, and a side-entry console, raised 12" (305mm) to provide more room, with options for a head and storage or nap space. The leaning post will be

New “Elite” Dripless Shaft Seal

located behind the helm seat with a live well, storage, and tackle boxes aft. Hull #1 is anticipated for the 2018 Miami International Boat Show. Peters was surprised by the catamaran addition but is working again with Barker on the design. He notes that it is a challenge to build because space is more confined. “The Freeman Cat has everyone in the fishing community talking,” he says. “The cat concept has been around for 50 years. It was big in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, but it’s never really taken hold in the U.S. Here, the ratio is 10:1 V-bottoms to cats, but it’s a good idea and an effort to have something different. We’re trying to bring design to the project. It’s a totally different hull than a cat raceboat.” Peters also chuckles about the boatbuilding industry. “There are no market surveys. People just want to ‘do it,’ and whether it works is anybody’s

guess. You still have to win over customers from bigger manufacturers,” he says. And that’s what Barker plans, one customer at a time, by building a boat that suits each customer’s needs but, more importantly, his wants. Family and fishing—two passions that feed off each other, and Barker is counting on fishing not just to feed his family but to make the Barker family name the new go-to brand for fishing boats. About the Author: Marilyn DeMartini entered the marine trades representing World Championship offshore racing teams such as Drambuie On Ice, Lucas Oil, Outerlimits, and Statement powerboats. She managed PR for Latham Marine and the iconic Cigarette Racing Team for a decade. She has written for numerous marine publications, including Yachts International, Showboats, and Invictus.

Hamilton Marine Duckworks Boat Building Supply

available at: Fisheries Supply Admiral Ship Supply

Tra d i t i o n a l D u ra b l e M a r i n e F i n i s h

WWW.MARSHALLSCOVEMARINEPAINT.COM

425-260-3509

Please contact us for further info 800.940.7325 Lasdrop.com See us at

IBEX Booth #1552 Booth 1552

October/November

BarkerBoats169-ADFinal.indd 127

2017

127 

8/24/17 7:56 PM

HOW TO REACH US ON-LINE SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES: Internet: http://www.proboat.com At www.proboat.com follow the link to subscribe to the magazine, give a gift, renew, change address, or check your subscription status (payment, expiration date).

TO ORDER A SUBSCRIPTION: To order a subscription (new, renewal, gift) call Toll-Free, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EST:

1-800-877-5284 (U.S. and Canada) 937-610-0234 (Overseas) Internet: http://www.proboat.com

1-800-877-5284 (U.S. & CANADA) 937-610-0234 (Overseas) Fax 973-890-0221 L

BOAT BUILDER ww w .proboat.c o m

TO CALL OUR EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING OFFICES: Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., EST:

TO WRITE:

If you have a question about your subscription, an address change, or a missing or damaged issue, call Toll-Free, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EST:

OFESSIONA

Either call 1-800-877-5284 or write to our subscription department (address below) AS SOON AS YOU KNOW YOUR NEW ADDRESS. Please don’t depend on your post office to notify us. Please give us your old address as well as your new when you notify us, and the date your new address becomes effective.

207-359-4651; FAX 207-359-8920

TO CALL ABOUT YOUR SUBSCRIPTION:

PR

TO CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS:

For subscriptions:

Professional BoatBuilder Subscription Dept. P.O. Box 292635 Kettering, OH 45429-0635

For anything else:

Professional BoatBuilder P.O. Box 78, 41 WoodenBoat Ln. Brooklin, ME 04616 [email protected]

BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE FROM WOODENBOAT STORE: www.woodenboatstore.com • 1-800-273-SHIP (7447) (US) • 207-359-4647 (overseas)

Professional BoatBuilder is also available in digital format. Go to www.proboat.com

Depuis 120 ans, Zodiac Nautic conçoit, produit, et distribue des bateaux pneumatiques dans le monde entier. Dans un contexte de redéploiement de son innovation et de revitalisation des marques Zodiac®, Bombard™ et Avon®, nous recherchons

Did you know

Un(e) Directeur(rice) Recherche & Développement Sous la responsabilité du Directeur du développement et avec l’appui d’une équipe d’experts, vous pilotez la R&D du groupe autour de 2 enjeux majeurs : • Réinventer Zodiac Nautic en l’inscrivant résolument dans l’innovation, • Conduire les différents programmes de développement produits dans le respect des objectifs coûts, qualité & délais. Cursus ingénieur généraliste, vous êtes est reconnu en interne et en externe comme un technicien de haut niveau. Vous disposez d’une expérience confirmée de 10 à 15 ans en bureau d’étude et en développement de produits complets. Leader dynamique et pragmatique, vous développez la cohésion des équipes dans un soucis constant de l’atteinte des résultats et de la performance opérationnelle. Le poste nécessite une appétence pour les nouvelles technologies ainsi qu’une forte orientation vers l’innovation. La maîtrise de l’anglais est impérative. Poste est basé dans la région bordelaise, 60-70 K€ ( fixe) + variable.

is on Facebook? www.facebook.com/proboatmagazine

News Events Employment Listings and more!

Candidatures : [email protected] See us at

Booth 905

128 Professional BoatBuilder

PBB169-fracts.indd 128

8/25/17 1:59 PM

January 10-11, 2018 | Ft. Lauderdale

» Special PRE-CONFERENCE January 9 Photo © S/Y ADODYNE. Photo by Tom Serio.

» Central LIVE DEMONSTRATION area in the exhibit hall » A 100% INCREASE in exhibit space » Specialized training and sessions for CAPTAINS and CREW

Register to attend FREE online.

INDUSTRY SUPPORT:

MEDIA SUPPORT:

NO OTHER INDUSTRY EVENT DELIVERS THIS AUDIENCE OF PROFESSIONALS.

Refit-169-01.indd 129

8/24/17 4:00 PM

Special Advertising Section

New Products and Processes Professional BoatBuilder’s advertising department uses this section of the magazine to publish excerpts from press releases showcasing the newest products and processes in the marine industry. For a more complete selection of press releases dedicated to new products and processes, please visit proboat.com.

AKZONOBEL AND AWLGRIP OFFER TRAINING AT IBEX 2017 AkzoNobel and Awlgrip invite designers, project managers, and applicators to attend its Super Session entitled “Color Design and Inspiration: Implementation with the Yacht Industry” at IBEX 2017 in Tampa, Florida, on Monday, September 18, from noon to 4pm. Get an exclusive look at color and finish design trends in other industries and learn how color design enhances any yacht design. The cost to attend is $45 and includes lunch. Contact: Matthew Anzardo, 713–684–1286; [email protected]; www.awlgrip.com

NAUTIC ALERT ADVANCED MONITORING AND SECURITY Nautic Alert (Austin, TX) intelligent security and monitoring offers features ranging from a SMART bilge controller that replaces a float and detects issues from above, to a microwave intrusion detection system that catches intruders before they board. Designed for outdoor and indoor marine use, Nautic Alert uses the first compact MTC-E, boasting lowest power consumption with 2-way Iridium or Verizon, providing serious onboard or remote protection. Contact: 800–385–1674; [email protected]; www.nauticalert.com

OCEANMAX PROPSPEED FOR A SMOOTH PROPELLER Oceanmax (Aukland, NZ) develops and manufactures Propspeed, designed to prevent marine growth from bonding to metal surfaces below the waterline. With over 15 years of proven success and distributed to over 30 countries, the Propspeed system is made up of a two-component etching primer base, that forms a chemical bond to the metal substrate, and a clear topcoat to provide an ultra-smooth outer layer. Applied correctly, Propspeed will last 1–2 years and in some areas has lasted even longer. Contact: James Maitland; 954–295–5524; [email protected]; www.oceanmax.com

THERMWOOD Thermwood now offers an additive manufacturing software utility for its LSAM machines called LSAM Print 3D that operates within Mastercam. Unlike most other slicing software that generates net shape programs for small thin print beads and only works with .STL files, LSAM Print 3D works with true CAD file formats, including solids, surfaces, and meshes. LSAM Print3D is designed for industrial near-net-shape additive manufacturing applications with features tailored to large parts printed at high rates.  Contact: Jason Susnjara, 812–937–4476; [email protected]; www.thermwood.com

130 Professional BoatBuilder

NewProductsSection169-01.indd 130

8/24/17 1:16 PM

CONNECTIONS BUSINESS CARD ADVERTISING — Simple • Economical • Effective ‘Connect’ with Professional BoatBuilder Readers • [email protected] EDUCATION & TRAINING

NAVAL ARCHITECTS

With Advanced Composite Repair Skills You Can Do the Hull Thing

Naval Architecture Yacht Design Production & Composites Specialists

Hull Form Design Conceptual Design Structural Analysis

SHORT COURSES - ACTIVE TRAINING

+1 (775) 827-6568 • www.abaris.com

Stability Analysis Marine Systems Tooling & Jigs

OCEAN 5 NAVAL ARCHITECTS

www.OCEAN5.com Stuart, FL 772.692.8551 See us at

Booth 837

GLASS

www.stephenswaring.com l 92 MAIN STREET, BELFAST, ME 04915 l 207-338-6636

SURVEYORS

MOLDS & CNC SERVICES North American East Coast Distributor For:

CNC Machining Bulkheads, Molds, Skiff Kits and Half Models [email protected] cnc-marine-hewesco.com

Thermal Imaging Inspections and Consultations +1 504 450 0844 • [email protected]

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

PBB169Connections-02.indd 131

2017

131

8/24/17 4:25 PM

SYSTEMS & SUPPLIES

SYSTEMS & SUPPLIES CONTINUED

JM Compounds Inc. home of

AQUA BLUE 100 • 200 • 300 XL Morbern offers vinyl upholstery fabrics unequaled in the marine industry. Innovation and in-depth knowledge of special applications make Morbern the choice for discerning marine engineers and designers. From concept to application-friendly products, support services, marketing aids, and a large stock offering, we give our customers the competitive edge.

See us at

To order or to receive samples and more information on Morbern Marine products, please: • Call 888-MORBERN • Email [email protected]. • Visit www.morbern.com

Eco-friendly polishing compounds for the marine industry Exceptional prices and quality [email protected] • 203-376-9854

Booth 1608

®

HARD TOP THRU-MOUNT Ideal for antenna, anchor light ht or flagpole and will accommodate ate up to 2” thick hard top. Ta T aco Metals, Inc. 800.653.8568 • Fax: 800.653.8569 • info@ta fo@tacomarin fo@ta omarine.com • Ta T coM Marin arine.com

See us at

Booth 1911

See us at

Booth 1433

See us at

Booth 623

See us at

Booth 3312

®

QUICK RELEASE FENDER LOCK Allows comfortable and single-hand quick operation with a large hole diameter for any size rope.

The Industry Leader of Teak Decks and Interior Floors Since 1983. Also Offering:

[email protected] 941-756-0600

teakdecking.com 941-756-0600

T co Ta o Metals, Inc. 800.653.8568 • Fax: ax: 800.653.8569 • info@ta info@ta [email protected] • Ta T coMarine.com m

See us at

Booth 1433

See us at

Booth 826

132 PROFESSIONAL BOATBUILDER

PBB169Connections-02.indd 132

8/24/17 4:25 PM

To place a Classified Ad, call 207–359–7726 or email [email protected] Deadline for the December 2017/January 2018 issue: October 5

NAVTECH MARINE SURVEYORS COURSE— Complete certification, US Surveyors Assoc. USCG Fishing Vessel inspection. Best in business. 800–245–4425, www.navsurvey.com.

WOODENBOAT SCHOOL RATING 37 YEAR LEB S! CE

One- and Two-week courses in Boatbuilding, Seamanship, and Related Crafts June–September * Off-site winter courses also offered * P.O. Box 78, Brooklin, ME 04616 207–359–4651 (Mon.–Fri.)

www.woodenboat.com

TPI COMPOSITES, INC. has immediate openings for

PRODUCTION TECHNICIANS, LAMINATORS, AND GELCOAT for 1st and 2nd shift.

Competitive wages, safe working environment, comprehensive benefits, matching 401K, and paid vacations and holidays.

Please apply in person; Monday – Friday 7:00am to 4:30pm or email a resume to [email protected] TPI Composites, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. Background check and drug test required.

NW-CN13594500

Manufacturing Associates are needed to manufacture large scale composite structures. This is a challenging, fast paced, quality driven, hands-on position. Experience working in a manufacturing environment with composites, mold repair, fiberglass/ epoxy repair & touch ups is preferred, but we will train right candidates. Experience with spraying gel coat, chopper gun/patch is a plus.

Billings Diesel & Marine Service, Inc. located in Stonington, Maine, is actively seeking the following:

YAMAHA MOTOR CORPORATION, U.S.A. IS A growing and dynamic organization with superb products that includes motorcycles, outboard motors, ATVs, personal watercraft, snowmobiles, boats, outdoor power equipment, race kart engines, accessories, apparel, and much more! We are a company of enthusiasts and have passion for our products! Yamaha has an excellent opportunity for a successful Regional OEM Applications Engineer to join our Marine Group in the Eastern North Carolina region. The Regional OEM Application Engineer will communicate and perform Yamaha Outboard engineering and rigging and product performance training and testing. He/she also communicates requirements for OEM boat builder accounts assigned to a specific territory. This position will addresses basic to moderately complex technical and engineering issues. Specific duties include, but are not limited to: Report recommendations for product improvements, new product suggestions, and problems discovered under “real world” operating conditions. Assist Sales Coordinators with obtaining Yamaha rigging component orders and monitoring outboard rigging component inventories for each assigned boat builder location. Maintain accurate and orderly boat builder files, including a complete file of previous and current performance bulletin reports. Participate in Yamaha’s Sales and Service Seminars. Leverage existing training materials to assist with sales training for boat builders’ in-house staffs and independent boat sales representatives (i.e. new product, sales techniques) and issuance of completion certificates. Use considerable technical knowledge to maintain and test Yamaha Outboard engines within an assigned territory. Assist with the development of material lists for each boat a boat builder powers with a Yamaha outboard and perform Yamaha accessory evaluation testing (i.e. propellers, control boxes, etc.). Develop OEM service bulletins to communicate rigging and installation updates, as well as current and future product changes. Prepare reports on Yamaha packaging boat builder account’s activities (i.e., programs, retail sales, etc.), call reports, expense reports, and weekly recaps. Experience, knowledge, skills requirements: Clean driver history, and extensive travel. High school diploma or equivalent marine industry service certifications. Excellent communication skills and interaction with our highest level customers. Minimum of 2 to 5 years of hands-on technical experience in engineering and maintenance. Requires proficiency in YAMAHA systems (i.e. YMBS, YDIS, and Warranty) and understanding of YAMAHA outboard and marine industry product knowledge. Proficient in MS Office (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook). If you are interested in this opportunity, please forward an updated resume to Theresa Brown at [email protected]. Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

n SAIL BOAT RIGGER—An individual with experience in rigging sail boats. Duties will also include hauling & launching all types of boats, setting up floats, & general work around the yard. Experience on the water is a plus. n CARPENTER SHOP FOREMAN / SHIPWRIGHT—This position requires candidate to have experience in all phases of boat building, to oversee & work alongside the crew on both commercial & pleasure boats. n MECHANIC—Applicant should have experience in winterizing/commissioning marine systems. These FULL-TIME positions require candidates to be organized, hardworking, honest and willing to apply themselves fully. Benefits include paid vacations and holidays, health insurance & retirement plan. Call, apply in person, or send resume to:

Billings Diesel & Marine P.O. Box 67, Stonington, ME 04681 Billings Diesel & Marine 207-367-2328 TECHNICIANS WANTED. Cape Cod’s (MA) largest marina/boatyard. Diesel, gas, outboard, electronics and systems. Cummins and Yanmar diesel, Volvo and Mercruiser gas, or Yamaha outboard trained a plus. Experience in installation, repair, maintenance, troubleshooting, diagnosing and estimating work. Must have professional work ethic, positive attitude, and accountability. Great benefits and work environment. Pay commensurate with experience. Reply to [email protected].

FIRST LIGHT BOATWORKS & MARINE RAILWAY is seeking to fill a full time boatbuilders position focused in joinery. Applicants must have wooden boatbuilding experience in a professional capacity. We are a fun, busy and growing wooden boat shop and we look forward to hearing from you. Please send resume to info@firstlightboatworks. com or call the office at 508–945–7800 or just drop by 43 Eliphamets Ln., Chatham, MA.

October/November

PBB169Class-03.indd 133

2017

133

8/28/17 2:53 PM

WANTED: Lead Marine Mechanic! Will help to relocate to Portland, Oregon!! Experience required, will lead a team of 3-5 technicians. Great benefits: Company paid health/dental/life insurance. Paid vacation and sick time. Quarterly tool allowance. Paid educational training (ABYC courses, Steyr schooling, etc). Schooner Creek Boat Works 503–735–0569, customersrv@schooner creek.com.

If you are a designer who offers plans, or a manufacturer of kits boats, we invite you to upload your information.

COMPOSITE TECHNICIAN. Hiring experienced composite boatbuilders to join our talented team. This advanced shop in Maine produces lightweight, high-performance components and tooling for marine, automotive, robotics, and architectural industries. Come join our team! Please email [email protected] for application.

GOLD COAST YACHTS SEEKS: MARINE WELDER —Successful applicant will have extensive experience or be certified with a working knowledge of: aluminum and stainless steel materials, aluminum and stainless steel fabrication and welding, related tools and equipment, shop and personal safety fundamentals, shop math. Applicant must possess: excellent communication and problem-solving skills, excellent time management skills, ability to meet deadlines, ability to perform work from drawings, ability to specify raw materials, supplies, equipment, ability to fabricate yacht quality handrails, bimini tops, radar arches, custom parts. YACHT COMMISSIONING TECHNICIAN—Successful applicant will have extensive experience operating and maintaining sailing yachts with a working knowledge of: rigging, steering systems, marine inboard engines and generators, marine electrical and plumbing systems, hardware installation, epoxy composite fabrication techniques. RIGGER—Successful applicant will have extensive experience operating and rigging sailing yachts and be capable of installing and repairing: masts, standing and running rigging, furling systems, all deck hardware, marine electrical and plumbing systems, hardware installation, epoxy composite fabrication techniques. Applicant must possess excellent communication and problem-solving skills and be able to specify parts, equipment needed for installation/repair. COMPOSITE FABRICATOR INSTRUCTOR—Successful applicant will have extensive experience in building composite vessels with a thorough knowledge of: resin systems, fabric reinforcements, composite fabrication processes, power tools and equipment, shop and personal safety fundamentals, shop math, instructional protocol. Applicant must possess excellent communication and problem-solving skills and be proficient with Microsoft software. Primary duty will be to instruct trainees and assist management in deployment of its Apprenticeship Program. A strong work ethic and passion for trade skill instruction is mandatory. Full time positions in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Benefits include paid vacations, holidays, health insurance and retirement plan. Please e-mail cover letter and resume to Charlene@goldcoast yachts.com.

Directory of Boat Plans & Kits This is for boats of wood hull material. There is no charge! And if you’re in the market for a boat to build, this is a fine place to start.

www.woodenboat.com/boat-plans-kits

SEA FROST

TORRID MARINE SYSTEMS® Marine Water Heaters—6 to 200 gallons. 120V, 240V, or 3-Phase. Global parts and support availability. Custom sizes available. www.MarineWaterHeaters.com.

Custom D.C. refrigeration and freezer components, stainless steel plates, electronic controls, air and water cooling. Highest quality construction.

1, 2018 1 0 1 y r a Janu ale, FL erd

Fort Laud

how.com

ts www.refi

SEA FROST www.seafrost.com 603-868-5720 WWW.MARINEVINYLFABRIC.COM specializes in high quality marine vinyl fabric at factory direct prices. 15 Colors. Free Samples. $6.95 per yard.

Little Rock Boat Builder Supply Okoume & Meranti BS 1088 Marine Plywood MAS Epoxies • CNC Router Service

501-708-2200

MOLDS FOR FOUR ROWING/SAILING DINGHIES. 8' El Toro, 8'9" lapstrake, 10' lapstrake, 12' lapstrake. Very good condition. Have molds for rudders and daggerboards. Am retired now. $8,000. Jim Llewellyn 206–842–4552, jim.llewellyn47@ gmail.com. Bainbridge Island, WA.

Some years ago — never mind how long precisely — having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. — Herman Melville, Moby Dick

littlerockboatbuildersupply.com

BOULTER PLYWOOD — Marine plywood 4' x 8' to 16', 5' x 10' to 20'—1⁄8" to 1" okoume, sapele, meranti, teak, ash, khaya, teak and holly, teak and rubber. Lumber—Sitka spruce, teak, mahogany, green oak, ash, cypress, fir, Spanish and red cedar, teak decking—lengths up to 20'. Milling services. Nationwide delivery, www.boulterply wood.com, 888–4BOULTER.

134 Professional BoatBuilder

PBB169Class-03-rev01.indd 134

8/29/17 3:37 PM

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS ADVERTISER

WEB

BOOTH PAGE

Accon Marine, Inc. - - - - - - www.acconmarine.com - - - - - - - - 332 - - - - -122 Aero Tec Laboratories, Inc. - www.boatbladders.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 114 Airtech International - - - - - www.airtechonline.com - - - - - - - 1037 - - - - - 23 Alexseal Yacht Coatings - - - www.alexseal.com - - - - - - - - - 1601 - - - - - 79 American Boat & Yacht Council - - - - - - - - www.abycinc.org - - - - - - - - - - - 534 - - - - -119 Arjay Technologies - - - - - - www.arjaytech.com - - - - - - - - - 1047 - - - - 113 Awlgrip North America - - - - www.awlgrip.com - - - - - - - - - - 1224 - - - - - 1 Bainbridge International, Inc. - www.bainbridgeintusa.com - - - - - 2124 - - - - - 60 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 115 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 125 Baltek Inc, A Company of 3A Composites - - - - - www.airexbaltekbanova.com - - - - - 932 - - - - - - 5 Beckson Marine - - - - - - - www.beckson.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -124 Boatlife Division Of Life Industries - - - - - - - www.boatlife.com - - - - - - - - - - 841 - - - - - 80 Buck-Algonquin - - - - - - - www.buckalgonquin.com - - - - - - 1353 - - - - 101 CEProof Ltd. - - - - - - - - - www.ceproof.com - - - - - - - - - - 533 - - - - -112 China Industry & Marine Hardware - - - - - - www.cimqd.com - - - - - - - - - - - 1910 - - - - 120 Clarion Corporation of America - - - - - - - - - www.clarionmarinesystems.com - - 3101 - - - - - 37 CruzPro Ltd. - - - - - - - - - www.cruzpro.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -127 Edson International - - - - - www.edsonmarine.com - - - - - - - 1017 - - - - - 81 Epifanes North America - - - www.epifanes.com - - - - - - - - - 1340 - - - - - 76 Farecla, Inc. - - - - - - - - - www.farecla.com - - - - - - - - - - 3600 - - - - 119 Fastmount Ltd. - - - - - - - www.fastmount.com - - - - - - - - - 913 - - - - -112 Fiberlay Inc. - - - - - - - - - www.fiberlay.com - - - - - - - - - - - 749 - - - Cover II FireBoy/Xintex - - - - - - - - www.fireboy-xintex.com - - - - - - - - 911 - - - - -102 Fisheries Supply Co. Inc - - - www.fisheriessupply.com/pro - - - - - - - - - - - 103 Foam Supplies, Inc. - - - - - www.foamsupplies.com - - - - - - - 1033 - - - - - 42 GS Manufacturing - - - - - - www.gsmfg.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 84 Gurit Ltd. - - - - - - - - - - - www.gurit.com - - - - - - - - - - - - 838 - - - - - 54 Heilind Electronics - - - - - - www.heilind.com - - - - - - - - - - 2141 - - - - - 67 Hung-Bridge Industrial Co. Ltd. - - - - - - - - - - - www.hbimarine.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 93 I-Core Composites, LLC - - - www.icorecomposites.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - 49 IBEX - - - - - - - - - - - - - www.ibexshow.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 39 Imtra Corp. - - - - - - - - - www.imtra.com - - - - - - - - - - - - 723 - - - - - 55 Infinity Woven Products, LLC - www.infinitylwv.com - - - - - - - - - 413 - - - - - 13 Interlux Yacht Finishes - - - www.yachtpaint.com - - - - - - - - 1226 - - Cover IV Intertape Polymer Corp - - - www.itape.com - - - - - - - - - - - 1050 - - - - - 56 Janicki Industries - - - - - - www.janicki.com - - - - - - - - - - - 839 - - - - - 93 King Plastic Corporation - - - www.kingplastic.com - - - - - - - - - 519 - - - - - 40 The Landing School - - - - - www.landingschool.edu - - - - - - - 541 - - - - -121 Lewmar, Inc - - - - - - - - - www.lewmar.com - - - - - - - - - - 2033 - - - - 125 Llebroc Industries - - - - - - www.llebroc.com - - - - - - - - - - 2004 - - - - 115 Lonseal Flooring - - - - - - - www.lonsealspecialty.com - - - - - 1911 - - - - - 25 Man Ship Machinery & Hardware Co - - - - - - - www.manshipmarine.com - - - - - - - - - - - - -122 Marine Concepts - - - - - - www.marineconcepts.com - - - - - - 733 - - - - - 31 Marine Machining & Manufacturing - - - - - - www.marinemachining.com - - - - - - - - - - - - 126 Marshall’s Cove Marine Paint - www.marshallscovemarinepaint.com - - - - - - - -127 METS/Amsterdam RAI - - - www.metstrade.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 71 Moeller Marine Products - - www.moellermarine.com - - - - - - - 505 - - - - - 30 Mollicam - - - - - - - - - - - www.mollicam.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 66 Nautic Alert - - - - - - - - - www.nauticalert.com - - - - - - - - 3212 - - - - 123 Nautical Specialties/ Lasdrop - - - - - - - - - - www.lasdrop.com - - - - - - - - - - 1552 - - - - 127 Nidaplast - - - - - - - - - - www.nidaplast.com - - - - - - - - - 1248 - - - - 114

ADVERTISER

WEB

BOOTH PAGE

Nixon Marine Global - - - - - www.nixonmarineglobal.com - - - - 3907 - - - - - 24 Ocean Link - - - - - - - - - www.oceanlinkinc.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 60 Oceanair Performance Coatings - - - - - - - - - - www.oceanaircoatings.com - - - - - - - - - - - - 52 Oceanmax International Ltd./Propspeed - - - - - - www.oceanmax.com - - - - - - - - 3513 - - - - - 77 Petter Hakanson Marine AB - - - - - - - - - www.hakansonmarine.com - - - - - - - - - - - - 126 Pettit Paint - - - - - - - - - - www.pettitpaint.com - - - - - - - - 1004 - - - 14-15 PlasTEAK - - - - - - - - - - www.plasteak.com - - - - - - - - - 1547 - - - - 113 Polynt Composites USA - - - www.polynt.com/en - - - - - - - - - 1044 - - - - - 19 Polyumac USA LLC - - - - - www.polyumac.com - - - - - - - - - 1137 - - - - - 61 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 124 Power Products LLC - - - - - www.czone.net - - - - - - - - - - - 1633 - - - - - 68 Precision Fabrics Group, Inc. - www.precisionfabrics.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - 59 Pro-Set - - - - - - - - - - - - www.prosetepoxy.com - - - - - - - - 935 - - - - - - 6 Professional BoatBuilder Back Issues - - - - - - - - www.woodenboatstore.com - - - - - 905 - - - - -124 Professional BoatBuilder Facebook - - - - - - - - - - www.facebook.com/proboatmagazine - - 905 - - - - -128 Professional BoatBuilder Technical Seminars - - - - www.proboat.com - - - - - - - - - - 905 - - - - - 99 The Quality Thread & Notions Co. - - - - - - - - www.qualitythread.com - - - - - - - -113 - - - - -121 Quick USA LLC - - - - - - - www.quickusa.com - - - - - - - - - 1647 - - - - - 70 Raritan Engineering - - - - - www.raritaneng.com - - - - - - - - 1212 - - - - - 69 Refit International Exhibition & Conference - - www.refitshow.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -129 Ritchie Navigation - - - - - - www.ritchienavigation.com - - - - - 2024 - - - - - 7 Schneider Electric - - - - - www.xantrex.com - - - - - - - - - - 1745 - - - 26-27 Scott Bader ATC - - - - - - - www.scottbader.com/na - - - - - - - 944 - - Cover III Sea-Dog - - - - - - - - - - - www.sea-dog.com - - - - - - - - - - 1500 - - - - - 83 Seafarer Marine - - - - - - - www.seafarermarine.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - 111 Sensata Technologies - - - - www.sensatapower.com - - - - - - - 212 - - - - - 95 Simpson Strong-Tie - - - - - www.strongtie.com/fastenboatsbetter - - - - - - - - 11 Soundown Corp. - - - - - - - www.soundown.com - - - - - - - - 1013 - - - - 126 Steyr Motors NA - - - - - - - www.steyr-motorsna.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - 91 Sunbrella - - - - - - - - - - www.sunbrella.com - - - - - - - - - 1723 - - - - - 21 System Three Resins, Inc. - www.systemthree.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 41 Taco Metals, Inc. - - - - - - www.tacomarine.com - - - - - - - - 1433 - - - - - 20 TE Connectivity - - - - - - - www.te.com/ict - - - - - - - - - - - 1337 - - - - - 10 Teak Isle Mfg. Inc. - - - - - - www.teakisle.com - - - - - - - - - - 521 - - - - -119 Teakdecking Systems - - - - www.teakdecking.com - - - - - - - - 826 - - - - - 86 Tessilmare srl - - - - - - - - www.tessilmare.com - - - - - - - - - 921 - - - - -120 Thermwood Corporation - - - www.thermwood.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 35 Tides Marine Inc. - - - - - - www.tidesmarine.com - - - - - - - - 917 - - - - - - 9 Torrid Water Heaters - - - - www.torridmarine.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -123 Tricel Corp. - - - - - - - - - - www.tricelcorp.com - - - - - - - - - 1332 - - - - - 57 Trident Marine - - - - - - - - www.tridentmarine.com - - - - - - - 1512 - - - - - 8 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 107 U.S. Superyacht Association - - - - - - - - www.ussuperyacht.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 87 Ventilation Solutions - - - - www.ventilationsolutions.com - - - - - - - - - - - 97 Vitrifrigo America LLC - - - - www.vitrifrigo.com - - - - - - - - - - 1020 - - - - - 43 W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. - www.gore.com/tenara - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 32 Wards Marine Electric - - - - www.wardsmarine.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 47 Waytek, Inc. - - - - - - - - - www.waytekwire.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 90 Webasto - - - - - - - - - - - www.webastoac.com - - - - - - - - 2052 - - - - - 75 West System Inc. - - - - - - www.westsystem.com - - - - - - - - 933 - - - - - 85 Yanmar Specialty - - - - - - www.yanmarmarine.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12 Zodiac Nautic - - - - - - - - www.zodiac-nautic.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 128

October/November

PBB169Index-03_DIG.indd 135

2017

135

8/31/17 1:45 PM

PARTING

SHOT

Next Steps for Effective Industry Training by Paul Gartside teve D’Antonio hit the nail on the head in his Parting Shot essay “Desperately Seeking Apprenticeships” (Profes­ sional BoatBuilder No. 166). Increasingly, customers are demanding certified technicians to work on their vessels; boatyards everywhere are crying out for skilled and productive personnel; and, above all, our children, walking into the world of work, need career paths in real jobs that offer physically and mentally challenging employment—now more than ever, as the digital world threatens to swallow them. How can we attract and retain the talent we need to build our businesses if we don’t provide those opportunities? Without defined career paths and recognized trade qualifications, it is hard for parents and school counselors to even see the marine industry as a possible future, never mind one they would direct their talented young people toward. So, how do we do this? As D’Antonio says, the apprenticeship model is the only one that offers a workable solution for our industry. Boat schools and colleges have their place, but student numbers are small, making specialty college programs difficult to sustain. More importantly, it is unrealistic for employers to expect colleges to deliver the broad range of specific skills this industry needs. Experience shows that workplaces are great at developing specific skills when they cooperate with institutes that deliver “whole boat” training. Having been involved for 20 years in the Marine Service Technician (MST) apprenticeship in Canada (see “Developing a Strong Boatbuilding Community,” in Rovings, PBB No. 162), I know the crucial ingredients for success in such programs and, perhaps as important, the obstacles that must be overcome. In training-world jargon, we need competency-based training—that is, a system in which the trainee builds skills in defined areas and is signed off when those skills are

S

achieved. It can no longer be a matter of time served as it was in the traditional apprenticeship. Workers in our industry cover a wide range of skills—mechanical, composite repair, rigging, metalwork, woodwork, painting, and a large and growing variety of systems. All service technicians will be to some degree specialists; they will accumulate skills in a particular area, driven first by their personal interests and then by their employment opportunities. In Canada the MST qualification covers the broad range of skills found in the modern boatyard. Within that framework the trainee develops specific skills that define his or her ticket and qualification. Those skills are backed by technical training delivered either through evening classes or block release courses provided in the offseason. Classroom sessions are designed to expose trainees to the whole boat, to give them an understanding of basic principles, what the tradespeople around them are doing, to give them the language to talk to each other and to the customers—in short, to make them professionals in their own industry. “Broadly trained and specifically skilled” is the mantra. Let’s turn to the obstacles. Training on our own shop floors means that a trainee’s experience can vary widely from one yard to another. For a qualification to be meaningful it is essential to define industry standards and to institute them across the board. This is a task for industry, and it needs continual updating. Instituting standards is harder, but by no means impossible. The crucial role here comes in what used to be called the apprentice counselor, but more properly now, the competency assessment facilitator (CAF). The importance of the CAF cannot be overstated. Perhaps the largest obstacle is that of employer buy-in. Understandably, businesses would much prefer to either farm out training to schools or colleges, or to find the skills they need ready-made.

In-house training comes with a cost in time and money. For yard owners acutely attuned to the bottom line, this will always be a concern. To be successful then, the training organization needs to be sensitive to this reality. It needs to recognize that the front line in our industry—the marine business itself, which takes daily risks, laying out capital, hiring workers, estimating jobs, and covering warranties—needs to be supported, not burdened. For their part, businesses must recognize that apprenticeship training is no different from what they do every day. When business owners hire new, unskilled workers, they are training. In making the call, “Can I send so-and-so to do this job?” they are measuring competency. Apprenticeship training programs support what goes on in the workplace, they don’t replace it. The government also plays a part. The MST apprenticeship in Canada was initiated directly by industry but benefits from provincial funding on the east and west coasts. Strong financial commitment and participation by the industry itself are not just the clearest statement that we are serious about training, they help stabilize and protect programs from exterior fluctuations, whether political or economic. Regardless of the political climate, industry leaders in this country must come to grips with this issue. There is no reinventing to be done. A close study of existing training programs will show what works. If training can be done in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada, it can be done here. In fact, it must be done if America is to rebuild its competitive edge. About the Author: Paul Gartside is a boat builder and designer who lives and works on Long Island, New York. He is a director of Quadrant Marine Institute, which devel­ oped and delivers technical training to the Canadian Marine Service Technician apprenticeship program.

136 Professional BoatBuilder

PartingShot169-FINAL.indd 136

8/30/17 1:38 PM

See us at

ScottBader-169.indd 3

Booth 944

8/24/17 2:03 PM

Micron : Generations of Innovation ®

The innovation continues… We are excited to introduce Micron WA as the newest addition to the Micron Technology family. Micron WA is a multi-seasonal, polishing, water-based antifouling with the unique Water Activated matrix. This novel paint technology delivers a crisp color, and premium long lasting protection for all waters! The Micron Technology family offers a range of premium products that meets your needs while delivering true and proven performance. For generations Micron Technology has been protecting boats coast to coast by improving fuel efficiencies while reducing paint build up through controlled polishing. Whatever the year, you know you’ll always have the latest and best in Micron Technology. Visit our website for more information – yachtpaint.com

Scan the code with your smartphone to watch our Micron film.

All trademarks mentioned are owned by, or licensed to, the AkzoNobel group of companies. © AkzoNobel 2017.

83588482

See us at

Interlux-168.indd 4

Booth 1226

8/24/17 2:02 PM