43 The bonding process of that liner to the hull is a major component; it makes for a unitized structural gridwork that makes the boats very stiff, very silent. We hear a lot from people coming out of other boats that they can’t believe how quiet our boats are in a seaway.” A newer technique called infusion provides a more controlled means of saturating fiberglass cloth and other laminate materials with resin. Rather than applying resin by hand, the cloth is covered with a vacuum bag, and resin is drawn into the material through a network of tubes using the negative pressure of the vacuum. The process can produce lighter-weight structures and reduce waste, but extra care must be taken to prevent voids that would weaken the structure. Each manufacturer uses infusion for some parts in the build, and some use it for the hull itself. The Pacific Seacraft 61’s cored hull is molded using a combination of hand layup and infusion. Fiberglass infusion is used for the hulls of most Hatteras yachts and the Slane 62 as well. “All of the hulls are infused up to about 80 feet, along with all of our decks and bulkheads,” says Bruce Angel, vice president of product development and engineering at Hatteras. “We’ve always been known for our durability and our safety — we’ve never been known for speed. But with fuel prices as they are and the competi-tion adopting more of the lightweight structures, we’re not going to be able to rest on our laurels.” Slane Marine is using the infusion process as one part of a con-certed effort to keep its boats as light as possible. “We are making use of newer fabrics and resins that make that pro-cess even more efficient,” says Thomas Slane Jr., who works alongside his father at Slane Marine. “Our 62 is designed to be a highly engi-neered sport fishing boat, with no weight that’s not needed.” With those savings, along with a lightweight and efficient propul-sion system, they expect the boat to weigh considerably less than comparably sized competitors. “With that weight savings you don’t need as much power to achieve the same speeds,” Slane Jr says. “And with less power, there’s less fuel burn. With the cost of fuel and the amount that’s burned during each tournament, that adds up to a significant savings over the life of the boat.” Gunboat also molds its hulls using infusion, but replaced fiberglass with carbon fiber, with a foam core, resulting in a structure that’s extremely strong and lightweight. The epoxy-carbon infusion tech-nique requires specialized training of the workforce, which the state provided through the College of the Albemarle as part of its incen-tive package. Jarrett Bay is using carbon fiber and cored composites extensively to reduce weight in its structures, especially in its 90-footer, but the hulls are built using a more traditional method known as cold molding. “They’re built as wooden hulls, and then they’re fiber-glassed inside and out. So technically it becomes a fiberglass boat with a wooden core,” Ramsey says. “One of the reasons for using wood is noise abatement. The customers don’t want a boat that’s loud or like a kettledrum under way, or even at the dock. Engine room fairing and paint prep underway inside the hull of the Slane 62. Randy Ramsey with Hull No. 60, the 84-foot Blank Check, custom build for two-time Jarrett Bay boat owners from Tampa, Florida. PHOTO BY CASEY FUTRELL/NCCOAST PHOTO COURTESY OF SLANE MARINE www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
Wrightsville Beach Magazine May 2015
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