CigDaze

Since some people have been asking lately, what is exactly going on when boats are being built, I thought it would be cool to provide a little graphical illustration on how the process works. Hope this can be of some help for us. Let's talk boat-building!

Anyone have any pictures to suppliment? Additional Info?

CigDaze

1
First, a rough frame is buit which approximately resembles the final shape of the plug.

CigDaze

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Next, a high-density tooling foam is applied to the frame. This is usually sprayed on and is a lot larger than the final shape. The frame can be treated with an adhesive layer first or the use of self-adhesive foams can be used.

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Once the foam has cured, the whole assembly can be precision CNC machined to the final shape. Usually a large gantry type system is used which has 3 precision controlled axes. A high-speed milling bit is used to cut the foam.

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Once this is complete, you have a ready-to-go plug. This will be used in making the final mold. The foam can be sealed in various ways if any defects have occurred or the foam is too porous.

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The plug is treated with some kind of mold release agent or wax. On top of the plug, layers of tooling glass are layed-up and this will cure to a hardened fiberglass tool.

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After full curing, the tool surface can be removed from the plug.

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This new tool is now ready for framing. Framing is important to maintain the rigidity and optimal shape of the final product. Materials can vary, but thermal coefficients of expansion must be taken into consideration...you wouldn't want the toold changing more or less rapidly than the boat in an autoclave.

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8
Now that the tool is complete, you can begin laying-up the hull. The mold is treated with a mold release agent. Subsequent plies are layed down and then resinated. More substantial parts or high-tech boats may use prepreg materials. They are more expensive, but are usually easier to work with and provide superior properties. Resin content can be precisely controlled for full wet-out, and minimum weight.

Any coring material that is to be encapsulated will be sandwiched between layers.

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8b
A close-up reveals the details. Once the lay-up is complete, vacuum bagging begins. A layer of release film can be applied, onto which you unroll a porous fiber mesh layer. On top of that comes the bagging. The porous layer helps evacuate the trapped air and prevents any wrinkles in the bag from being transferred onto the final part. Vacuum ports are placed every so often through the bag and sealed. These allow pump line attachment to remove the air.