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Most boat builders agree that the new cold-molded wooden boats currently being produced generally out-perform glass boats. This is primarily because they are almost always lighter and faster. However, with the use of Kevlar and other high-tech building materials, light weight and speed doesn't come at the expense of strength. Building lighter and stronger boats is a major goal at American Custom Yachts. ACY's custom sportfisherman all feature a modified hull designed for increased speed and efficiency, built using an innovative steel jig created just for cold molded hull fabrication.
With the help of Edison Chouest Offshore's computerized plasma cutters, we fabricated permanent steel jigs that we can use over and over again," explained American's president Dominick LaCombe. "This has resulted in a savings of hundreds of man hours in set-up and breakdown time," he added.
The keel, stringers and deck beams on American Custom Yachts are all constructed of laminated wood for strength. American has found plywood laminated with fiberglass and Kevlar to be the ideal materials for boat hulls and structural bulkheads. The major secret to the boat's light weight and subsequent speediness is Kevlar -- a high-tech polymer tougher than fiberglass that can be laid on much lighter to achieve the same strength.
American hulls are constructed of fur stringers wrapped with diagonal layers of Bruynzeel plywood manufactured from mahogony. Three layers are applied to the bottom with each layer set at opposing angles for extra strength. Two layers are used on the hull sides for weight reduction. The plywood is formed and fastened to the longitudinal battens and stringers by a vacuum bagging process. The hull is then covered with Kevlar and fiberglass matt and finished with fairing compound to complete the cold-molded process. Vacuum bagging, according to LaCombe, not only assures even bonding and a fair outer surface; it also saves having to drive thousands of screws or nails to hold it all together while the epoxy kicks, then having to pull the fastenings and plug thousands of holes.
This technique duplicates the weight-saving advantages of foam-core hulls, while adding the extra strength of a wooden hull," he stated. "Most of the hull's weight is in the resin which is absorbed by the fiberglass. Because our cores are made of wood instead of foam core, the inner and outer panels do not have to be as thick in resin and glass. The result is a stronger, lighter hull with a better glass to resin ratio.
