Hull construction


Motor Boats and Yachting 1973 June 8:

..............The basic lay-up on the Moonraker is 25oz on the bottom to just above the chine line and 11oz. from there upwards and over the superstructure. On the horizontal surfaces of deck and cabin the laminate is split and  1/4 in. end-grain balsa used in sandwich construction.

Up until recently the hull laminate has been chopped strand mat plus two layers of 12oz. woven roving laid up by hand, but now a spray lay-up process is used.

First the pigmented gel coat is applied and then a single layer of pigmented mat. Now the sprayer is brought into action and deposits glass to the required weight up to the point where the first layer of rovings is laid in. More sprayed glass and resin provides a bond between it and the next woven roving, when the final thickness of glass is deposited.

Spray lay-up is a fast process and one which allows accurate amounts of resin to be deposited with the glass but it does need a conscientious operator for consistent results. The builders are Lloyds Approved Moulders and believe that their quality control section ensures satisfaction,as the saying goes.

Round the transom and extending 8ft. forward of it each side is a foam-filled stringer.

Engine bearers consist basically of two transverse girders laminated up from ply to a thickness of about 3 in. covered in 10oz. glassfibre all over and subsequently bonded in with 8oz. glassfibre. Running longitudinally between the girders are steel channels, bolted through the ply, on which the engines actually sit.

Tanks, though made separately and thus not integral with the bottom, are bonded in and provide further stiffening.........


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