Dear All

Some weeks ago I participated in a course on fibre reinforced composites, e.g. glass, carbon, aramid fibers and all that goes along with this art (chemistries, methods, tools, accompanying means and measures). The company that offers these courses on a monthly basis is «Suter Kunststoffe», also known as «Swiss Composite» (www.swiss-composite.ch). I mention the name of the company not because I believe you guys will be ordering products in Switzerland, but because of their excellent online catalogue (in German, French and ENGLISH). It not only shows all the products but also offers a wealth of information regarding their application and therefore can support you when planning something along these lines.
nb: The web site itself only offers German and French, but the catalogue is trilingual!

To get back to the 1-day-course It was run by proprietor Marco Suter himself and Roman Lorenz. A stroke of luck: Roman is a professional boatbuilder and the piece-de-resistance of the course was the individual production of a fibreglass hull (see photos). The tuition was a mixture of hands-on (producing the hull) and theory in beween – whenever things had to set or attain a specific degree of tackyness. Theory, including a folder with a lot of information, comprised a broad spectrum of themes which all of us have come across when diving into the art of GRP: which materials, which type/weight of fabric, what weave pattern, epoxy or polyester (according to Marco polyester is dead for our applications), release agents, production of a 2-part form for undercut originals, vacuum technique, safety (no food ever in the workshop!!, no need of a mask in a well aired environment – not least because of the knowledge required when using a mask (type and ageing of filters), always wear nitril gloves, etc. I found the recommendation intriguing to use the cheapest auxiliary equipment available (brushes, rollers, popsicle sticks, etc.) and throw it away each time. The convincing argumetation: using cleaners (like acetone) a) costs more than the disposable items, b) is unhealthy and c) getting rid of the residue in an environmentally acceptable way can be a (costly) challenge.

My key message: If you are interested in obtaining (semiprofessional) skills in a model boat related area find a course that really advances your knowhow, is enjoyable and - if you are as lucky as I was – leaves you with a (near-)perfect proof of your aquired skills in form of a little masterpiece. It goes without saying that the quality of the my first-ever GRP-hull simply underlines the didactic skills of Marco and Roman.

Ian

Some info on the model:
length: 70 cm / 28 inches
beam: 25 cm / 10 inches
weight: 480 grs / 17 ounces (untrimmed)
clear gelcoat to show mistakes / air bubbles
white colour resin/glass mix to highlight stringers & reinforcement creases
3 layers of glass cloth: 1x 163 gr/m2; 2x 280 gr/m2 (= very stiff hull and yet easy to lay)
for Imperial-oriented guys: roughly 1x 4 oz/ sq.yard; 2x 8 oz/sq.yard plus peel-ply fabric