Boat Making - Ernakulam, Kerala
From centuries people have been building boats out of various materials and fiberglass is considered to be the most preferred medium out of all. Fiberglass is a term used for a unit of catalyst, hardener and resin mixed in appropriate proportions, later applied to fibermat placed on mould. Fiberglass is a strong lightweight material and is used for many products as well. Fiberglass components are much cheaper to buy. It is less brittle, weighs better when compared to other metals and can be moulded into complex shapes. Use of this fiberglass is mostly witnessed in aircraft, boats, automobiles, bath tubs, roofing, and external door skins. For this quality of strength fiberglass is most preferred in boat making, which is also called as fiberboat making.
The three major process that is carried out while building a fiberboat are:
1. Preparation of a mold
2. Fiber Casting
3. Polishing
1. Preparation of a Mold:
To start off building a fiberboat, the very preliminary step that is carried out is construction of a mold. The mold is built to form the structure for the final boat. The old is built with polyester, plaster of paris or of wood. The mold is supported with materials until they solidify. Molding includes two kinds- male mold and female mold. When building with a male mold, fibermat is placed over the mold’s exterior surface and then soaked with liquid catalysed resin. Working with female mold, the fibermat is placed in mold’s interiors and then soaked with resin. In both cases, multiple layers of fibermat are built and after all layers of resin has set up hard and cured, the solid part can be separated from the mold. With the male mold the laminate starts inside out, the outermost layer goes last, the exterior surface is polished to make it look nice and shiny afterwards. With a female mold, the outermost layer goes in first. The boat emerges from the mold neat and shiny if it is treated carefully and less work is done on exterior finish. The application of wax for master mold is a must before starting off with resin work. Production builders usually go for female mold.
2. Fiber Casting:
Once the mold is ready, clean and dry, it is coated with waxy agent before starting to laminate with resin and fibermat. All the necessary materials needed for the castings are placed nearby to avoid cluster and carry out smooth and flawlessness process. The first thing in the molding process is application of Gel coat. The color preferred is mixed along with the Gel coat and is applied on the mold with help of clean dry paint brushes. A thin coat of resin is mixed with colour pigment, as a very first layer during laminate so boats comes out mold as pre-painted. The resin begins as a liquid and solidifies after catalyst or hardener is added to it. This is a chemical reaction that cannot be half-done. Once the Gel coat cures the resin is mixed with catalyst and laminate begins. The amount of resin mixture depends on the size of the mold and casting required. Layers of resin and fibermat are applied on the mold and is left to cure for hours together. Once the laminate cures the casting, it is removed from the mold. One advantage of fiberglass construction is that it facilitates the creation of compound hull shapes. For the compound structures the castings are taken in parts and fixed together later with chalk and resin paste.
3. Polishing:
After completion of the whole boat model it is sanded and a smooth finish is obtained. Then two coats of oil based paints are applied to the entire boat for a long lasting appearance. The propellers and motor engines are fixed to the boats and all the minor fittings are ensured. It involves minimum twenty people to manufacture a fiberglass boat and it takes approximately 40-50days to complete the boat. A well-built and well maintained boats can last almost indefinitely.
