Top: a literal interpretation of ragging it downwind as a disintegrating chute does little to slow down James Dorron, Paul Montague and Harry Bethwaite (yes, son) on Asko Appliances. Back to 1993 (left) and Iain Murray (with arms folded) and a rules administrator from the 18-Footers League are monitoring final fairing of the first one design skiff hull. Murray showing he still has it (above) at the helm of seven-time JJ Giltinan champion Seve Jarvin’s Gotta Love It 7. Murray (six JJ wins) managed Jarvin’s record-breaking team


of our pre-preg carbon fibre from the UK and have it shipped to Australia under refrigerated conditions. They also source and supply the Kevlar Nomex paper honey- comb that we use as a core material. The hull and deck are constructed from


the Kevlar Nomex sandwiched between two layers of pre-preg carbon, but while the materials may appear similar the build- ing process is greatly refined from what we used when we began in 2006. Interestingly we now use 3.5kg more carbon fibre in


58 SEAHORSE


each hull, but the finished hull now weighs 2kg less than those original boats. All laminating now takes place in an


air-conditioned, climate-controlled envi- ronment and the processing of the boats and pre-preg are more refined. Once all the hull and deck laminates have been laid up in their moulds they are individually baked in a custom-built oven over multiple cycles with a minimum cure temperature of 80°C. The hull and deck shell structures are then placed in a holding jig where the


complex internal structures, including


centre board case, supporting wing struc- tures, mast step, bowsprit and framing, are carefully assembled and then installed into the hull. The deck is then glued onto the hull in a very precise operation where maximum force is applied to ensure a minimum use of glue. This is a complex and critical procedure that requires extreme care as any misalignment can be disastrous… this is also the joint that basically holds the entire boat together!


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