Technology
everything From the humblest garage build to the fastest maxi racer the Gougeon Brothers re-wrote the script when it came to modern boatbuilding
When two brothers changed
Faster, Higher, Tougher, Stronger is best known as the motto of Olympic achievement but it could equally apply to the spirit of innovation that the founding Gougeon brothers brought to the West System brand which endures more than half a century later. Dave Johnson, sales director of Wessex Resins and Adhesives, licensed manufacturers of West System products within Europe, has seen an explosion of that pioneering spirit over the past year. ‘It’s wonderful to see our products being used across such a diverse range of waterborne craft, from stand- up paddleboards to some of the AC75s in the recent America’s Cup. ‘We’re proud of the fact that we can trace the heritage of our products directly back to the Gougeon brothers in America, who back in the Sixties were the first people to start using epoxy for boatbuilding. These days, any Seahorse reader knows that building lighter, stronger, durable performance-optimised structures is definitely the way to go with any sailing boat where boatspeed = horsepower/weight, but it wasn’t so obvious back then.’ It was Meade Gougeon’s
74 SEAHORSE
obsession with that formula that helped him become a multiple championship winner in the DN class iceboat. ‘Meade and his brothers looked at that small highly-stressed plywood one-design fuselage, and started using epoxy bonding and coating techniques that took the DN to a new level of performance,’ says Johnson. ‘It’s incredible to think that on the ice these small craft, even many decades ago, were matching or beating the performance of a modern AC75 on water. Both “runner” (skates) design and rig power/drag are prime design considerations with speeds of 40kts upwind and 65+ kts downwind. There are a surprising number of parallels, in terms of the pursuit of marginal gains in reducing surface and aero drag whilst increasing power to weight ratio with no loss of durability.’ From those humble beginnings, West System has developed a range of battle-hardened, marine-proof products that work across the whole range of water craft, from wooden classics to the latest carbon composite extreme machines. ‘Here in the UK we see a number of people building dinghies and small race yachts in plywood. We see
Top: West System epoxy plays a crucial role in the construction process of many of the finest strip-planked modern classics, including the beautiful boats built by Spirit Yachts. Above: at the other end of the spectrum, Pro-Set epoxy is used to build AC75s!
plenty of activity in the classic keelboat classes like the XODs, the Royal Burnham and Royal Corinthian One Designs, where our products are being used on numerous classic restoration projects.
‘At the other end of the speed range our product, Pro-Set epoxy, a sister brand to West System but for composite construction, is being used in projects where performance is the priority, where minimising weight and maximising strength is critical.’ One of the best examples of that is the Exocet, the International Moth design built by Simon Maguire, which has won most of the recent World Championships. ‘In the Worlds before last I think Simon’s boats occupied 19 of the top 22 places in
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