Fixing a Vacuum Infusion Implosion: The Repair The infusion had been running for a couple of minutes, resin pulling through the laminate exactly as it should, when the pull sped up and the whole box beam gave way at once. A week of templating, foam cutting, and careful fitting, gone in the time it took […]
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Why Did the Box Beam Implode? Your Questions Answered After the last video, the questions came in fast — and they were good ones. Before showing how the repair actually came together, it’s worth working through the reasoning behind some of the choices that led to the implosion in the first place. None of it
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Building a Structural Box Beam for Paikea’s Hull There’s a section of hull in the aft cabin that used to lean on a bit of luck. Years ago someone built a partial bulkhead in there for an ensuite that no longer exists, and it never actually ran down to the floor. It’s an easy mistake
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Finishing the Stanchion Sockets: Load Paths, Peel Ply, and the Vacuum Bagging Process The last of the starboard side stanchion sockets went in during a genuinely hot stretch — air temperature around 32°C, laminating inside the hull with a portable air conditioner running flat out just to make the space workable. Not the most comfortable
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From Scrap Foam to Flying: Oliver’s Custom Carbon Pump Foil Board Four days of pump foiling on a kiteboard was enough to identify the exact problem: too long, and the bow kept slamming into the water on every pump stroke. The commercial fix would have cost around €900. Oliver’s fix cost a pile of scrap
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Beyond the Slam: Engineering Composite Doors for a Performance Catamaran Author: Shayne & Anna Key Message: The choice of material is never about what’s “best,” but what is most fit for purpose. For our performance refit, that purpose is extreme weight reduction without compromising on strength, safety, or functionality. Introduction: The Weight of the Problem Walk
Engineering Lighter, Smarter: Why We’re Replacing Paikea’s Wooden Doors with Composites Read More »
