Helping Out on a Vela Latina Some jobs start with “can you come help me for an hour” and turn into a full lamination masterclass. Our friend Miguel’s Vela Latina — a traditional lateen-rigged wooden boat — had sunk three times. Not from any one dramatic failure, but from fiberglassing that was never quite good […]
Repairing and Sailing a Traditional Vela Latina Read More »
Inside a Modern Carbon Race Boat: What Race Boat Structure Actually Looks Like Every race boat interior looks the same once you strip away the paint job — and that’s not an accident. I can’t tell you which boat this is, and there’s plenty on board I’m not allowed to show you. Most of that
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How to Laminate a Repair Properly Most bad laminates aren’t caused by bad materials. They’re caused by skipping the boring parts. This one’s a simple polyester repair — closing up an old port light opening on Paikea, foam-cored, nothing exotic — but the basics behind it are the same basics most people get wrong. Not
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Wet Laminate vs. Prepreg: Choosing the Right Carbon Fibre Method Choosing between wet laminate and prepreg is one of the first decisions you’ll face on any carbon fibre project, and it’s one Shayne’s made a few hundred times over — from grand prix campaigns down to a single part on Paikea. Here’s how he breaks
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Vacuum bagging carbon fibre laminate Read More »
The Benefits of Using Peel Ply Peel ply is the layer that never stays with the boat — and it’s doing more work than its five minutes of fame in the lamination stack would suggest. It goes on as the first layer against the laminate, and it comes off before the next layer goes on.
The Benefits of Using Peel Ply Read More »