Ever wonder how a boat is created from an idea to reality? Here are some progress photos of the new J/9 daysailer.
The quick lesson is that once the designer has created the hull and deck lines for the boat, it's sent to our Symmetrix tool maker in Bristol, RI to make the male "plugs".
Step 1- make the frames and spray coat with what looks like wedding cake white icing (a foam).
Step 2- the 5-axis CNC milling machine "carves" out the shape of the plug.
Step 3- coat the mold with an epoxy/ fiber mix (the gray stuff).
Step 4- the 5-axis milling process carves the mold to within 1mm of the designed shape.
Step 5- mold is "long-boarded" manually for smoothness.
Step 6- final thin coating (black) of mold release epoxy is sprayed and hand-sanded and buffed to a brilliant, smooth shine!
Step 7- apply mold release, then cover the plug in multiple layers of glass to create the female "mold". Add several cross frames and longtitudinal supports (mostly steel tubing). Flip it all over, pull the plug out of the mold! Now, we're ready to make boats!
Sounds easy, right? Not! But, it's much faster and more accurate today than it was back in "the old days" of wooden frames and strip-planking and hand-sanding everything!
Learn more here- http://www.jboats.com/j9
