1st Vacuum Infused Hull - 320CC

At World Cat we are always trying to improve our products and build the best possible boat on the market. In designing the 320CC Center Console we went back to the drawing board to design a product from the hull up... this boat builds on our popular 290CC while giving the customer increased beam and length, as well as additional features.

Additionally, the hull for this boat is built using the best possible methods of boat production, vacuum infusion. As a company we are using this boat as our first foray into vacuum infusion... this will result in a product that is bulletproof, while reducing weight of the finished product. No other production catamaran builder is able to boast this advanced technology.

This technology allows us to meet our requirements of strength, rigidity, and low weight. Additionally, this boat will include a two-piece fiberglass stringer grid. This combination will result in product with superior strength for offshore use, while providing higher cruise and top-end speeds, and increased fuel economy.

By utilizing vacuum infusion we can ensure precise resin to glass ratios, and ensure perfect core and laminate bonds. The hull is infused with 100% vinyl ester resin which offer superior cosmetic and structural benefits.

We will continue to update our progress on the 320CC, and of integrating vacuum infusion into the production of our boats.

Vacuum Infusion Overview

Although building fiberglass parts via vacuum infusion isn't a new process, it is typically reserved for high-end and high-performance products such as aircraft, supercars, and race boats. Once the basic concepts are understood, the process can be repeated consistently to produce high-quality laminates not possibly via hand lay-up techniques.

Key Equipment:

• Vacuum Pump - The star of the show! The pump provides the pressure differential necessary to draw the resin through the dry laminates and optimally wet-out the materials.
• Vacuum Bag - The bag completely encloses the part and applies constant, consistent vacuum equally across the part.
• Resin Traps - Pressure pots are used between the vacuum bag and the vacuum pump to test the initial vacuum of the bag, and to protect the pump from ingesting excess resin from the part.
• Sealant Tape - Used to seal the bag to the outer edge of the mold and provide an airtight bond between the mold bag and the vacuum bag. Additionally, the tape is used to repair leaks in the bag.
• Vacuum and Feed Lines - Semi-rigid tubing connecting the various vacuum components (the pump, the pressure pots, and the vacuum bag) to one-another. Spiral wrap tubing is also used to direct the vacuum or feed lines as necessary.
• Spray Glue - Used to secure the dry laminates to the mold or to previous laid layers of materials.

The Setup:

• Install the dry laminates and coring, using the spray glue as necessary to hold in place.
• Install the vacuum and feed lines per the manifold setup using a flow modeling tool such as RTM-Worx.
• Apply sealant tape to the mold flange and carefully install the bag over the part and secure completely to the sealant tape.
• Connect the resin traps to the vacuum pump.
• Connect the resin traps to the vacuum lines of the bag.
• Turn on the vacuum pump and apply full vacuum of 29.7HG to the part.
• Shutoff the resin traps and perform a drop test to ensure that there are no leaks.
• Once the part passes the drop test for leaks, clamp lines completely shut.
• Connect feed lines and route to the resin source, clamp lines completely shut.
• Catalyze necessary resin and place in resin source.
• Unclamp the vacuum lines and feed lines as necessary to completely wet out the part.
• Once the part is completely wet-out clamp all feeder lines except one.
• Continue to apply vacuum to all lines until the part has reached peak exotherm and returned to ambient temperature.
• Remove bag, lines, and peel ply and dispose.

This process once learned is easily repeatable, the quality of the laminated parts is ensured and far superior to any hand built parts due to the high glass to resin ratio. Additionally, the parts weigh less because only the required amount of resin is actually in the part.

We will detail the results of our first resin infused hull in the next update, stay tuned...