I have been researching the build methods of different
boat yards in different countries for some time, both well known and less well known designs, and am amazed at the diversity of methods used in construction. For a medium
displacement cruising
sail boat of around 45 feet, it is hard to find two yards who use the same combination of resin and fibre, constructed in the same way, and who agree on whether the
hull should be
single skin or sandwich, or
single skin below the
water line and sandwich above etc. etc etc. It is apparent that the likes of SP Technologies (now Gurit) and other composite engineering and materials companies, appear to be improving composite construction methods but there remains an enormous diversity across the
boat yards. My thinking here is that these methods cannot all be equal, some are evidently better than others (vis
epoxy beats vinylester which beats polyester). Does anyone have a view on how one can sensibly discriminate the various build methods in this maze without getting completely confused?! It is for example interesting to note that Swan were building in polyester until a couple of years ago (for the 62). Any ideas anyone?