Time someone stood up for laminators round the world !!

If you can't inhale resin, try harder! hahaha.

Here in the Netherlands we have a category in our collective labour agreement about composite builders, with various levels much like descibed.
Level 1 and 2 are unschooled jobs,
Level 3 is a trimmer/gelcoater/sprayer
Level 4 is a fitter/ laminator
Level 6 is a mould maker
Level 7 is a boatbuilder(responsible for the complete hull with bulkheads, deck, etc.). Same pay level as a designer.

I never got paid more as level 1. And I was responsible for a whole composite department working with prepregs. I quit, now I'm starting for myself.

In the Netherlands we have no formal education about boatbuilding though, so I find a lot bad craftmanship. Drilling trough cores, osmosis prevention with solvent based coatings(on vinylester boats), steel/aluminium inserts in carbon fibre, etc.

 

Over here we have fiberglass lamination training and the government issues an internationally accredited certificate on the skill acquired.

ACMA- Association of Composite Manufacturers Association, USA offers CCT training and gives a cerificate of Composite Technician to those who finish the course.

Plymouth University of UK offers courses on Marine Composites Technology with a BsC degree.

But honestly, it is not the piece of paper or certification you hold. It is about your craftsmanship and the way you put your heart and soul to the trade. The pride of building something.

 

Uni tech in New Zealand held or still holds a sort of course in introduction into composits but the guy that was the tutor there was a no hoper .
He worked with me at Sensation Yachts on one project and made more stuff ups in one week on the job than all the newbies i had working with me in all the 4 years we were there to the stage where the guys refused to work with him .This is university tutor showing my guys how to laminate and stiffing everything he touched .We had divised a very simple easy system so nothing could be forgotten and this guy tryed to change it becasue it was just to easy !!!
Was sent by the mob up stairs to speed things up . After a week I had to ask managment to have him reassigned to another department or there was the treat of a walkout !!
What was there thinking i will never know becasue we were always one month ahead of the other departments and had all itams required plus stacked and labled and could have had 3 weeks holiday and still not got behind with production . Simplicity and everyone knowing the complete job from start to finish was what i taught the guys from the first day . We all worked ! everyone including myself took turns doing every job !we all checked each others work and there was never such a thing as slacking off or disapearing in the middle of a big job for a smoke and toilet stop !,you went before or held on till after !! no exceptions . We always had a radio and music ,no shouting or grumbling at any time ,All our tools were in A1 workng order all the time oiled at the end of the day ! grinders blown out with compressed air and 2 new dics fitted ,scissors sharpened and spare knife blades and boxes of rubber gloves Cartons of the various sized masking tapes and so on and so on . Was all automatic and never had to ask The guys organised themselves !!Its called Team work !!

 

In my experience most laminators have been nutcases, reckon the fumes get to them. Most seem to have a completely warped sense of humour.
I remember one who would lay up all morning go to the pub & have 4 pints of lager for lunch, return & lay up all afternoon then back to the pub for a gallon of lager, dunno if he ever ate anything!

 

In his own way his body was trying to combat the effects of styrene inhilation into his system !

Hes not a nut case sadly hes just one of us !!
Warped sense of humor ! he just views life differantly to most !!

I had a girl friend once that worked in a nut factory and every so often the doctors and nurses had to spend time in the soft room popping pills !!so who gives them the right to judge seemingly normal people ???

 

Are you saying laminators have --special needs?

My American spell checker does not like laminators .

 

Whom you gonna call? Ghostbusters! (or close encounters of the third kind)

 

Errr--they are antifoulers, they have tins of white paint and are using brushes.

Some one somewhere could be deeply insulted by your insinuation.

 

I am not insuniating anything but the picture clearly shows this is a hazardous profession and that the company is considerate enough to protect its crew as much as possible.

The crew are painters, not exclusive to fiberglass boat building but part of the industry nevertheless.