Trimaran float join

I am looking to get detail of the method that is used to join the two symetrical halves of a trimaran float. Or the deck and hull mould of a hull. The construction is foam sandwich female Moulded with a gelcoat finish.

Weta, Farrier and beachcat builders use this method and produces an almost seamless external face using Moulded gelcoat.

I know that if home built joints are taped internal and external. When female Moulded they are cut at the centreline and brought together and joined. No external tape but other details are elusive.

Is their an industry standard method of the join detail?

Thanks in advance

Alex

 

The easiest way to join floats is to make a hull and a deck and join around the gunwale.


If you are doing a centreline join, one way is to mold in a rebate to allow for a taped join and then fill and fair with gelcoat. You still have to allow for access throughout the hull to tape the inside of this join.

Another way is to have make a flange that turns inside the hull and bond this together. That negates the need to get inside the hull but the outside still needs filling and fairing.

 

Thanks vmg

The internal flange is a logical option.

Thanks Alex

 

What do the plans say ? There are a multitude of methods.

 

Rwatson - no plans exist.

These are to be female Moulded sandwich halfs. The ideal method would involve minimal refinishing of the outer gelcoat.

Thanks
Alex

 

This is one way

 

Thanks rwatson this will work. I can see the cutting through one layer of glass and one layer of foam and leaving one layer of glass as being difficult.

the option I like the most at the moment is to have an type of internal flange on the Moulded part. This internal flange would be the glass coverage over the foam.

The setup of the foam would be need to be precisely set to the edge of the mould and the mould would likely require a removable fence applied after laminating. No cutting at all just prepare and bond - looking for thoughts on this as a process.

Alex