Boat Manufacturing: virtual tour
Fiberglass Boat Manufacturing Operations
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 Thousands of products are manufactured from reinforced plastics.
Examples include hulls for recreational and commercial watercraft;
bodies for recreational vehicles; building panels, sporting equipment,
appliances, and power tools; bathtub, shower, and vanity installations;
automotive, aerospace, and aircraft components; and structural
components for chemical process equipment and storage tanks. The
fiberglass reinforcing in these plastic products improves their
structural strength and rigidity, as well as providing high heat
resistance and nonconductive properties.
The U.S. boat manufacturing industry produces a wide range of
boats, from small canoes and kayaks to large luxury yachts. Basically,
the boat manufacturing industry can be divided into eight separate
boat segments according to boat size and location of the engine.
They are:
Outboard Boats:
Small to medium-sized boats, powered by a self-contained detachable
engine, which is attached to the transom at the stern (rear)
of the boat. This category of boats includes most runabouts,
bass boats, utility boats, offshore fishing boats and pontoons. |
Personal Watercraft (PWC): 
Small boats (most under ten feet long) powered by water jets
instead of by an open blade propeller, on which the rider
stands or sits (as on a motorcycle).
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Inboard Runabouts:
Mid-sized boats powered by an attached engine located inside
the hull at the middle or front of the boat, with a prop
shaft running through the bottom of the boat. Over 90% of
the boats in this category are tournament ski boats. |
Jet Boats:
Small to mid-size boats powered by water jets rather than a
gas or diesel motor. The jets can be located at either the
stern or inboard.
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Sterndrives:
Mid-sized boats powered by an attached inboard engine combined
with a drive unit located on the transom at the stern (rear)
of the boat. Also known as inboard/outboards or I/Os. |
 Canoes:
Small boats powered by hand-held paddles.
|
Inboard Cruisers:
Large boats powered by one or more inboard engines. Two engines
are found in over 95% of these boats. |
Sailboats: 
This category of boats includes all sizes of boats powered, at least partially, by wind-driven sails. This category includes
both nonpowered sailboats and auxiliary-powered sailboats
that include a motor. |
 Fiberglass boats are built from glass fiber reinforcements laid
in a mold and saturated with a polyester or vinylester plastic
resin. The resin hardens to form a rigid plastic part reinforced
with the fiberglass. The resin is mixed with a catalyst, as it
is applied, that causes a cross-linking reaction between the resin
molecules. The crosslinking reaction causes the resin to harden
from a liquid to a solid. Fiberglass manufacturing processes are
generally considered either ‘‘open molding’’ or ‘‘closed
molding.’’ In open molding, fiberglass boat parts are
built ‘‘from the outside in’’ according
to three basic process steps:
- The mold is sprayed with a layer of gel coat, which is a pigmented
polyester resin that hardens and becomes the smooth outside surface
of the part.
- The inside of the hardened gel coat layer is coated with
a ‘‘skin
coat’’ of chopped glass fibers and polyester or vinylester
resin.
- Additional layers of fiberglass cloth or chopped glass fibers
saturated with resin are added until the part is the final thickness.
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