Solas Marine—Successful transition from wet-laid to marine resin infused construction

“In hindsight” reflects Pahansen De Alwis of Solas Marine, Sri Lanka “we would have shortened our transition to vacuum infusion if we had involved a hands-on composite trainer earlier. Nonetheless, we are pleased with the results we have achieved in a little over 6 months since we ordered our Vacmobile boat vacuum system.” In October 2008, Solas Marine Pvt Ltd., of Sri Lanka enquired about the supply of a Vacmobile vacuum system with a view to upgrading their composite boat building operation from wet-laminating to vacuum infused construction. While Solas Marine were not familiar with the details of infusion they understood that moving to the process would allow them to build lighter, stronger and generally better performing boats. This would open up new opportunities for them in pleasure craft, commercial fishing and naval vessels in Asian and Middle Eastern markets. Ultimately, Solas wanted to reduce manu- facturing costs as well. Vacmobiles.com recommended Solas enter into the transi- tion gradually to build manufacturing skills and confidence without risking large and expensive mistakes. It was suggested that Solas start by infusing small parts such as hatch roofs, then move to dinghies for boats and progressively through to larger hulls. Since Sri Lanka did not have an existing base of users of vacuum infusion, certain composite materials specific to infusion were not locally available at the time. Vacmobiles.com recommended that Solas buy a Vacmobile vacuum system, along with a complete starting kit of vacuum and bagging consumables, fabrics and resin to build a few hatch marine covers. By starting with a set of components known to produce good infusions, Solas would reduce the risk of getting disappointing results through work- ing with incorrectly selected materials. So- las accepted the recommendation and a complete kit was delivered mid-January 2009. After some reflection, Solas decided that rather than learn the finer points of infusion through trial and error an invest- ment in hands-on training would be the quickest way to make the transition. Arrangements were made for an experi- enced New Zealand composite shell builder to visit Solas to provide an intensive week of training in April 2009. While mostly a “hands-on” course, the training also cov- ered the principles of vacuum infusion, ma- terials and resin selection, how to measure vacuum and determine vacuum leak rates and how to use instruments such as ultra- sonic leak detectors. The course culminated with the successful infusion of the 12’ (3.7 m) dinghy shown. Following the training visit, Solas Marine has successfully infused several dinghies and other small craft. As this journal goes to print, Solas are preparing to infuse a 50’ (15.2 m) hull. They will call on the New Zealand boat builder one more time to supervise this first large infusion, but are confident that they will be able to infuse large vessels unaided in future. While handicapped by distance and the lack of local supplies of infusion materials, Mr. Prashant Kamath, the managing direc- tor of Solas Marine, is pleased with the pro- gress that his company has made with their implementation of the vacuum infu- sion process. Mr. Kamath said, “I am sure that by the end of the year we will be pro- ducing much higher quality, more efficient and generally more desirable boats than we offered in the past. Not only that, our crew has been stimulated by the training process and is looking forward to a marine cleaner work environment. I am well satisfied that moving to vacuum infusion was a sensible step for us to take – especially in these qui- eter economic times.” Project manager Pahan de Alwis added “The support provided by Vacmobiles.com has been great! While we are now sourc- ing our own materials locally, it was really helpful to be supplied with a comprehen- sive starter kit when we bought the Vacmo- bile machine. Now we know what to look for. Drew Collet, the trainer they selected for us, did an excellent job and we now know him well enough that we can com- fortably ask detailed questions if we need support from time to time. Obviously we had to make an investment to implement the transition in this manner but we have not had to reinvent any aspect of the process. We consider the investment both time and cost effective. We would not hesitate recommending to other boat build- ers that they adopt a similar approach to implementing vacuum infusion.”

Upcoming Vacmobile shows

Solas Marine will be pleased to receive dis- tribution enquiries. For more information contact: Solas Marine Sri Lanka Email: Vacmobile will be exhibiting at the following international shows in 2009 Windpower China - Beijing, October 21-23 Composites Europe - Stuttgart, October 27-29 To arrange a meeting at one of these shows, please email Cliff Walker at info@solasmarinelanka.com www.solasmarinelanka.com Drew Collett at Marine Excellence +64 9 482 3530 Email: info@vacmobiles.com drew@compotec.co.nz