The CODE8 is a light displacement, high performance racing yacht designed by America’s Cup yacht designer Andrej Justin.
Carbon Innovation decided to use Huntsman’s products after consultations with Farix Ltd, Huntsman’s distributor in Hungary.
CAD data was initially used to produce a plug of the yacht from a PSFoam substructure and RenPaste® SV36 / Ren® HV 36 modelling paste. The parts were then CNC machine milled to create a master model, exhibiting low shrinkage and a smooth surface finish.
A high performance gel-coat (Resin XD4615 / Ren® HY 5159) was then applied to the master model and a backing layer was built up (using Renlam® CY219/XB5173 in combination with glass fibre) to form the mould for the hull, deck and all other parts.
The hull and deck have been produced from the mould using a hot curing system for vacuum infusion (GL certified Araldite® LY 1564 / Aradur® 2954) and bonded together with an epoxy adhesive (GL certified Araldite 2015) which forms durable, elastomeric joints that are water tight and weather resistant. Combining low viscosity with a long pot life at elevated temperatures, the hot curing system offers excellent mechanical, dynamic and thermal properties. This high temperature resistant system is also suitable for the manufacture of boats finished in dark colours, such as black or dark blue.
For other components, including the mast and rudder, an Araldite prepreg system (Araldite LY 1556 / Aradur 1573 / Accelerator 1571 / Hardener XB 3403) was selected and used in combination with Carbon Innovation’s self-developed prepreg machine. This system has an easy B-staging and GL certification and can also be used for wet lay-up, filament winding and resin transfer moulding (RTM).
“Using Huntsman’s products and systems throughout the project has optimised our management time and provided a central expert source of technical know-how and product supply,” said Tamas Simon, Managing Director at Carbon Innovation. “On a practical level we are realising cost benefits and are on target to meet our time to market objectives, with minimal waste and downtime. The quality of parts has matched the ambition of our design at every stage.”
The CODE8 boat will first take to the water to compete in the Keszhely-Kenese, a short handed solo race, on 20 August. In September, it will compete in both the Centomiglia at Lake Garda and the TBS cup at Lake Balaton.