For the Rogers 82, UK-based yacht designer Rogers is aiming to combine the technology of a race boat with the luxury of a cruiser.
SP, the marine composite business of Gurit, based on the Isle of Wight, UK, started work on the Rogers 82 in April 2008 and has provided both structural design and composite materials for the boat.
“Where typically metal would be used for other racer/cruisers, a large number of components have been engineered and manufactured using carbon fibre epoxy composite to produce this inspiring dual-purpose yacht,” says SP’s Design Engineer, Dr Paolo Manganelli.
The Rogers 82 is now being built at Goetz Custom Boats in the USA. The yacht will weigh 30 tonnes and will be constructed entirely from carbon prepreg. SP has supplied its SE70 prepreg to the project. The hull is mainly a sandwich composite construction using Corecell™ foam core material. SP’s SPRINT® has also been specified for use on some components of the Rogers 82. Ampreg22 resin is used for wet-laminated parts and the epoxy structural adhesive SP345 is used throughout the boat. SA70 adhesive film has been selected to bond the core.
“SP engineers have worked in very close collaboration with the designers at Rogers and the yard at Goetz to achieve the ultimate weight efficiency for this impressive yacht,” says Manganelli. “The main challenge for the SP team was to meet the request for optimum structural performance and efficiency while retaining a comfortable interior layout and cruising boat-type ergonomics.”
The launch of the first Rogers 82 – named Aegir – is scheduled for Spring 2010.
