Images of the America's Cup- Constructing AC 45's in seven easy steps

by Richard Gladwell on 6 Oct 2010
Due to the secrecy under which most racing yachts are now constructed, media and cameras are not usually allowed into a building facility - however at Core Composites new construction facility in Warkworth, there are no secrets on the AC45 design and we have an all too rare chance to follow the action

Most of us who have built yachts are familiar with the making of a building frame or pug, using a variety of temporary frames and attaching stringers, or strip planking.

One of the new areas of boatbuilding is the use of CNC milling centres to make hull moulds and composite components. The complex multi headed milling machines take a design shape from the computer and reproduce that shape by milling a plug which is then used to construct a female mould(s) into which the boat is laid up, using methods which will be familiar to many.

The advantages of the use of milling machines are that complex shapes can be very precisely reproduced, with little human effort, no templates and hours of careful sanding.

Step 1: Construct the strip planked male moulds

Step 2: Cut the plugs into sections and cover with epoxy putty paste from Adhesive technologies NZ - apply before cutting the hull into three pieces

Step 3: Take the canoe body sections to the CNC milling machine and machine to the designed shape , including the mating faces.

Step 4: Give the milled plugs a light sand to remove milling toughs, then paint and finish sand

Next steps are:

Step 5: Rejoin the plugs into a single long canoe body section

Step 6: The female moulds are then built as infused carbon/epoxy high temperature moulds

Step 7: The first hulls are laid up in the female moulds and cooked in the ovens to achieve a proper cure.