Macarthur’s record a boon to Australian company

by Media Services on 25 Feb 2005 The remarkable solo, round the world non-stop sailing record established in early February by English yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur is to impact the boat building industry in Australia and overseas.

ATL Composites, the company that supplied the majority of the structural materials used to build MacArthur’s 22.7 metre (75ft) long trimaran, Castorama B&Q, is already moving towards the development of new products and techniques as a consequence of the historic voyage.

The radical, lightweight yacht suffered no structural failures during the arduous 71-day, 27,000 nautical mile passage that took it through the extremes of wind, weather and water temperature while crossing the world’s great oceans.

Based on the Gold Coast, ATL worked in close consultation with the builders, Boatspeed Performance Sailcraft on the NSW central coast, and the yacht’s English designer, Nigel Irens, to develop the construction procedure.

The demand was to strike the perfect balance between ultimate strength and minimum weight for a structure that would be put to the ultimate test.

Adding pressure to the equation was the fact that this was the first time a high performance yacht of this type was being built in Australia. The vast majority of these amazing craft are built in France.

Undaunted by the challenge, ATL chemists and engineers recommended a construction technique very different to what is often considered the standard for the construction of racing multihulls at this level.

They convinced all parties involved that the best procedure was to use ATL’s KINETIXR wet-preg epoxy to optimise strength and impact resistance, as against ‘pre-preg’ construction.

Pre-preg involves the carbon fibre matt used to form the outer skins on the foam core of the structure being impregnated with resin during the manufacture of the material then delivered to the builder’s yard wet and under refrigeration. It is placed on the foam core over the mould and then cured at high temperature in a huge oven.

For MacArthur’s yacht the ATL technique eliminated much of this delicate and expensive procedure. Using an ATL-developed ‘custom blend’ system, the builders were able to laminate the carbon fibre skins directly onto the inside and outside of the foam core on site by applying the resin at that time.

As well as producing the ideal structure the simplicity of the technique introduced significantly improved levels of control during building, reduced the build time and reduced costs.

The construction of Castorama B&Q also benefited through the use of ATL custom made DuFLEX R composite panels for the structural fit-out.

These panels were made from carbon fibre skins over a Nomex honeycomb core. Using computer programs supplied by the designer, equipment at the ATL facility cut out precisely the yacht’s bulkheads, web-frames and floors. ATL also supplied specific epoxy bonding and fairing material for the completion of the project.

With Castorama B&Q having done everything expected of it, and the ATL Composites material having proven its worth, ATL is already advancing towards an even more efficient and effective custom-preg program for the boat building industry via the formulation of new, high performance systems in their KINETIXR range.

The ATL Composites senior management team of Lorraine Duckworth and Nick Cossich agreed that MacArthur’s magnificent achievement was further consolidating the company’s standing as a leading supplier of high quality exotic materials to the boat building industry in Australia and abroad.

This fact was reflected by the immediate and significant increase in the number of inquiries from yacht designers and builders regarding the company’s products subsequent to MacArthur reaching England.

Website: www.atlcomposites.com