Splendour Under Sail - PAGE 51 
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The continual improvement of salt water resistant alloys has allowed aluminium to become the most favoured material from which to build large one-off sailing yachts. Imco, the Dutch supplier of high quality marine grade materials has contributed to the high standard of quality achieved with 'Whirlwind XII', 'Acharné', 'Happy Joss' and the latest collaboration between Ron Holland Yacht Design and Royal Huisman Shipyard, a high performance ketch of 140 feet in length.
These yacht building alloys are quite distinct from those used in aerospace and architectural applications. Fortunately there are companies such as Imco Holland BV, who supply the majority of yacht builders in that country, specialising in 5754, 5083 and 5086, the weldable alloys with high strength, stiffness and good resistance to the marine environment. The production and quality control of these alloys is tightly specified by Lloyds and ABS. Only a few suppliers, like Imco, use production methods which conform to these standards.
Following the success of racing yachts with composite hulls this form of construction is now being adopted for some large cruising yachts. Composites first appeared in production boats, where the cost savings in building out of a female mould caused an explosion in the number of cruising boats of all sizes, cutting costs and using unskilled labour where experienced shipwrights were previously needed.
New composite materials from the aerospace industry give us lighter, stronger and more efficient structures: a far cry from the stock GRP production yacht most sailors are familiar with. A sandwich laminate of glass, carbon or Kevlar can achieve excellent levels of strength-to-weight, sound and thermal insulation, panel stiffness, impact resistance and durability. The use of these materials requires a level of environmental control and specialised skills often not available in existing shipyards. This restricts the number of builders who can produce a composite structure to the required standard.
The dialogue between materials supplier, designer and builder must be close throughout the building programme. Whereas an aluminium or wooden yacht is built of materials brought in, the composite yacht is composed of material actually created in the form of the boat. By careful selection of
The continual improvement of salt water resistant alloys has allowed aluminium to become the most favoured material from which to build large one-off sailing yachts. Imco, the Dutch supplier of high quality marine grade materials has contributed to the high standard of quality achieved with 'Whirlwind XII', 'Acharné', 'Happy Joss' and the latest collaboration between Ron Holland Yacht Design and Royal Huisman Shipyard, a high performance ketch of 140 feet in length.
These yacht building alloys are quite distinct from those used in aerospace and architectural applications. Fortunately there are companies such as Imco Holland BV, who supply the majority of yacht builders in that country, specialising in 5754, 5083 and 5086, the weldable alloys with high strength, stiffness and good resistance to the marine environment. The production and quality control of these alloys is tightly specified by Lloyds and ABS. Only a few suppliers, like Imco, use production methods which conform to these standards.
Following the success of racing yachts with composite hulls this form of construction is now being adopted for some large cruising yachts. Composites first appeared in production boats, where the cost savings in building out of a female mould caused an explosion in the number of cruising boats of all sizes, cutting costs and using unskilled labour where experienced shipwrights were previously needed.
New composite materials from the aerospace industry give us lighter, stronger and more efficient structures: a far cry from the stock GRP production yacht most sailors are familiar with. A sandwich laminate of glass, carbon or Kevlar can achieve excellent levels of strength-to-weight, sound and thermal insulation, panel stiffness, impact resistance and durability. The use of these materials requires a level of environmental control and specialised skills often not available in existing shipyards. This restricts the number of builders who can produce a composite structure to the required standard.
The dialogue between materials supplier, designer and builder must be close throughout the building programme. Whereas an aluminium or wooden yacht is built of materials brought in, the composite yacht is composed of material actually created in the form of the boat. By careful selection of
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