In July FIBRE Mechanics announce the delivery of a fire rated superstructure to WightShipyard in Cowes IOW. The Superstructure will be installed onto a 20m aluminium hulled SES catamaran wind farm service vessel, due to enter service in the North Sea by the end of the year...
The structure was designed to be built without the expense of making production moulds. Instead, WightShipyard are taking advantage of FIBRE Mecehanics' composite panel factory, but also taking the concept to its next logical stage. The entire structure was moulded on high temperature vacuum tables using Gurit's fire retardent pre-preg epoxy resin system and glass fibre re-inforcement. The panels were then assembled on a simple alignment jig and bonded together.
Areas where curvature was required have single curvature only, so that the boat builders at FIBRE Mechanics were able to bend and in some cases fold the cured panels to the shape required. The superstructure incorporates the sole and undersole structure that will be resiliently mounted on the deck of the ship. Also incorporated into the panels are the seat mounting fixtures to make the fit-out of the superstructure as efficient and fast as possible.
