Customised MTM®57 carbon prepreg materials from Advanced Composites Group Ltd (ACG), a member of Umeco Composites Structural Materials (UCSM), a division of Umeco plc, are being delivered to Holland Composites to create the lightweight, ultra-thin laminate hulls and various structural parts on its A-Class Advanced Racing Catamaran Yachts.
ACG MTM®57 Series resins are toughened, 80 to 120°C curing, epoxy matrices offering flexible processing and a wide range of handling characteristics. MTM®57 Series resins can be supplied on a variety of reinforcements and are available in ACG’s standard prepreg and ZPREG® partially impregnated formats.
ACG’s out-of-autoclave processable MTM®57 carbon prepregs and Holland Composites’ unique structural assembly techniques have combined to produce a boat that has an ultra-lightweight, honeycomb cored hull which is stiffer, stronger and more durable than previous builds. The curved carbon prepreg daggerboards and beams on these competition catamarans offer improved stiffness and reduced drag, both leading to a significant improvement in overall performance.
Pieter-Jan Dwarhuis, founder of Holland Composites, a Round Texel Race winner on two occasions, an experienced A-Class sailor, and an established composites manufacturer, said: “We needed to satisfy the demands of our highly competitive customers, and had already identified ACG as a prime candidate for materials because of the company’s international reputation in the marine industry, and outstanding ability to offer tailored solutions that satisfy its clients’ needs.”
Continuing, Pieter-Jan Dwarhuis said: “ACG was extremely flexible in its approach to providing customised prepregs to suit our particular requirements. We worked in partnership to tailor MTM®57 carbon unidirectional and fabric prepregs in application specific resin weights to provide the optimum level of performance for the parts on our A-Class Advanced Racing Catamarans.”
PieterJan Dwarhuis of Holland Composites approached ACG with this interesting marine volume production project. He was looking for a higher level of accuracy on resin content and fibre weight tolerances for the ultra-lightweight honeycomb hulls.
Tom Bernstein from ACG said: “It is always a pleasure to work with knowledgeable customers, especially those who push boat design and production methods to the next level; the Holland Composites Team excels at thinking beyond the scope of current marine prepreg application techniques and assembly.”
The DNA, the new Dutch A-Class by Advanced Racing Catamaran Yachts made his debut at Easter 2011 during the Vele di Pasqua. These catamaran yachts, which are enormously popular with amateur sailors, have attracted professional sailors from other classes, such as the America’s Cup and the F18. Various America’s Cup teams use DNA catamaran yachts for training purposes and several syndicates have actually bought their own DNA’s. Recent successes include a first and a third position in the Worlds 2011, a first position in the New Zealand Nationals 2011 and a first position in the Australian Nationals 2011.
ACG’s marine prepregs can found on Stand 11.632 at METS (Marine Equipment Trade Show) in Amsterdam between the 15th and 17th November.
