Tricks that old racers get up to after retirement

[jackiewilson]

Having built fiberglass boats in the 70s I can tell you keeping weight from creeping into each boat is not easy. When we would build a light race boat it was all hands on deck for the layup. Brushes rollers and squeegees to get every last drop of excess resin out the boat. Took twice as many people to build a light boat as a regular production boat.

This “Infusion” thing they do now, ( with an intake and an exit, a suck it through tube at the other end) seems to have done away with mess totally. No waste, each lay up is to the same measured amount. Every piece weighs exactly the same to The nearest ounce. No rollers or extra buckets of resin.
Its a new art form in “COMPOSITES” ———- ridiculous to think that you can take a forty foot Hull that needs 1,000 hp to make 110 mph——— make up the same thing in a composite at less than half the weight and bingo——— you can do 110 with a lot less horses.
Added bonus is the fact it’s four times as strong and is not prone to osmosis or any fibreglass related problems. Plus, it takes about a quarter of the time of a conventional layup !
So what the material costs, can be offset against the labour that’s involved in glass fibre layups.
Labour costs are nowhere near the same with composites———- hope this lights your candle!

[jackiewilson]

Jackie - I know that in the early years, you drove a lot of different hull / engine combinations. Looking back, which one did you enjoy driving the most, not including the Cosworth?

Without a doubt the 17’ Molinari with a “silo” ——- the most predictable honest boat,and bloody quick to boot. I tried to tell Renato we should run my boat in the 1970 Paris race as it was much quicker than the marathon arm chair ride he brought to Paris.
Persuaded Garbrecht to let Pruett run it ———- he ran third for a long while before he threw a blade on my best Rolla!
But I still think the best value for money——- fun boat, was Charlie Shepard’s 14’Bristol with a fifty merc on its tail———- run forever week-in weekout——— set the timing, change the plugs, that left you all the time in the world to put a bit of cupping on the prop———- then take it off again when you realised it went better before you touched it.
The-little sprint Molinari was supposed to come in at 16’ but never made any more than fifteen and a half. Real flighty bitch, a tad nose happy ,but with a 1000BP on its arse would see off the 1250 BP.

[jackiewilson]

A toast to Willabee...

Attachment 405115

​Cheers Willabee +——- Here’s looking at you blue eyes ! Who loves ya baby ?

[2us70]

Everything old is new again. In the early days of fiberglass boats FiberCraft Boats of North Miami Florida used a crude version of infusion. They used matched inner and outer hull molds. The inner mold was placed upside down and had a trough around the perimeter. The layup was placed over the inner mold and the outer mold dropped over all that stuff. Resin was poured into the trough and vacuum pulled through fittings on the outer mold. They later abandoned this system and went to plain old hand layup.

QUOTE=jackiewilson;3036974]This “Infusion” thing they do now, ( with an intake and an exit, a suck it through tube at the other end) seems to have done away with mess totally. No waste, each lay up is to the same measured amount. Every piece weighs exactly the same to The nearest ounce. No rollers or extra buckets of resin.
Its a new art form in “COMPOSITES” ———- ridiculous to think that you can take a forty foot Hull that needs 1,000 hp to make 110 mph——— make up the same thing in a composite at less than half the weight and bingo——— you can do 110 with a lot less horses.
Added bonus is the fact it’s four times as strong and is not prone to osmosis or any fibreglass related problems. Plus, it takes about a quarter of the time of a conventional layup !
So what the material costs, can be offset against the labour that’s involved in glass fibre layups.
Labour costs are nowhere near the same with composites———- hope this lights your candle![/QUOTE]

[powerabout]

how about prepreg
that how you make a 100' boat to the design weight give or take a kg,

[jackiewilson]

how about prepreg
that how you make a 100' boat to the design weight give or take a kg,

The system Craig and Mark use is another step on from “Prepreg” Pilgrim——— they get the weights right down to the nearest ounce.

[powerabout]

The system Craig and Mark use is another step on from “Prepreg” Pilgrim——— they get the weights right down to the nearest ounce.

love to see how thats done?

[jackiewilson]

love to see how thats done?

They patented the system and sell it under licence to the majority of the big name boat companies———they run a training program, and teach the glass workers how to cope with the new system.
No new orders are being taken at the moment———- books are full for the rest of the year——-
Mark told me how they struck lucky with ALL the new people they employed ——- each one turned out to be exactly what they were looking for.
​Some days you eat bear Pilgrim!

[Bob V]

Without a doubt the 17’ Molinari with a “silo” ——- the most predictable honest boat,and bloody quick to boot. I tried to tell Renato we should run my boat in the 1970 Paris race as it was much quicker than the marathon arm chair ride he brought to Paris.
Persuaded Garbrecht to let Pruett run it ———- he ran third for a long while before he threw a blade on my best Rolla!
But I still think the best value for money——- fun boat, was Charlie Shepard’s 14’Bristol with a fifty merc on its tail———- run forever week-in weekout——— set the timing, change the plugs, that left you all the time in the world to put a bit of cupping on the prop———- then take it off again when you realised it went better before you touched it.
The-little sprint Molinari was supposed to come in at 16’ but never made any more than fifteen and a half. Real flighty bitch, a tad nose happy ,but with a 1000BP on its arse would see off the 1250 BP.

Would that be this one?

[jackiewilson]

Would that be this one?

No Bob———definitely not that one———that’s The Cadillac of all Molinari’s———- arm chair ride- no vices——- built to last the Paris Six Hours then ship it to Fon Du Lac. far too long a story for me to tell here ( yet again) on these pages.
Thats the boat Renato and I ran in the Paris Six Hours in 1970.
Mine was one of the first 17’ —— Don Ross and I campaigned it all over Europe, winning just about everything we ran in!
Dont doubt Fujimo has a piccie of it somewhere in his archives.

[jackiewilson]

Thats a painting of the little sprint Molinari———— Dave Franks was the artist———— was always a bloody good painter————-46 years ago.
I-was more athletic in those days——- but not quite as handsome or modest as I am today!

[jackiewilson]

How ‘ bout that ?———— 84 degrees in England yesterday——— hottest April day since records began.
You ever read the poem “OH TO BE IN ENGLAND, NOW THAT APRILS HERE” ? If you get a chance look it up, it’s well worth the read.
Started on the shop yesterday———- bought a rake of machinery over the years, just never found the time to fit it, well yesterday I did.
Cleared out a ton of stuff that “might come in useful” ——- had it piled high under and on top of the bench, taking up valuable space——- shoved it in the back of the Lexus F Sport and took it to the car boot sale.
We are off up to Rusper this morning to look at a four year year old black Labrador Bitch called “INDY”
Owner has been taken into a nursing home with dementia———- then having lunch out in Shoreham!.
Let you know how we get on.
Why do I always think of Doreen Luhrs when I go to see a dog ?

[jackiewilson]

Was a case of “LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT” —— we got us a mutley——Jilly and the pooch——supposed to be a thoroughbred Labrador. Then my dicks a bloater———-doesn’t stop her from being a very affectionate girl———- blessed with the name INDY, she looks nothing like the brickyard or Harrison Ford.
I think I’ve just been demoted to number three in the pecking order————— Indy——- Murphy——————————- and a long way back there’s me (I think)!

[AZMIDLYF]

Congrats on the new family member.

[Bob V]

Congratulations...!!