Does anyone have a link/info on how cat hulls are made?

How its made is one of my favorite shows, and I have always wondered how these fiberglass hulls are made. Is it a 2 piece mold? Any pictures/walkthrough of the process?

No info?

I'm sure others can give more detailed info, but the general gist is that first a "plug" is made. This is an exact replica of the outside shape of a hull. From the plug, a female mold is made. This is an exact opposite of the hull and it's what is used to make the actual hulls.

With fiberglass Hobie hulls, the hulls are actually made up of two separate pieces- the hull and the deck. The two pieces are molded separately in their respective female moldes and then glued together.

So the female molds are first prepped by cleaning and then applying a coat of wax/release agent so the hull doesn't stick to the mold. Then the gelcoat is sprayed into the mold and cured. Then the outside layer of fiberglass, the foam core, and finally the inner layer of fiberglass are wetted with resin and layed into the mold. The fiberglass panels would be pre-cut and the lay-up schedule pre-determined so that the proper amount of fiberglass is placed in the correct locations. Any reinforcements would also be layed in at this time.

Once the deck and hull are fully cured, a glue is applied all around the deck/hull seam and the two parts are clamped together and the glue allowed to cure to form a complete hull (pylons would also be installed at this time). Once the glue is cured the, the seam is trimmed, accessories installed, and you have a hull. That's the basics of it at least.

sm

How does one get the top part attach to the bottom so seamlessly? I can see where they hide it with that little lip on the 16 but what about the wildcat/tiger models?

On the 14, 16, 17, & 18, the flange is the seam. Half of the thickness of the flange is material from the deck, and the other half is from the hull. Between the two is the glue.

On the 20, I believe the deck overlaps the hull and then a strip of fiberglass tape is applied around the seam, faired, and then sprayed with gelcoat. A much more labor intensive process.

The Tiger & FX-1, I'm pretty sure the hulls are made in halves. Rather than a separate deck/hull there is a left and right side of each hull that are bonded along the centerline of the hull.

sm

srm has it correct.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I took a tour of hobie last Oct. It was a great tour. I even got to meet Matt Miller. Look them up if your ever in southern Cal.

_________________
I wish winter was not so long in Sask. Canada. It's hard to sail on ice! 1984 16' hobie cat Sail# 84848