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50th Anniversary of Gougeon Brothers, WEST SYSTEM products.

Macrace2008

2019 is the 50th Anniversary of Gougeon Brothers Inc, USA. 1969 marked a point in the Gougeon brothers’ careers when they applied all they had learned about wooden structures and epoxy technology to manufacturing—for the first time—a wood/epoxy composite boat. Adagio, the first large, all-epoxy bonded and sealed wooden boat built without the use of fasteners, was launched in 1970. Adagio has stood the test of time and 2019 will see her begin her 50th season and she will again be a serious contender in the Great Lakes Mackinac regattas in the USA.

Before Gougeon Brothers Meade and Jan got involved, early epoxy systems were difficult to apply as a coating. This led the brothers to look seriously at epoxy formulations with the goal of solving wood’s most difficult problems: its tendency to absorb moisture, and swell. The Gougeon Brothers developed the formulations that became the basis of the WEST SYSTEM group of products in 1971. As they say, the rest is history. WEST SYSTEM epoxy products are now internationally recognised as the leading marine epoxy.

ATL Composites, the licensed manufacturer of WEST SYSTEM epoxy for the AustralAsian region, will be showcasing WEST SYSTEM products in the Princes Wharf Building, at the 2019 MyState Australian Wooden Boat Festival, from February 8 through 11. Our experienced Technical team will be available to answer your questions on the best products and techniques for you to use to increase the life-span of your new wooden boat build, or repair/maintenance project.

In addition, you will have the opportunity to see the classic Joel White designed Haven 12.5 that will be built using WEST SYSTEM epoxy products at the Tasmanian Wooden Boat Centre, by North West School of Wooden Boat Building, USA. The Haven will be on display at the Festival and will be auctioned at the end of the show to support the free, public event.

Join us in Hobart to celebrate the 50th anniversary of WEST SYSTEM epoxy products at this wonderful event on Hobart’s historic waterfront.

Flying GGFlexBlue WESTSSR

You {Expensive} Beauty

Details: Phil Hames

Beware the Pitfalls of the Designer/Builder

beauty1

The finished product. It looks and goes really well but so would my 19 year old car with this much money spent on it.

Last year this magazine published an article I wrote regarding a self designed and built 35’ power catamaran (Issue #145 July/August 2017). Some months ago, I advertised the boat for sale, expecting some interest from prospective buyers and I have been surprised by the interest in the boat. Surprised not so much from four enquiries from potential buyers but surprised by the many ‘boaties’ that have approached me in various marinas asking all sorts of questions (and expressing very positive comments about the boat) and by six enquiries from like-minded designer/builders of similar craft.

The Manaia Experience

Details: Rick Lambourne

Designing and Building Our Own Catamaran

man1

The design brief we set ourselves was for a catamaran of about 11m that would be comfortable for a couple and a few occasional guests, highly practical to sail and live aboard and not difficult or expensive to build. I wanted a boat that performed well in all normal sailing conditions, good reliable engines, simple foolproof systems, easy access to the water for snorkelling, and not too radical looking for eventual resale.

Seawind Sport 1190

Details: Kevin Green

WindwardPerformer

sport1

Sailing a cruising catamaran to windward in a choppy sea is not my idea of fun but Seawind’s new 1190 Sport with daggerboards might change that view, writes KEVIN GREEN.