Yachts | How It’s Made!

making this mid-size yacht starts with the mold for the hull. the team sprays a gel coat paint on to the entire inner surface of the mold. this paint will transfer to the hull during molding. they layer fiberglass strips around a PVC foam core and create a series of distribution channels for resin. the crew now drapes an enormous sheet of clear plastic over the materials and the mold and seals the edges with tape. the crew leaves a lot of slack in the plastic to conform to the mold’s deep recesses.

a vacuum hose suctions out the air beneath the plastic. the crew then connects plastic tubing to the ports in the distribution channels. the resin saturates the fiberglass strips that surround the PVC foam core. the vacuum sucks the layers into a tight sandwich and pulls out more air and excess resin. the resin cures and the fiberglass layers harden.

The next day, the team removes the plastic sheet from the molded part. a crane lifts the newly molded hull out of the mold. the gel coat has adhered to it, giving it a glossy finish. next, they create the deck. like the hull, the crew makes the deck mainly from fiberglass. a worker cuts out the strips in different sizes. after arranging some of the fiberglass strips in the mold, the crew builds up the deck in certain areas, using pieces of balsa wood. a worker lays more fiberglass strips encapsulating the balsa wood. they’ll laminate the layers with resin the way they did with the hull.

The crew also makes the roof structure the same way. a boat builder applies putty to the fiberglass to even out any irregularities. and after grinding the hardened putty smooth, they spread polishing compound on all the yacht’s body parts. using a router, the crew cuts out holes for lights, portholes, and other features. and now the big moment. after six months of work, let the good times begin.