Blue Water Boats Launches Latest Fibreglass Workboat Bluewater 31 (UK)

Blue Water Boats has just launched their latest fibreglass monohull workboat Bluewater 31 using Scott Bader resins.

According to Scott Bader, the new vessel, designed by Henry Millington in collaboration with Blue Water Boats, can be used for either work or pleasure, but was primarily designed to be a commercial, diving, angling or offshore surveying workboat; the boat design combines speed with superior stability for a more comfortable ride in rougher sea conditions. The first Bluewater 31 will be used as a security boat during the 2012 Olympic Games for the sailing races being held at Weymouth.

The composite deck and hull were moulded using Scott Bader’s Lloyds approved Crystic 2.446PALV back up resin in combination with dark blue Crystic 65PA gelcoat for the hull. However, for the white gelcoated fibreglass deck and wheelhouse of the Bluewater 31, Crystic Permabright has been used, which is Scott Bader’s new marine approved D-Iso/NPG high performance UV colour change resistant gelcoat. Scott Bader says the unique D-Iso/NPG polymer resin chemistry used in Crystic Permabright gelcoat is a step change technology which has set a new standard in long term UV weathering performance for marine applications. They claim it is proven to provide significantly improved colour stability over existing white and cream coloured marine Iso/NPG and Iso gelcoat gelcoats currently on market.

Crystic Permabright gelcoat has now been specified by Blue Water Boats for all white and cream hulls and decks as part of their quality improvement focus. Gary Wiltshire, Director and co founder of Blue Water Boats explained “We have been amazed by the significantly brighter and glossier finish we can achieve with Crystic Permabright, which has also been easy to handle in production. We have confidence in the product quality and long term performance of this new Scott Bader gelcoat to help keep Bluewater boats looking good for longer.”

Scott Bader explains that Crystic Permabright D-Iso/NPG gelcoat, available as either a spray or brush applied gelcoat, uniquely has a deconjugated polyester backbone in the base resin, which is formulated with ‘best in class’ UV protection additives and selected pigments in white, off-white and cream colours. All the pigment pastes used in Crystic gelcoats are proprietary, manufactured by Scott Bader using their in-house milling and mixing facilities. They say that the advanced deconjugated D-Iso/NPG polymer chemistry developed by their R & D team significantly outperforms established gelcoat technologies. Independent 12 month Florida UV weathering test results obtained by Scott Bader conclusively demonstrated that a white or cream Crystic Permabright D-Iso/NPG polyester gelcoat is able to provide two times better colour stability than the next best in class Iso/NPG gelcoat and four times better than a standard isophthalic gelcoat.

The roof of the Bluewater 31 wheelhouse is bonded on using Crestabond M1-30, which is a primer-less, methacrylate structural adhesive, also developed and supplied by Scott Bader. According to Gary Wiltshire, they have been able to save costs and achieve a stronger wheelhouse structure by using Crestabond instead of multiple mechanical fastenings with a flexible gap filler. Crestabond products are universal structural adhesives, designed to bond GRP as well as a variety of metals and plastics. Scott Bader says the unique benefit offered by the Crestabond range is that there is no need for lengthy surface preparation, such as grinding, or the application of a primer. Crestabond can be applied by cartridge hand gun or a pneumatic dispensing gun for larger volume requirements.

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Subsea World News Staff , July 24, 2012;  Image: Blue Water Boats