Date: 5/10/04
Author: Marty "McFly" Head
Photos: Marty Head, Skier's Choice and BoatMate

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Supra Launch SSV

With the boat show season behind us and the wakeboard season getting started, more and more discussions will arise concerning the different types and lines of boats. Common questions will begin to cycle and we are almost guaranteed to see some long "boat war" threads on the Internet message boards. We all know that, although very humorous, "boat war" threads can contain incorrect information that is very misleading to potential boat buyers. I am hoping that, by writing this article, you will find it as a source of information as to how Skier's Choice constructs their Supra and Moomba Boat Lines.

I was fortunate enough to visit Skier's Choice's brand new facility in Maryville, Tennessee last December. I was given two tours, the first one after hours when the plant was already shut down for the evening and again during the day when the plant was in full operation.

In 2003, Skier's Choice expanded from their 65,000-square-foot facility to a new, 140,000-square-foot facility in Maryville, Tennessee. Everything is now under one roof, including all of the molds that are used in the boat building process. It was finally time for SC to make the move, especially since their 98+ dealers are turning in a record number of orders.

2003 Proved to be a great year not only for the dealers, but also for SC. They built approximately 1,500 units, moving them to third in the industry in the ski/wakeboard boat-building category, right behind Malibu and MasterCraft.

Skier's Choice builds boats to order. This means that once they receive an order from a dealer, the boat is given a spray date (the day that the boat will first go into production). The boat is then built to the specifications that are requested by that dealer. SC is already looking to increase production numbers since there is such a high demand for their boats by their dealer network. There is very little down time for the factory given that dealers send in orders almost every day of the year.

The key thing to remember in boat construction is that a boat starts from the outside and is built inward. A boat starts with the color first. But, before the color can be applied, there has to be something to apply it to. This is called a mold.

Storage of the boat molds

A mold is a mirror image of the hull or the deck of a boat. The hull and the deck of a boat are two separate pieces that are joined together at the rub rail. So, when the boat is first started, it is built in two pieces that travel down the lamination line.

Molds that are not in the production schedule are shown to the right. The actual part of the mold that is waxed and sprayed is the green part of the mold. The molds are braced in steel to ensure that they retain their shape. SC believes that a quality finish starts with a quality mold, so the molds are cleaned and waxed on a regular basis.

Taped off mold before getting sprayed

Once mold maintenance is complete, the mold is taped off with paper in preparation for the gelcoat to be applied. It is then rolled into one of the four-gelcoat spray booths. The color of the boat is sprayed in first, thus building the boat from the outside in. The base color of the boat is sprayed into the mold and then the tape is removed and the accent colors are sprayed. SC uses Armourflex Gelcoat by Cook Composites and they spray the gelcoat 20-22 mils thick to maximize durability and minimize fading. Each color is sprayed from its own gelcoat gun, instead of using the same gun for each color.

The more colors per hull and deck, the more labor cost. This is why with fewer color options available for Moomba, SC can keep the cost down, but not the quality. Fewer colors equal less cost.

Vinylester Barrier Coat

Once the gelcoat is completed, another process is performed to give the hull and the deck more durability. This is called a Vinylester Barrier Coat, also by Cook Composites. This is sprayed in on top of all of the color and it dries black. It helps to reduce blistering and print-through.

Once the Barrier Coat is applied, it is time to roll the mold out of the gelcoat booth and begin to apply the glass. A skin coat is applied first, which is made of a 1.5 oz mat fiberglass. This helps to produce a smoother finish with no print-through. SC uses a LHP Cook Resin to bond the glass to the Barrier Coat. It is all 100% hand laid. SC has found that hand laid fiberglass is much more consistent than fiberglass applied with a chopper gun.

A Ceramic Barrier Coat is then applied, which is produced by Magnum Industries. This is a spray application that helps eliminate print-through and seams. It adds stiffness to the laminate schedule and it aids in crack prevention.

Glassed in strip of HDPE (in black) where the windshield will be installed

Once the Ceramic Barrier Coat is cured, SC adds more glass to the mold. There are four types of glass: Mat, Biaxial, Quadaxial and Woven Roven. Each one is applied to the boat to add strength in key areas. This glass is bonded by the use of a DCPD Blend Resin by Cook Composites. Each Deck is reinforced in the tower mount areas with biaxial glass and bulked up with Coremat whether that boat is going to receive a factory tower or not.

SC uses various reinforcements and backing throughout the mold as well. High Density Polyethylene, or HDPE, is used to back windshields, motor mounts and other anchored parts. It has 10 times the screw retention of plywood. They also use a PVC board, better known as Pro Board, which adds stiffness to distribute stress loads. It is a very porous material that bonds well with resin. It is found in transoms, motor mounts and other bracing areas.

Pre-sandwiched piece glassed into the stringer system. This is where the motor mounts are installed.

All motor and pylon mounts are a sandwich composite reinforcement. It consists of two layers of PVC Board and one layer of HDPE. The PVC absorbs the resin, unlike steel or aluminum, and the HDPE has the ultimate screw retention for lag bolts. It also dampens vibration, unlike metal mounts.

There is also a foam board called Divinicel that is used in floorboards and other large flat surfaces. It is used for sound dampening, but also has an incredible strength to weight ratio. It has a matrix design that allows resin to seep in for maximum strength.

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