Posted to News on 9th Oct 2006, 00:00
Adhesives speed ahead in boat project
One of the world's most prestigious marine engineering projects is using structural bonding technology from Huntsman Advanced Materials. Araldite adhesives have been exclusively specified in the construction of the Silvestris 23ft sports cabriolet - a unique, five litre V8, aluminium speed boat. Developed by Silvestris Haute Motive Concepts - a Dutch company whose designer co-founded Spyker cars and was responsible for the development of the acclaimed Spyker two-seater aluminium sports car - the 23ft sports cabriolet is one of the first speed boats built predominantly from high-tech aluminium.
Using innovative engineering design practices and lightweight materials, more commonly employed in automotive and aerospace applications, the 23ft cabriolet weighs in at just 1500kg. Its lightweight design is the result of a unique, aluminium space frame. This tubular patented system, which forms the skeleton structure of the boat, is riveted and bonded with Araldite 2015 to an aluminium hull. Araldite 2015 is a leading epoxy adhesive paste that cures at room temperature. A thixotropic solution, resistant to sag at up to 10mm thick, it creates durable bonds and is particularly suitable for SMC and GRP bonding as well as for joining various metal substrates.
