Esquif introduces "T-Formex Lite" material in new Huron 17 (with video)

[Glenn MacGrady]

"The new T-Formex Lite material helps make T-Formex lighter by varying the thickness throughout the canoe’s hull. This allows less material in less essential areas while also allowing reinforcement in other places on the boat."

First Look: Esquif Huron 17 (Video)

If you’re going to roll out some new boat-building tech, there is no more fitting way to do so than slapping it on a completely new boat. This is exactly

paddlingmag.com

 

[recped]

Everything that is old is new again!

Back in the days of Royalex every order for raw sheets was done to the buyers specifications which primarily meant a variation in the thickness of the layers over the area of a full sheet.

On my old (1990) MR Explorer one could actually see the increased thickness in the bow and stern ends (about the last 3 feet), this was visible on the interior of the hull, on the exterior it was invisible probably because of the vinyl coating or perhaps because the extra thickness was only on the inner layer of poly.

 

[Nick Pending]

Everything that is old is new again!

Back in the days of Royalex every order for raw sheets was done to the buyers specifications which primarily meant a variation in the thickness of the layers over the area of a full sheet.

On my old (1990) MR Explorer one could actually see the increased thickness in the bow and stern ends (about the last 3 feet), this was visible on the interior of the hull, on the exterior it was invisible probably because of the vinyl coating or perhaps because the extra thickness was only on the inner layer of poly.

Recped, the extra layers are not visible on the outside because, like composite hulls, Royalex and Royalite were molded in a female mold. That didn't allow extra thickness to show on the outside, just the inside of the hull.

The way Royelex hulls were formed was the female mold was placed on it's side, turned axially on it's keel like the canoe is halfway through a flip. The ABS sheet is heated in an oven suspended like a sheet hanging from a clothesline, so it's vertical across the beam, the longer centerline is horizontal. When the sheet is up to temperature and softness, it is slid out of the oven and put up against the open side of the mold and quickly sealed around the edges somehow. A vacuum is turned on and the rubbery soft sheet is sucked into the mold through ports in the surface of the mold. In the sharper ends of the boat the sheet is forced into the narrow cavities with hydraulic piston jacks to get them to fully conform to the small radius curves. I would assume that T-formex is done the same way. This all has to be done quickly before the sheet cools and won't conform to curves any longer. I never asked if they could re-do malformed attempts or not.

 

[memaquay]

Our school club is still running royalex lite Nova Craft prospectors that are probably 15 years old. They oil can a bit without a load, but they are tough and weight in around 55 pounds.

 

[Benson Gray]

The way Royelex hulls were formed was the female mold was placed on it's side

Who was using a sideways mold? Uniroyal (i.e. Warsaw rockets) used a right side up mold and Old Town used an upside down one. Thanks,

Benson

 

[Nick Pending]

Who was using a sideways mold? Uniroyal (i.e. Warsaw rockets) used a right side up mold and Old Town used an upside down one. Thanks,

Benson

I never saw it done, but that was the way it was explained to me by a Blue Hole canoe worker sometime in the early to mid '80s. Their early "Warsaw Rocket" hulls were pounded out by Uniroyal's plant, but I understood (perhaps incorrectly?) that they molded their own later on. The worker I got info from may not have wanted to expose all their "trade secrets!" Mold positioning wouldn't make a huge difference, though I'd think the upside down one would be working against gravity somewhat. Hey, if it worked, don't knock it. OT made and sold a lot of Royalex hulls before they switched to their triple-dump polyethylene rotomold hulls. Anyone ever been to the Esquif factory and seen it done there? Inquiring minds want to know! < G >

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Very short video of Royalex canoe molding using an upside down mold:

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Wenonah uses an upside down mold for T-Formex canoes (Instagram video):

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[Glenn MacGrady]

Esquif using T-Formex molding process that seems the same as Wenonah's:

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[Nick Pending]

Thanks for the vids, Glenn. I didn't think to look for any. Upside down seems to work well. Would sure make it easier to get the hydraulics supported for the end pushes. The hot ABS sheet supported by the table gets rid of the gravity problem for the upside down orientation of the mold.

 

[memaquay]

Thanks for those videos Glenn, I had no idea the process was so easy. It almost makes me want to have a royalex canoe. It also makes me think they should be much cheaper, since it only takes minutes to make a hull. I wonder if those companies would sell bare hulls with no trim?

 

[Nick Pending]

Memaquay, Yes the process is quick, but it takes a lot of expensive equipment to do the forming that has to be paid off, a different mold for each model of boat, plus those big sheets they heat up and vacuum form are custom made for each model of canoe so are likely fairly expensive.

When Old Town was making their Royalex hull models, they made their own sheets, assembled out of the vinyl outside layers, the ABS layers just under them, and the foamed ABS layer(s) in the middle. It likely reduced their cost somewhat, but more equipment to pay off and people to do that work was required also. It also gave them quicker response to layup changes. This info from the Old Town rep back in the '70s.