Servicing Melbourne & the Mornington Peninsula
The Sting: three weeks to the start line.
Structural boat repair on an offshore racing catamaran: carbon fibre skin repair and composite core restoration on a Supercat 600, completed at our Hastings workshop on the Mornington Peninsula in time for Round 3 at Geelong.
- Vessel
- X-Cat, Supercat 600
- Damage
- Compression shear, top deck
- Repair
- Carbon skins & core
- Turnaround
- 3 weeks
01 – The incident
Contact at turn one
Racing at Wyndham Harbour, The Sting made contact with Shifty Cat, another Supercat 600, through turn one. The impact loaded the top deck in compression and sheared the laminate.
02 – The damage
Carbon fibre and core damage, deeper than the surface
Our assessment found both carbon fibre skins fractured, with the composite core beneath damaged along the original shear line. A cosmetic patch would have hidden the problem, not fixed it.
3 wks
03 – The deadline
Round 3 at Geelong was three weeks away. The repair had to be structurally sound, properly cured and back to its original profile in that window.
04 – The repair
Repaired properly, not patched over.
Mark out
The full extent of the damage mapped and the repair area marked beyond the shear line.
Composite core restoration
Damaged composite core cut out back to sound material and replaced.
Carbon fibre skin repair
Inner and outer carbon fibre skins structurally rebuilt, not just filled.
Vacuum bagging & post cure
Consolidated under vacuum, then post-cured under controlled conditions for full strength.
Fair to profile
The deck faired back to its original shape and finish.
05 – The result
The Sting made Round 3
Both skins restored, the core replaced and the deck faired back to its original profile, ready to race at Geelong. The same methods go into every structural fibreglass and carbon fibre repair we carry out in Hastings.
Let’s talk about your boat
Tell us what you need and Patrick will get back to you within one business day.
Call 0410 369 963