olympic security and rescue boats

OLYMPIC SECURITY AND RESCUE BOATS
OLYMPIC RESCUE BOATS MANUFACTURED USING LIQUID
CONTROL LTD RESIN MIXING EQUIPMENT
Early Olympic 2012 success went to the people at Ribcraft, a company based in the
United Kingdom, which successfully delivered on time, 64 Olympic security rescue boats
that will be used in all the water-sport events during the UK Games.
Ribcraft founder and Managing Director, Mark Gardiner, has a passion for subsea diving
and in 1991 he decided to design and manufacture his own boat that would be better
suited for his hobby since there was nothing available on the market at the right price
and specification for his diving needs. This was the beginning of what is now a dynamic
company designing and manufacturing rigid inflatable boats for a global market.
Ribcraft was once limited to the hobby and leisure sector. However, this changed in the
last decade with expansion into the professional area of marine security. Satisfied
customers include police and private contract companies that patrol coastal waters for
terrorist threats, drug and human trafficking activities.
Ribcraft’s success in building high quality marine craft came to the attention of the
Olympic Governing Body and subsequently Ribcraft was invited to tender, along with
twenty nine other companies, to manufacture 64 safety rescue boats, specifically for
the 2012 Olympic Games. Bidding commenced in 2009 and concluded with Ribcraft
being awarded the contract in 2010. Work started on the boats in November 2010 and
was completed on time. Boats are now in service at the Games.
To comply with the tight schedule, a modification to the standard method of production
was required that needed to consider the available factory space and labour, as normal
production could not be interrupted. The conventional method of build would have
required additional work space; therefore, a new concept of production was planned,
which meant that 3 pre-formed layers would be brought together and bonded. This new
method would enable batch building of 10 boats at once. The problem was how to bond
them together without any mechanical fixing.
After extensive trials, Crestabond M1-30, a 10:1 ratio structural adhesive was chosen
for its high tensile strength and speed of use, which was particularly suitable for the
difficult and challenging application. Due to the volume of adhesive being used,
Ribcraft chose Liquid Control Ltd, a manufacturer of bulk two-component metering and
mixing equipment to ensure accurate dispensing and maximum bonding performance.
Liquid Control has recently been acquired by Fisnar Inc.
Liquid Control is a specialist in resin mixing equipment and has led the field in metering
and mixing equipment for over 40 years. The machine recommended was the Y200P.
The Y200P is a metering, mixing and dispensing machine designed to process a two
component high viscosity or thixotropic resin formulation. The system was originally
developed to hermetically seal glass double-glazed units with resins such as silicone,
epoxy, polyurethane, and polysulphide. Ribcraft’s process uses a methacrylate
structural adhesive supplied from 5 gallon (20 liter) pails.
A pneumatic drive unit powers a positive-load piston pump, accurately metering part
“A” and part “B” components direct from pressure-fed 5 gallon (20 liter) containers.
Machines can also be configured for 55 gallon (200 liter) pails.
Y200P with hand gun
Ribcraft’s process of manufacture is to bond the following four preformed components together:
Boat hull
H ull matrix
Inflatable tube
D eck
Production sequence:
1. The hull is manufactured using a conventional mold and hand layup techniques.
2. A hull matrix is used to strengthen the ribs and struts and is pre-formed to accurately fit the
hull. The Matrix is fitted and bonded within the hull.
3. The deck is fabricated by hand layup.
4. The inflatable tube is fitted to the hull assembly.
5. Finally the deck is bonded to the hull assembly.
Commenting on the decision to appoint Liquid Control, Mark Gardiner, confirmed that it was because of
their technology and experience. “For the Olympic boats we use a different manufacturing process for
structurally bonding the pre-formed sections and it was vital that the mixed adhesive assured the
integrity of these sections. I realized early on that the adhesive is only as good as the quality of the
metering and mixing equipment; Liquid Control gave us the precision and technical support we
required. An important additional benefit was that we were able to save money by reducing resin
wastage and because of the accuracy of the Liquid Control equipment we were able to precisely control
the adhesive placement and thus ensure optimum adhesive strength.”
Watch out for these craft patrolling the Olympic water sports, keeping the competitors and spectators
safe.