Hot Moulding and Fiberglass Boat Building in the '50s.

[Quetzalsailor]

The following hypertext will take you to a British Pathe film of making a Firefly dinghy out of hot moulded veneer. Look at the 12 choices along the bottom and you'll have the opportunity to watch a clip of making a fiberglass dinghy.

http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=171

Amazing lack of safety equipment!

My Flying Dutchman was cold moulded; the veneers were precut and stapled to a mould containing the keel, just like the film, but the glue was Aerolite or Weldwood urea resin. I presume that the each of the Firefly veneers were different; if not, you'd have a 'constant camber' hull. My FD had veneers which were stamped with a number denoting its place on the mould.

[Zach]

Way cool!

[mitiempo]

Interesting video. I watched the fiberglass dinghy video as well. Other than the lack of safety equipment, the interesting comment that "because of the very nature of its construction, this type of boat can't be mass produced." Apparently that changed! Also at the end of the video, not a lifejacket to be seen.