How's it Made - Well, Sort of

Wayne

Wayne

Member Emeritus
I ran across this video of Vanguard's production before Laser Performance took the reins.

In it you see several boats being constructed...

I think it starts off with a V15 from gelcoating the mold, to wetting and laying up fabric, to fitting the cockpit features; A Laser getting a compliment of flotation jugs; At the very end, a wall of Sunfish.

Throughout the video are little glimpses at some of the construction techniques we encounter during repairs on Sunfish.

ITW demo of Vanguard's boat building floor
Click on the first video of the pair.​

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Thanks Wayne; that video is a gem!

And I do like the look of the fishes with the light blue stripe down the middle.
 
Last fall I was surfing around and saw some great footage of a Sunfish Laser or Laser Performance Factory tour and repair seminar. Does anyone know where it was posted? It was also really interesting to watch.

Thanks,
mh :)
 
Nice find Wayne!

They are still using the same factory and production lines that they were in this video. When LP bought Vanguard, they stayed put in the same location. The only change that I noticed in this video they used a grey bonding agent, and now they use a red one (different supplier?). If I remember correctly, they have three assembly lines and two gelcoating rooms, one for production and the other for repairs. Once the hull or deck is gelcoated, the jig is moved down to the assembly line, where the fiberglass is laid up by hand, the decks on one line, the hulls in the adjacent line. At the end, the two are bonded together, and the hulls are stacked for shipment.

The Sunfish process is a bit more refined than the Laser process, because LaserPerformance controls the Sunfish construction, while the Laser Class Association controls the Laser method. According to Production manager Joel Haneman, the Laser Class is very strict about using a uniform production method across licensed factories around the world. BTW, Joel is the guy giving the repair seminar and capsizing the Laser in Laser Performance's ad in the last two issues of Sailing World
 
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