IBEX is for the TRADE ONLY. No one under 18 years of age—including infants—will be admitted.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

8:30 to 10:00 a.m.

SESSION 501

Design Comparison: Big Small Yacht vs. Small Big Yacht

In both custom and production building, a documentable trend is that yachts are increasing in size. If you’re a yacht builder or designer developing a new project, one important question to ask yourself is: “Am I building a big small yacht? Or a small big yacht?” To learn more about the differences between these two concepts, then attend this seminar for an in-depth analysis of both approaches. You’ll have an opportunity to learn about the regulatory requirements in each case, and you’ll discover how the problems that arise in each of these possibilities can impact your design decisions, problems, and solutions. In our session, we’ll share a wealth of personal experience and observations, illustrated with an array of specific examples.

Speaker: Alan Gilbert (Yacht Design/Naval Architecture Services)

SESSION 502

NDE of Carbon Composites

The pace of development of lightweight, high-load laminates has continued to accelerate. In many ways, advanced carbon fiber composites have outstripped the technology available to detect subtle damage or defects in the laminate. Both the aerospace industry and the military have been driving the search for an answer. In this session, we’ll review and demonstrate the capabilities and limitations of infrared thermography and ultrasonics as diagnostic tools for the non-destructive evaluation of carbon laminates. What sort of information can these instruments provide? Will one gizmo do the job? Drop in to take a look at the potential successes—and pitfalls—of trying to divine the true condition of carbon parts.

Speakers: Jonathan Klopman (Marine Surveyor), Todd Schwede (Todd & Associates)

SESSION 503

Light RTM and Small Parts

Your decision to work in light resin transfer molding may be driven by numerous positive factors, ranging from elimination of VOC emissions, to ease of engineering small parts, to reduced employee turnover. In this session, we’ll show you how the minimal tooling structure of LRTM can pay off for you financially, and in terms of cosmetics. Recent innovation both in tool design and in equipment features can help you reach almost the same productivity as you would with RTM—at a lower cost. Find out how and why gelcoating is a major factor in the decision to go to closed-molding by way of RTM or LRTM. Join us to find out more about how this technology is evolving, and bring your questions to decide whether it’s the right system for you.

Speakers: Mike Angerer (New Boston RTM Inc.), Alan Harper (MVP Ltd.)

SESSION 504

Setting up for Production Aluminum Boatbuilding

Here we’ll continue the story begun in Session 304 RBM for the USCG, as we describe how Kvichak Marine (Seattle, Washington) transformed itself from a custom shop to a production builder. In 2006, the U.S. Coast Guard awarded Kvichak a contract to build up to 250 boats. Although Kvichak had a 25year history as a custom builder, the company had previously built no more than 15 vessels a year. Fortunately, Kvichak’s relationship with Wisconsin steel-boat builder Marinette Marine has allowed Kvichak to double its production rate. The production line now processes a 45’/13.7m, all-aluminum patrol boat for the coast guard every 3-1/2 weeks. We’ll discuss the challenges of converting from a custom-boat shop to a production-boat mentality, and of working with USCG requirements, focusing on the design of the process, the decision-making involved, and some of the early results.

Speaker: Craig Miller (Kvichak Marine)

SESSION 505

Shafting-Failure Analysis

Every year, a single survey office may see dozens of shaft failures that are the result of fatigue—not impact. This is a contentious insurance topic, as owners have been known to claim that they hit something, when in fact the shaft failed and the prop spun off to hit the hull. As a result, these cases end up in litigation, often with a yard brought in as a third-party defendant. The reasons for the failures range from improper installation and undersized shaft diameters for the selected power, to poor choices in selecting materials or props. Here, we’ll start by discussing correct propeller-shaft selection and installation, as well as keyway design. We’ll follow that up with information on early detection methods for failure, as well as detail on how to analyze the shafts that do break.

Speaker: Daniel K. Rutherford (Ocean Marine Specialties Inc.)

SESSION 506

Marine Hoses: Proper Selection, Installation, and Use

Marine hoses are intended to carry everything from seawater and fuel to effluent and coolant, so they play a big role in determining the reliability, safety, and compliance of nearly every vessel afloat. Yet, many builders and repairers chose and install hoses without giving proper or complete consideration to their capabilities and design features. In this photographically intensive session, we’ll show you how to select the best hose for the application, and we’ll explain how to install them to ensure maximum functionality and safety. We’ll also ask you to join us in a discussion about inspection access and service, common failure modes, longevity expectations, and reinforcement and termination techniques of hoses in both recreational and commercial vessels.

Speaker: Steve D’Antonio (Steve D’Antonio Marine Consulting)

SESSION 507

Environmental Compliance for the Boatshop

If you’re a composite boat builder, how do you answer these questions: are you a large-quantity hazardous-waste generator? Does your facility fall under title V requirements of the Clean Air Act? Are you MACT compliant? And most of all, are you ready for an environmental inspection? Environmental compliance is regulated by various federal, state, and local agencies, and the rules and reporting requirements can be a confusing mix of information. If you attend this session, you’ll hear in plain English just where your company fits in the world of environmental compliance. We’ll present practical approaches and solutions for managing and minimizing waste streams, and for reducing emissions. We’ll also show you how to prepare for visits from your local environmental inspectors. This is the place to ask questions about how to hone your environmental compliance strategy.

Speakers: Bill Meyers (Pursuit Boats), Tom John (Tom John Engineering)

SESSION 508

The One-Stop Career Center

State-run career centers are a hidden jewel available to marine-trades employers. We’ll introduce this remarkable source of employment information, valuable contacts, work force development seminars, incumbent worker-training grant information, job fairs, and access to prospective employees. Our session will feature the creation of a pipeline for marine-trades technicians through the Jobs In Boating grant, a community college, and the Massachusetts Marine Trades Association initiative—and its impact on career centers.

Speakers: Colleen Price (MY TURN Inc.), Audrey R. Boucher (Massasoit Community College), Ed Lofgren (3A Marine Sales & Service)

2:30 to 4:00 p.m. — NOTE TIME CHANGE!

SESSION 601

Roll Control

Vessel motions controlled by active systems improve ride characteristics, safety, efficiency of crew, and passenger enjoyment. While static stability is a design/build responsibility, here we’ll discuss and compare different methods of enhancing motions from the effects of hull shape, keels, and ballast, to passive and active stabilizers, and gyroscopic vessel-stabilization systems. We’ll cover the design, engineering, and construction of a variety of systems, looking at the advantages and disadvantages of each one. We’ll be available to answer your questions, so be sure to bring them along as you take advantage of the depth and breadth of experience possessed by our speakers.

Speakers: Donald Blount (Donald L. Blount & Associates), Shep McKenney (Seakeeper)

SESSION 602

Design & Engineering for Rigid Hull Inflatables

Here we’ll review current standards for rigid-hull inflatable boats-standards developed both by the American Boat & Yacht Council and by ISO (the International Organization for Standardization). The standards cover construction, testing, safe loading, powering, underway stability, and human factors. We’ll look at pertinent design features, and how they affect RIB safety and performance. We’ll also review an initiative put forth by the National Marine Manufacturers Association to create a set of standardized warning labels for RIBS. And, we’ll consider how the RIB market is evolving as inflatables become increasingly popular in recreational boating.

Speakers: Tom Hale (Zodiac South Carolina), Ulrich Heinemann (International Marine Certification Institute/IMCI), Additional Speaker to be Announced

SESSION 603

Composite Options

In terms of materials, manufacturing processes, and design philosophy, the options open to composite boat builders continue to grow. Composite construction offers a particular flexibility that enables the builder to develop and optimize construction methods—but first that builder must know the project’s criteria and constraints. This isn’t always as obvious as it sounds. The “correct” choice of materials is a vast topic covering resin systems, reinforcements, and cores; and manufacturing processes, including hand layup, infusion, and RTM. Also, design philosophies may be as diverse as single skin, sandwich, and stiffening structures. Rather than try to cover all options, we’ll take real-world examples and case studies of composite components to illustrate how you can derive different sets of weight/cost parameters from the materials and processing choices that you make. Join us to address the issues of reinforcement materials and boat manufacturing processes.

Speaker: Richard Downs-Honey (High Modulus)

SESSION 604

Welding Aluminum

Much of the available information regarding aluminum welding is based on folklore. In this session, we’ll clear up common misconceptions about welding aluminum as applied to the boatbuilding industry. We’ll start by reviewing proper alloy and filler metal selection, but will quickly move on to discuss the best shop practices to follow prior to welding, including cleaning, and we’ll answer your questions about common myths, misconceptions, and poor practices in welding aluminum. Finally, we’ll focus on selection of welding equipment for TIGand MIG welding, keeping in mind that welding equipment has changed considerably in the last 10 years. With the advent of the advanced equipment available today, many welds that were formerly impossible or very difficult can now be made with relative ease. If you need an update on the latest available aluminum-welding equipment, and an explanation of where it should be applied, this is the right seminar for you.

Speaker: Frank Armao (Lincoln Electric)

SESSION 605

Appropriate Structural Modifications

Clients often request changes without fully understanding the resulting costs and consequences to the boat’s structure. If you’re a repair technician, boatyard manager, or supervisor, this session will help you understand the impact of modifying a boat’s structure, hull shell, or deck. We’ll consider some important questions here. For example, when you do a major repair or a minor modification on an existing boat, or make changes during the construction of a new boat, how can you be certain that the alterations you make are safe and appropriate? Whether you’re moving a through-hull fitting, modifying stringers, modifying a sailboat’s rigging, repositioning an engine bed, or changing a keel, we’ll show you the best practices for making effective modifications. and, we’ll tell you how to select the appropriate resins, reinforcing fabrics, and core materials to do the job right. [Note: We’ll also cover “structure” in Session 101 Naval Architecture for Service Yards and Surveyors, and in Session 305 Surveying Structures.]

Speakers: Steve Burke (Burke Design LLC), Joe Parker (PRO-SET Inc.), Jeff Wright (Gougeon Brothers Inc.)

SESSION 606

Antenna Installation and Placement

As the pricing and performance of marine electronics continue to improve, the number of systems competing for antenna space on a boat also increases; antenna placement then becomes a critical factor affecting the performance of electronics. To provide adequate physical support, and to minimize degradations, proper antenna mounting and arrangement is important. In this seminar, our panel will consider these questions: What is theoretical? What’s practical? What connectors should be used for the antenna cable? Should you or should you not extend the antenna cable? What are the best practices for antenna installation? We’ll cover VHF, SSB, cell, SatCom, TVRO, and other antenna types—demonstrating the principles behind the industry’s antenna arrangement guidelines. We’ll also explain the consequences of poor arrangement. You’ll leave this seminar with enough information to balance the theory of optimizing antenna performance, with the practical reality of satisfying your customer’s needs.

Speakers: Steve Spitzer (National Marine Electronics Association), Additional Speakers to be Announced

SESSION 607

Green-Shop Case Study

Do you wonder just how energy-efficient your operation really is? Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding Co. (Thomaston, Maine) certainly did, especially as it saw its energy costs going up year after year. As a result, the company started monitoring the total oil, propane, and electricity being consumed in each building at the facility, and management started weighing their options. With a new building on the drawing board, the company gave energy-conservation a priority, and invited a State of Maine energy auditor to visit and view the energy costs for all of the yard’s buildings. At the same time, Lyman-Morse managers began to investigate alternative heating and lighting systems as well as other energy-saving tools. In addition, they educated themselves about state and federal rebate programs and incentives. By the time construction on the new building started, the conservation plan was in place throughout the company—with impressive results. In this session, you’ll find out how to replicate Lyman-Morse’s success.

Speaker: Ron Defoe (Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding Co.)

SESSION 608

The Marine-Industry Career Ladder

What was your job title when you first started working in the marine industry? How did you get to where you are now? And what might be next for you? Career ladders, lattices, and pathways can be very important recruiting tools. A sequence of jobs along which employees may be promoted is very useful to job seekers, but it also has value to career counselors, incumbent workers, educators, and professionals who specialize in training. Perhaps your company is considering developing an in-house career ladder; we can help. Small companies can offer occupational depth for their workers by showing them a potential professional pathway. Adopting this simple tool could greatly benefit marine-industry companies facing current and impending skilled-worker shortages. How difficult is it to create a career ladder? Does the marine industry have clear job pathways? We’ll present and discuss several models of marine-industry career ladders, including industry-wide, regional, and company-specific examples.

Speakers: Stacey Palmer (Maine Marine Trades Association), Rich Difede (Gold Coast Yachts)

SESSION 609

Building-In Quality: Case Study at Regulator Marine

At Regulator Marine (Edenton, North Carolina), the company’s stated goal is to deliver the highest quality boat possible. In this case study, we’ll show you how regulator set up its comprehensive program of “built-in” quality from design to delivery. Through a system of quantifiable goals and well-defined channels of communication, the company delivers quality through advanced construction techniques, selection of optimal materials and components, and empowerment of employees. The company also tracks the success of its program by measuring customer satisfaction. In this session, you’ll learn how attention to concepts such as safety, quality, delivery, inventory, and productivity can improve your bottom line.

Speaker: Keith Stevens (Regulator Marine)

Space is limited.  Register TODAY to secure your seat.

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