The OEY Hull Layup Team

The layup team's supervisor marks an area needing attention

Ocean Eagle Yacht's hull layup team was composed of six men and a supervisor.  The first job was to prepare the mold by cleaning it thoroughly.  The seams in the mold were filled with putty.  Then seven layers of wax, which was imported from the US, was applied.  The prep work took three or four days.  When the mold was ready, colored gelcoat was sprayed on.  Starting around hull #36 the yard then sprayed on another layer of iso-based gelcoat.  The iso-based gel coat is a barrier coat and so was only applied from the waterline down.  Within 24 hours of the gelcoat application(s) the yard started laying in glass.  They always started at the top of the mold and worked down to the keel.  Because more strength is needed from the waterline down, more glass was added in these areas.  It took seven days from first spraying on the gelcoat until the hull was done.

When the gelcoat (both the color and barrier coat layers) were sanded off Nellie D. #63, pencil marks were found in the fiberglass.  Tommy Chen said marks like this were commonly made by layup supervisors to highlight areas needing more attention.