MATERIALS & CONSTRUCTION
FRP– Vacuum bagged Foam sandwiched Reinforced Plastic, is the state of the art technology used for producing light, stiff, durable, hulls.
The floor and gunwhales have non slip surfaces <more detailed information>

DESIGN & SHAPE
The hull shape of the GRP Mirror has been moulded from an European Championship winning boat, and indeed on its first outing at the following European
Championships won again.
The internal layout has control lines lead to the helmsman and positioned for easy adjustment.

MAINTENANCE
Maintenance is minimal, gel coat is available for the odd knock or chips the hull might receive.
More major repair work can be done DIY, without the need of a craftsman. Help and advice is always available.

Foam Sandwiching
One subject we are regularly asked about the grp boat is to do with the foam sandwich construction.

What is foam sandwich?
What type of foam is used?
Does the foam not act like a sponge?

In order to give a grp panel a good rigidity there are two ways that this can be accomplished.
        One is to lay up lots of layers of glass matting that is impregnated with resin. This unfortunately produces a panel that is very heavy.
        Another way of increasing the rigidity is to use a construction method known as Foam Sandwich where a layer of stiff, lightweight, closed cell foam is sandwiched in the middle of the layers of glass matting. The resulting panel is both light and stiff.

The key points in this type of construction are of course the quality of the foam and the bonding of the foam to the glass matting.
The foam that we use is extremely high quality and the makers, Airex, assure us that it will not absorb water, which is particularly important if you want your boat to stay light!
To ensure a good consistent bond between the foam and the glass matting a process known as vacuum bagging is employed, here a huge plastic bag goes around the entire mould and is then subject to a vacuum. This ensures that an equal pressure is applied all over the foam while the joining adhesive sets. The foam sandwich process, sometimes referred to as FRP, has been used in boat building for many years and is well tried and tested.