vanguard

VANGUARD BOATS
Portsmouth, R.I.

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This is a picture of the Vanguard plant in Portsmouth, R.I.

While I was in Portsmouth, R.I. I visited Vanguard boats. Vanguard makes new fiberglass boats. It was interesting to smell the factory after I had smelled the fragrant woods of Pease Boat Works. Here are some interesting facts that I learned while I was there. The owner is Chip Johns. His partner is Steve Clark. Chip Johns bought the company in 1986. The boats made by Vanguard are: Optimist, Vector, V15, Laser, Sunfish, FJ, Pram, 420, Laser 2 and Nomad.

Here is a timeline of how to build a new fiberglass boat:

1. Molds are made from plugs. In a Sunfish, there are 4 molds, hull, cockpit, maststep and the deck.
2. The gelcoat and the design are sprayed in to the mold
3. Fiberglass is layed in. Epoxy-resined "glue" reacts chemically to the fiberglass and gel coat.
4. All parts are vaccum bagged so that all the resin is spread out evenly.
5. Pieces are popped out of the molds and glued together with bright blue plexus.The pieces are clamped so that each boat comes out perfectly.
6. Rough edges and plexus that has leaked through the edges of the boat during the clamping are sawed off.
7. All hardware (blocks, cleats, etc.) are put on boat.
8. Aluminum cylinders are cut to make masts, booms, etc.
9. Hardware is put on masts and booms.

Vanguard purchased Sietech , the company that makes dollies for the boats. I saw dollies being made on the day I visited as well. The dollies are made with square aluminum tubing. Hardware is shipped along with the dollies so that customers can assemble them. Vanguard was an interesting experiance and it was neat to see what a modern day boatbuilding warehouse was like after Pease Boat Works!

Here is a picture of me in my safety glasses at the plant.

These are the bundles of pre-cut fiberglass that are used for each boat.

Bright blue plexus is being applied to glue the pieces of the boat together.

Clamps hold hull and deck pieces together while the pieces bond.

This is a row of almost-completed sunfish.

Sunfish are made of 4 parts: hull, deck, cockpit and maststep.

Vanguard uses templates to hold the boat in place while it is drying and make sure that each boat comes out the same.

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