Materials

The materials used to build our boats and fabrications range from wood to carbon fiber. We build some hulls from wood, foam, fiberglass and epoxy. We use a product known as S-glass coupled with SAN, and PVC foams to construct our Atlantic 57 hull, decks, and structure. We build various fabrications from carbon fiber and fiberglass. Core materials used at ACC vary from cross-linked PVC foams such as AIREX, and SAN foam sold by the name of Core-Cell. We also use Nomex Honeycomb for hi-strength super lightweight applications. Solid fiberglass plate and compression tubes are used to install hardware and systems in our boats. This product is known as G-10.

Pre-preg carbon fiber

Impregnated with a thermo-set epoxy it is the strongest lightest material available today for composite fabrications, and yacht construction.

Fabrics

ACC uses a wide variety of styles and fiber materials building yachts and custom fabrications.

Carbon Fiber

ACC employs carbon for highly loaded structures and fabrications that require great strength, stiffness, and lightweight.

Fiberglass

Fiber Glass comes in many forms. At ACC we use E-glass, and S-glass (the hi-tech brother to E-glass.)

E-glass is general use fiberglass for composite construction. ACC uses the stitched biaxial and unidirectional versions of this product.
S-glass is a much stronger and more damage tolerant version of E-glass. S-glass is used extensively to construct military composites due to its excellent properties. At ACC we use a unidirectional version of S-glass. Using unidirectional fabrics allows us to apply the fibers in the direction or path of the load, utilizing the fabric to its fullest extent gleaning the most performance for the added cost of the fiber.

Epoxy

Epoxy is used to build our boats and fabrications. Epoxy, as many people know, is the preferred plastic in FRP, or fiber reinforced plastic—your glass boat. Epoxy is more water proof and stronger than other boat building resins. Our resin of choice is even a step above normal epoxies as it is a "toughened system," which increases the matrixes' ability to endure stress better.

SAN Foam, or Core-Cell

SAN Foam, or Core-Cell as most folks know it is excellent at energy absorption and therefore makes a great choice for hull building. ACC uses the solid sheet version of this product and heat-forms it to the shape of the boats we build. Solid sheet "thermoforming" is the best method of applying foam core to a structure.

Cross-linked PVC Cores

Cross-linked PVC cores are a step above the old technology linear PVC or Dyvinicell, as many people know the product. We use cross-linked cores built by the Airex Corp. These foam cores are the stiffest available, and therefore have a greater breaking strength for the same density of SAN cores. They do however, lack the ability of SAN cores to withstand a beating. We use PVC cores in the decks and structure of our boats because of their great stiffness.

Nomex Honeycomb

Nomex Honeycomb, is the big daddy of the core family. It is lighter and stiffer than any foam available, and has a high tolerance to heat, which makes it a great partner for thermo-set epoxies. To save weight, ACC uses honeycomb-cored panels for the interior construction of our Atlantic 57s as well as many custom fabrications.

Wood

Wood is an excellent boat building material when used properly. It is light, strong, and very machinable, allowing it to be easily shaped. Wood has a terrific ability to be bonded with epoxy. Wood also has similar engineering properties to that of fiberglass and foam. Combining these materials allows us to create beautiful, durable, stiff, and strong composite structures. The woods we most like to build with are western red cedar, mahogany, and Douglas fir.

G-10

G-10 is a pressed thermo-set fiberglass and epoxy plate, rod, or tube material. Used at ACC as backing plates, compression members, thru-hull drains, and bonded in plumbing runs, G-10 is superior to many builders use of metal components for these jobs. G-10 is paintable, tough, and bonds to our epoxy laminate, becoming a part of the structure, not just a piece of hardware.