Demoulding: the IBSA Class40 reaches its pivotal construction stage

It may be spelt demoulding, but it’s pronounced pivotal stage. A few days ago, the IBSA Class40 reached – and brilliantly passed – a crucial stage of its construction process: the hull coming out of the mold. Sailboats are built using a mold – usually made of wood – which shapes the materials with which the boat itself is made. At the end of the process, the hull is detached from the mold and begins to “exist”, ready to be fitted out.

This operation – which is technically called demoulding – requires several checks, concerning both the stability of the structure and the final shape of the hull, visible for the first time in three dimensions, and not only on drawings, renderings or scale models. “The demoulding went very well”, explained Alberto Bona. “It was a very emotional moment, because now we actually have a boat, and no longer a mold with a hull inside. It’s like a dream that literally takes shape”.

The next step is to close the hull and deck. The deck of the boat, in fact, came out of the mold a few days before the hull, and now the two parts must be joined together. It’s a very delicate process, one which has to be executed with great precision.

Once the two parts have been joined, boat builders will work on the interior and exterior fittings, then on painting.

“Seeing the birth of the new Class40 is much more than watching fiberglass and technologies being assembled: the hull takes shape along with us, with the evolution of the project and with the achievement of those small objectives that make up our adventure”. Now Alberto Bona and his team have about a month to complete the following phases, and be ready, at the end of July, to take the boat out of the yard and begin the technical tests. Two of the milestones have been achieved with precision and success: now let’s move on to the next ones!