jfm
Well-Known Member
I was wondering how hulls are released from the female moulds. Dry ice applied to the outside of the mould?
On a very big boat there are a few of places on outside of mould where they can inject compressed air but for the most part they just rip em out with a crane and the release wax really does do what it says on the tin.
Occasionally a patch of gelcoat sticks to the mould leaving a section of boat with bare matt, urgh. Shouldn't happen, but it does. They repair these by slapping fresh gelcoat on and rubbing down/polishing
I used to mould smaller boats eg 16 foot and we separated hull from mould at gunwhale with a lever, then put water in with hosepipe. You can then lean on/wobble the hull and it can force a wave front of water which helps separate, and also sort of floats it out. But for the most part the release wax works well