EricJ
Well-Known Member
Today I visited the Interboat factory in Zwartsluis, The Netherlands to see my Intender 640 in build. I have been a long time follower of this forum and although this boat is a bit smaller than most on here, I thought it is interesting material for the forum.
The Intender 640 is a tender sloop, an open boat with the possibility to go a bit faster than the traditional sloop. Interboat has been quite successful with this type of boat, with over 120 units of the 640 model built in 4 years so far. My current boat is an Interboat 19 with 25hp Vetus. Perfect for pottering through the canals but I wanted to extend my range, hence the move to the Intender. The nice thing about the 640 is that it can reach 23 km/h with a 33hp Vetus and 27 km/h with 42hp (the one I bought). The bigger Intender 760 needs at least 75hp to get over the hump; this was one of the reasons I did not go for the bigger boat.
The visit started in the polyester workshop. This is the mould for an Interboat 19.
The lay up is done with 9 layers of glassfibre+resin for the hull and 7 layers for the decks. Vacuum infusion is used for the hatches and the engine box. For vacuum infusion they use a mat consisting of layers of glassfibre with small channels inside to distribute the resin. Below the deck of an Intender 820 under construction. The box on the bow is the anchor locker.
At the next station the hatches and openings are made and edges cut off. This is an Intender 770 which will have a toilet in the bow and fridge + cupboard in centre of the boat
Here you see that part of the keel is separately moulded to obtain a slim keel that is only widened where the shaft is. This is to minimize obstruction for water to flow into the prop.
Next step is putting the mould parts together and the installation. This is an Intender 820 where the hull has been joined with the frame that supports the engine. This is a Vetus 52hp (with turbo).
There I also got to see my own boat.
On the platform Esthec is fitted. For the platform Esthec or just polyester are the only options. for the inside I have chosen teak; I like the natural look of teak and if something goes really wrong with spills or damages on Eshtec (or other synthetic teaks) it is more difficult to fix.
I have opted for the 4 cyl 42hp Vetus.
Later on there will be Hella lights fitted which I have chosen following the suggestions made by the forum. Thanks!
The engine box and dashboard are combined. Apart from the standard fuel meter, volt meter, and rev counter the control for the bow thruster and a Raymarine Bidata for speed and depth are installed.
The tank, batteries and switches are all installed at the aft side of the boat which leaves the lockers under the seats and in the bow for storage.
The teak decks are all done in house; below shows the steps in the process: from cutting the parts, fitting, removing the edges, fixing the parts in position, caulking, cutting away the excess caulk to sanding the final result.
And finally a picture of how the boat should look like in a few weeks. This one is a bit further advanced in production:
We also went past the test basin and the wood workshop where they make all interior parts for mainly the Intercruisers range, but I forgot to take any pics there.
It was a very interesting visit that highlighted for me the skilled labour that you need to build boats to a high standard. I was really surprised how much time was going into the various parts of the process. You might wonder why there are no people on the pics; they work 4 longer days in a week and have the Friday off!
If you have any questions, please shout.
cheers
EricJ
The Intender 640 is a tender sloop, an open boat with the possibility to go a bit faster than the traditional sloop. Interboat has been quite successful with this type of boat, with over 120 units of the 640 model built in 4 years so far. My current boat is an Interboat 19 with 25hp Vetus. Perfect for pottering through the canals but I wanted to extend my range, hence the move to the Intender. The nice thing about the 640 is that it can reach 23 km/h with a 33hp Vetus and 27 km/h with 42hp (the one I bought). The bigger Intender 760 needs at least 75hp to get over the hump; this was one of the reasons I did not go for the bigger boat.
The visit started in the polyester workshop. This is the mould for an Interboat 19.
The lay up is done with 9 layers of glassfibre+resin for the hull and 7 layers for the decks. Vacuum infusion is used for the hatches and the engine box. For vacuum infusion they use a mat consisting of layers of glassfibre with small channels inside to distribute the resin. Below the deck of an Intender 820 under construction. The box on the bow is the anchor locker.
At the next station the hatches and openings are made and edges cut off. This is an Intender 770 which will have a toilet in the bow and fridge + cupboard in centre of the boat
Here you see that part of the keel is separately moulded to obtain a slim keel that is only widened where the shaft is. This is to minimize obstruction for water to flow into the prop.
Next step is putting the mould parts together and the installation. This is an Intender 820 where the hull has been joined with the frame that supports the engine. This is a Vetus 52hp (with turbo).
There I also got to see my own boat.
On the platform Esthec is fitted. For the platform Esthec or just polyester are the only options. for the inside I have chosen teak; I like the natural look of teak and if something goes really wrong with spills or damages on Eshtec (or other synthetic teaks) it is more difficult to fix.
I have opted for the 4 cyl 42hp Vetus.
Later on there will be Hella lights fitted which I have chosen following the suggestions made by the forum. Thanks!
The engine box and dashboard are combined. Apart from the standard fuel meter, volt meter, and rev counter the control for the bow thruster and a Raymarine Bidata for speed and depth are installed.
The tank, batteries and switches are all installed at the aft side of the boat which leaves the lockers under the seats and in the bow for storage.
The teak decks are all done in house; below shows the steps in the process: from cutting the parts, fitting, removing the edges, fixing the parts in position, caulking, cutting away the excess caulk to sanding the final result.
And finally a picture of how the boat should look like in a few weeks. This one is a bit further advanced in production:
We also went past the test basin and the wood workshop where they make all interior parts for mainly the Intercruisers range, but I forgot to take any pics there.
It was a very interesting visit that highlighted for me the skilled labour that you need to build boats to a high standard. I was really surprised how much time was going into the various parts of the process. You might wonder why there are no people on the pics; they work 4 longer days in a week and have the Friday off!
If you have any questions, please shout.
cheers
EricJ
