C-Forum

For those, like me, who tend to cringe at the costs involved in acquiring new composite boats, the following link gives some idea of the work involved in building a top quality boat, let alone the pre-build design process. http://www.jamescartwright.ca/Orca%20.html Enjoy....edg

I can tell you that the effort of building the boat is a whole lot less than building the plug and getting it ready to be molded.

Also the resin infusion method used there is a great process. You can position all of the materials in the mold and check for vacuum leaks long before you mis the first drop of resin. Very Cool.

I'm interested in finding some info. on the resin infusion method for laminating. cit_capt.......or anyone else.....do you have a link or even a suggestion for paper on infusion?
thanx!

I haven't seen anything on vacuum bagging or resin infusion at Sweet Composites, so you probably need to look at www.fibreglast.com

Go to the learning section.

They also sell the supplies you would need - BUT they are quite expensive compared to others.

To James and Tom Con-grats.

I believe Tom and I spent lunch and a few phone calls in the early stages of your creation. Its great to see it all come together for you both.

As to where to find info on infusion .....its out there. most descent resin suppliers have a basic "sales pitch" formula to provide to potential customers. I can also say the resin infusion composite courses offered at Advanced Composite Trainings, threw
Renassuance Aeronautics Association in London Ontario, provide a exceptional hands on training course. At first it looks pricey for a four or five day course. But one bad infusion attempt can cost just as much as the course and not knowing why you botched your infusion ....the cost continue to rise. (ACT.com I think is there site)

I hope your new boat brings you closer to the finishes Tom spoke of ........medals and all !!!!!!!!!!!!!

My background owning Composite Creations building the Bulldog OC1 and the kids Splash OC1 have been very rewarding adventures, I'm sure James and Tom both understand "the thrill" of paddleing your latest creation

Andrew Phillips

It's great to see some interest in the Orca. Tom and I started building the plug back in April so we are both very happy to finally see boat on the water. So far I am very happy with how the boat handles. I intend to test the boat in Charlotte sometime later this fall.

For those who are interested, Tom is also in the process of designing a K1 with Canadian slalom superstar Nathan Davis. The Coho mould is finished and Tom will be building the boat in the next week.

Tom has already received a few Orca orders so for any C-boaters out there who interested you who to contact.

Thanks for your comments!

James

Hi all.

Thought I'd send a quick note from the factory. A good friend of mine once said "boat building is worse than heroine, its more expensive and far more addictive". He was right. Alot of money and countless hours have gone into developing a process that works well with quality parts.

The new company has been branded iTOMCO, a drunken non-original name that has seemed to have stuck. It is worth noting that now iTOMCO is the only high performance slalom boat builder in all of north america as far as I know (well ok jackson has one boat). The company website should be up and running soon.

Many thanks go out to Andy who helped me tons in the early stages about a year ago. The Orca is the second C-1 created in my garage, which recently had to be expanded to make room for the two new designs.

As far as infusion is concerned, it is the way to go. Dry setup is a huge advantage, and leakage can be controled before any resin hits the layup. However, when creating high performance boats with core materials, the choice of core seems to be key.

The demand for iTOMCO boats seems to be good and hopefully you will see many of them on the water in the near future, curently there are 4 boats out there, with itleast 3 more on the way in the next month.

Tom

Wow,
this forum is a great new find.

I had the great honour of testing the first all Canadian designed and built new Slalom C1 in 13 years today.
The Orca is a terrific boat. It was a very brief trial on flat water. It has a deep, voluminous bow, hard chines through the middle and a stern with a surprising kick out of turns considering how easily it goes down on a pivot. The construction was superb, unbelievable for a new shop just getting started.
I encourage anyone looking for a top quality built and well designed Slalom C1 to consider this boat.
Well Done Tom and James, you deserve to be proud of it.

Larry

.. with some detailed instructions:

http://playak.com/article.php?sid=1243

nice winter project

This quote brings back memories: "However, when creating high performance boats with core materials, the choice of core seems to be key. " I gave another manufacturer absolute fits trying to build a race weight, foam core wildwater c-1 using resin infusion. Eventually, we had to abandon the idea, as the hull would never wet out properly. Glad to see iTOMCO succeeding, and a legitimate producer of composite race machines back in North America....Edg

I've infused various core materials. One has to realize in order to learn and succeed you will fail, otherwise how would you ever know what works, and what causes the things that don't work.


Try a few test panels and cut threw the panels and assess your core decisions before you lamnate/infuse your new boat. I've gotten as far as infusing tubular plugs to make molds, multi flange molds and parts in molds.

Infusion can be clean, high quality, durable parts or a complete disaster ....... no real in between its rght or its a mess!!!!!

We've been using the infusion method ( with a few of proprietary modications ) for 5 years with good success. Core materials can complicate the process for sure depending upon which core your use. For wildwater boats Divinycell is or Ariex is the way to go. Special preperation must be made to these type of cores for proper resin flow. Edg , it was us that had such a hard time molding yourwidwater c1 before , thankfully we got it all sorted out. Drop me a line and lets chat .. Victor@opencanoe.com