One of the world’s most prestigious marine engineering projects is using structural bonding technology from Huntsman Advanced Materials. Araldite adhesives have been exclusively specified in the construction of the Silvestris 23’ sports cabriolet - a five litre V8, aluminium speed boat. Developed by Silvestris Haute Motive Concepts – a Dutch company whose designer co-founded Spyker cars and was responsible for the development of the acclaimed Spyker two-seater aluminium sports car – the 23’ sports cabriolet is one of the first speed boats built predominantly from high-tech aluminium.
Using innovative engineering design practices and lightweight materials, more commonly employed in automotive and aerospace applications, the 23’ cabriolet weighs in at just 1500 kg. Its lightweight design is the result of a unique, aluminium space frame. This tubular patented system, which forms the skeleton structure of the boat, is riveted and bonded with Araldite®2015 to an aluminium hull. Araldite 2015 is a leading epoxy adhesive paste that cures at room temperature. A thixotropic solution, resistant to sag at up to 10mm thick, it creates durable bonds and is particularly suitable for SMC and GRP bonding as well as for joining various metal substrates.
Maarten de Bruijn, designer at Silvestris said, “Although the use of aluminium is relatively new to speed boat design, our team has frequently employed it as a core construction material in other multi-disciplinary design projects. When we started the sports cabriolet project we were confident that the advantages of using adhesives in automotive engineering would transfer straight across to a marine application. We haven’t been disappointed. Working in conjunction with Viba (Huntsman’s Araldite distributor in the Netherlands) to specify a premium bonding solution, it quickly became apparent that Araldite adhesives were the only products available to deliver guaranteed strength, improved performance and increased durability of design.”
Jaap Ruwaard, sales engineer at Viba said, “Araldite structural adhesives are ideal for joining a range of metals including aluminium. Offering a number of performance and manufacturing benefits, they can be used independently or as supplementary engineering solutions to work in parallel with other, more traditional assembly techniques like welding and riveting. We are delighted to have recommended Araldite adhesives for use in another ground-breaking design project.”
Described as a sports convertible for the water, the 23’ cabriolet is one of the world’s strongest and most durable sports speed boat designs. An estimated 50 boats per year will be custom built, each of which will harness ultra-modern, high performance engines within a robust hull design. Each tailor-made Silvestris boat will offer four comfortable seats trimmed with leather, developed especially for Silvestris. The unique design will also include a hatch which locks to secure the interior of the boat against weather and potential theft.