Atomic 44

Sydney-based production boat builder Atomic Marine is employing a new production process using the advanced engineering and composite materials more commonly associated with one-off, high-spec racing yachts such as Wild Oats and Shockwave.

The process is one of assembly. It eliminates time-consuming manual procedures and applies innovative engineering methods to optimise materials, thereby allowing Atomic Marine to save time, excessive skilled labour and tooling to produce an exciting high-spec boat at a competitive price.

The Atomic 44 is a spacious 'party boat' with a big deck for entertaining. It is the sort of boat on which you'd invite 12 or more friends out on for a barbecue on a sunny day.

Its emphasis is on aesthetics and spaciousness above deck, so it doesn't have lots of sleeping accommodation. But there are two double beds, and a full-height bathroom with toilet and shower below decks.

Atomic Marine chief executive officer James O'Neil's description of the 44 as a 'floating veranda' belies a safe, high performance boat that'll stand the test of time.

Atomic Marine employed naval architectural firm One2three Design, and engineering and composites experts SP Systems to translate the 44's design into a boat that could be built initially as a one-off in a start-up yard before translating it into medium scale production. The use of lighter, stronger materials gives speed, strength, and lower fuel consumption for a longer cruising range. The spacious deck is the result of SP Systems' advanced, structurally designed beams, which are made of a special, reinforced laminate. These beams have longitudinal strength without being cumbersome. They also hide system lines running below decks.

SPOT ON
So how does the new process work? The hull is built on reusable 'Computer Numerical Control' (CNC) cut frames, rather than on a plug or mould. Flat structural panels such as bulkheads and soles are assembled at the yard.

The panels are made of foam core, sandwiched between two epoxy laminated skins, and they are delivered to the yard pre-cut and pre-marked using CNC to guarantee an accurate fit.

"Traditionally, the boatbuilder takes the designs, drawn at a scale of 10:1, and converts them into full-size paper patterns from which the frames are cut manually," chief shipwright Dave Griffin said. "This introduces huge opportunities for error. If the plan is 1mm out, this translates into 1cm in full size, which can make all the difference when you are slotting in the bulkheads. I used to spend a lot of time interpreting (correcting) the designs so that they could be manufactured. You need a lot of skill for that, which is hard to find these days."

The frames for the Atomic 44, technically known as 'stations', are made from MDF sheets and cut offsite, directly from the design, using CNC machines. A process that would take days to complete manually is now run overnight. SP Systems delivers the cut MDF sheets in a flat pack, ready to be assembled into stations, and aligned at 400mm centres on metal frames.

"They are spot on," Griffin said. "This has not only saved us five to six weeks of elapsed time in the build process and about 200 skilled hours, but it also means the build process is smooth. All the pieces fit together."

The improved accuracy of CNC machining means that notches can be cut in the stations for a stabilising beam that will add stiffness to the stations once erected. Hand-cutting these notches would be both difficult and time consuming.

The CNC machine is also used to cut out bulkheads and soles. Components, including pre-made large composite panels for the interiors have centerlines and assembly instructions computer etched on them during machining to make them easy to set up. Shapes are nested on large 4m x 2m sandwich epoxy panels manufactured by SP, minimising wastage and the requirement for joins when the components are assembled in the boat.

The Atomic 44 is the result of a collaborative approach between Atomic Marine, naval architects One2Three Design and engineering experts and advanced composites supplier Gurit. Each discipline of structural design, materials science, manufacturing technology, and process engineering could not have achieved the desired result alone. Materials and structural expertise enable you to choose the appropriate materials for each component; the designer and engineer see opportunities to streamline the build process; the builder feeds back his experience. 

CREATING THE HULL
The conventional process in creating a hull is to first lay strips of wood over frames (known as planking) to make a surface that is rigid enough to then build up layer upon layer of laminate. The resulting hull is thin but heavy, not to mention labour intensive to build. This initial planking stage has been completely eliminated on the Atomic 44. The foam core is stiff enough to go straight onto the stations.

The core is manufactured by SP. It is ideal for hulls because it can be contoured, is resistant to shearing and denting, does not absorb water or rot, and can withstand high impacts.

"We have saved about 300 hours by avoiding full planking of the mould and fairing prior to laying up the actual hull," Griffin said.

The more curves there are in a boat, the more complex the traditional build job is, so many yards steer away from more ambitious designs. Now they can be more adventurous, delivering exactly what their customers want. While the process has been engineered for ease of assembly, it is not a one-size-fits-all 'boat in a box'. Rather, it is a kit in which both the design and materials can be tailored for either professional boatbuilders or amateurs for whom building a high-spec boat was previously impossible.

"We usually work for clients around the world, giving them tailored composite solutions," SP Systems' engineering manager, Valerio Corniani, said. "Being involved in a project 'around the corner' allowed us to be in very close contact with the yard and the naval architect, developing innovative solutions that can be easily adjusted to clients' requirements."

STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND ANALYSIS
"We met regularly to discuss materials and engineering solutions – often using the hull as a drawing board," O'Neil said. "Then SP would regroup and run their analysis software and come up with a solution that was well engineered, not over-engineered, using the right materials for the job."

SP Systems would advise on the best material to use in the 'slamming' areas – those places that take the impact of the waves time and time again, O'Neil said.

For the boat to be used as a tender for superyachts, it has to be lifted by a crane using slings attached to pad eyes on the deck, rather than slings wrapping around the hull.

This would also cut dry dock costs where fees for a travel lift are considerably higher than those of a crane, he said. The interior gussets spread the load from the deck through the full structural bulkhead and into the hull in the forward end, and aft through the cockpit floor, with the load spread by similar gussets into the transom of the vessel.

"Having SP design the pad eye reinforcements gave me the reassurance that these critical components will not fail while lifting a 10-tonne boat," O'Neil said.

With its SP-branded products and services, Gurit contributes towards many high profile and technically demanding marine projects. Since SP was fully integrated into the Gurit Group in 2006, it has greatly facilitated the company's ability to provide marine customers with a more complete range of SP-branded composite technologies, services and product offerings.

Atomic Marine will build two boats initially, expecting to expand production using a mould to achieve a further reduced build time of three months per boat.

The Atomic 44 will be on display at the Sanctuary Cove Boat show in May.