Northstar RIBs has completed five years’ of development to offer a complete production range of yacht tenders manufactured by a single-stage Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) process developed by Northstar.
The company’s Vega Lite lineup has now been expanded from 2.9 to 4.2 metres, marking the culmination of five years of continuous development and refinement of the ONE-SHOT RTM manufacturing method.
The RIB manufacturer has previously only used the RMT technology – which has been adopted in aerospace, automotive and selected marine composite applications – for select components in other RIB models.
Now the entire rigid structure of every Vega Lite model is built using the technology.
Reducing production time
ONE-SHOT RTM, a variation of Resin Transfer Moulding, has been developed in-house by Northstar.
The process produces the complete rigid composite structure in a single closed-mould manufacturing cycle, which Northstar says reduces traditional manufacturing stages from five to two, shortens production time by approximately 50% and also reduces labour requirements by half.
Northstar points out that the resulting rigid structure is fully bonded, 100% foam-filled, lighter, stronger, and more dimensionally consistent than comparable structures produced using conventional multi-stage manufacturing methods.
Engineering and product development
“Completing the Vega Lite family marks the culmination of five years of engineering and product development,” said Cengiz Arsay, president of Northstar RIBs.
“Our ONE-SHOT RTM method allows us to deliver lighter, stronger and more consistent yacht tenders while improving production efficiency and reducing the environmental footprint of manufacturing.
“Our goal is to ensure that advanced composite engineering benefits not only the factory floor but every customer who owns and operates one of our boats.”
The completed Vega Lite lineup consists of the Vega Lite 2.9, 3.2, 3.5, 3.8, and 4.2m models.
Northstar operates from three production facilities in Izmir, Türkiye and produces more than 700 boats annually.
