BoatBanter.com - View Single Post - Molds, Plugs, Glass

Evan Gatehouse[_2_]

wrote:
On Feb 8, 10:52 am, Wayne.B wrote:
On Fri, 8 Feb 2008 07:31:03 -0800 (PST), Five Cubed Skipper

wrote:
since I have virtually no
knowledge on the topic, how hard would it be to create a new pair of
mold using a current hull as a plug?
Not that difficult for someone experienced in mold making but what
would be your legal liability, and would the resulting hull still be
considered a Johnson 18 ?

None really, a hull can not be patented or protected once it is out on
the market. It is called "splashing" the hull, and is done all the
time. I once read an article written by the president of a large
bubbleboat maker, don't remember which one right now. Anyway, he
recanted a story where they would acutally have a pool among the top
brass to guess how many splashes of :"last years model" would be on
the showroom floor at the spring shows He noted an astronomical
number that the company spends each year on hull R+D, half of which he
claimed was to figure out how to put stuff into hulls to make them
harder to splash... Said it added a lot to the cost of a new hull...

Actually, in the US, you can copyright a hull form. Splashing a hull
form IS illegal.

When you make a mold for a polyester boat, you have to take account
resin shrinkage as it cures. You make the mold oversize so the
resulting boat is the size you want.

Evan Gatehouse