About Crownline

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Gel Coat & Lamination

Once a mold is prepared and given final inspection,
the gel coat is applied in a state of the art, environmentally controlled gel coat booth. Crownline uses only the finest ingredients: Cook’s gelcoat for the base and Armorcote for acccent colors. Both are from Cook’s Composites, the industry leader, and both are very expensive due to their superior blister resistance, UV resistance, and shine.

Each gel coat is applied through its own individual spray gun to ensure color integrity. Crownline offers seven different gelcoat colors, so we use seven different guns and hoses.  Very few manufacturers apply gel coat in this very effective and very costly manner. 6 - 7 mils of gelcoat is applied in three stages, for a total of 20 mils.  The areas receiving accent colors are covered with fine line tape and paper.  Then the paper and tape are removed and the accent gelcoat is shot.  This “wet on wet” application is the reason Crownline Boats have no overlap in the gelcoat colors.

Crownline then applies 15 mils of vinyl ester barrier from waterline to waterline, running the entire length of the hull, as added protection against blistering.

The mold is then taken from the spray booth to the lamination floor. All units receive a minimum cure time of 60 minutes. Most receive several hours before the lamination process begins. Other manufacturers do not allow this much set up time. At Crownline, however, we believe the overall quality and premium cosmetics of the gel coat are well worth it.

The second vinyl ester barrier coat is used as a glass print barrier. It is applied and allowed a cure time of 30 minutes.

Next, 100  - 120 mils of hand rolled chopped glass and spray core are applied.

This third barrier receives a minimum cure time of 45 minutes. Bulk skin is then applied.  Our laminators roll the bulk skin smooth, even in the tightest of areas.

This time proven lamination method prevents print through, ensures void free reinforcement areas, and helps guarantee that the cosmetics on the exterior gel are impeccable.