Have builders forgotten how to fair a hull/ mold?

It's because builders have gotten busy and have been cutting corners and not buffing the molds in-between hulls with mold release compound. I have heard horror stories of builders having 16 guys with 2x4's prying on hulls to get them to pop out of the mold. Good builders will wax the molds between each boat, while some others will only do it every 4 hulls etc in order to save time or money....Also some builders are using more hardener to get the boats to cure faster and that will cause waviness also. ....It is really apparent on the colored hulls

Over on the 'G' and 'H' docks, I noticed one or two boats with print-through on their toerails--22oz. woven roving at that. Shame!

Loren, sometimes when you can see the fibreglass pattern from certain angles on the gelcoat, it means the boat is built with a core and vacuum infusion. Some say it is a quality hallmark, but of course it should not be too visible....

With offshore raceboats such as Skaters, the woven print shows through everywhere. Because weight is critical, the gelcoat is purposely kept thin. Most of these boats will become billboards anyhow, carrying the added weight of flashy paint. I think it's safe to say Skaters are among the best build boats in the world, yet the finish might be misconstrued as inferior.

BTW... the infusion process would not push woven through gelcoat during lamination because the gelcoat is allowed to dry prior to laying materials and saturating. More likely, the heat generated during the curing process will embed the woven into the gelcoat. I've seen instances on some boats where the woven pattern is showing through in some areas, yet not in others. This will often happen in areas that are difficult to spray, or when applying too much gelcoat in areas prone to flexing is a concern.

Switching back to the original question: the waviness is caused by several factors, including aging molds that haven't been maintained or regularly reconditioned; pulling a piece prior to the laminate properly setting; an improper mix of hardener; or poor quality materials to begin with.

In the case of polyester resins, they can take years to completely cure. During this time, they are prone to warping from stress and sun. Keep in mind, if the hull (or whatever structure) is laid up thick enough, warping over time probably won't be an issue. In contrast, if a hull is laid up too thin, warping over time is likely.

Here's a suggestion... if the hull is wavy and the water ripples when idling... buy another boat, because this one's built like a potato chip. There is a reason a certain builder adapted resin infusion in recent years. Too many delaminated hulls! (read between the lines on this)

Interestingly, the best I see consistently are from American builders. Surprisingly Marquis does a really good job. The European production builders seem to be mediocre (a certain big brand British builder is particularly bad) and the Asian builders vary from OK to bad. You could see the patchwork of fiberglass in one Asian trawler.

I don't think it has anything to do with whether it is a "go fast" or a "go slow" boat.

Other than cosmetic, I don't think "waviness" points to structural or longevity problems, does it? Sure, a thin gel coat bad be bad, but waviness? Aren't the cosmetics fixed with additional labor, which, again doesn't really change the structural aspects of a hull.

I do agree, though, for the money that is charged, the finish should be automotive quality.

That may or may not be an improvement.

GM has been quite fanatical about factory finish for several years now, working to put out products that can compete with the best at every level of the market. It's dismaying to hear comments like "notorious" applied to anything '03/'04 forward, because it implies the reputation of GM (and domestics in general) from 10-30 years ago is still prevalent in the consumer's mindset. Sadly, it is prevalent, which partially explains the trouble the domestic brands are currently facing.

Mercedes, and recently Toyota, have had major paint issues in the last few years - moreso than the domestics - as they try to trim costs and are experimenting with different paints and thinner coatings. BMW has a certain "acceptable" level of orange peel and fisheye in the factory finish, particularly on plastic components such as bumper covers and mirror housings.

The "best" have been averaging down at the same time the "most notorious" have been averaging up... and yet old habits (along with old outdated opinions) die hard.

Even the Ferrari 430 Scuderia I got to play with a couple weekends ago had ripply and dimpled paint. Then again, less paint saves almost a pound of weight on the car! The Bugatti Veyrons that were supplied for a weekend of track time, however, were blemish free. I guess you need to be up around 7 figures for mirror finish these days.

It doesn't take hardly any extra time in the thick and thin of things to make a yacht with a good finish. You only have to have a good mold (which is much easier to do in this day and age then the 60's), properly wax the mold between boats with mold release compound, and layup the gelcoat and fiberglass properly without trying to cut costs or speed up the process......