Logic Boats Evolve With New Name, Technology

The 170 Center Console is one of the 13 former Logic fishing boat lines that are now branded under the name Triumph.

Genmar, the largest producer of recreational boats, has changed the name of its Logic boat line to Triumph, expanded the Triumph plant and improved the company's acclaimed roto-molded polyethylene process, Genmar officials announced last week.

Triumph boats, which include 13 saltwater cruising and fishing models from 12 to 21 feet, will be built at the former Logic plant in Durham, N.C. Within the year, Triumph expects to expand into freshwater boat building with a new bass and duck boat.

The Triumph 150 Fish gives anglers options in a smaller, yet durable, hull.

"Our investments and improvements in the roto-molded polyethylene process have been substantial to the point that warranted the introduction of an entirely new brand name," said Irwin Jacobs, chairman of Genmar Holdings, Inc. "Our appropriately named 'Triumph' brand represents a significant achievement in developing boats that are extraordinarily durable, affordable and environmentally friendly."

New Triumphs will be molded in a custom-designed "shuttle oven" that towers 15 feet above ground. An additional 15,000 square feet of space was added to the Durham facility to accommodate the system. Ovens are used to heat the polyethylene powder to 400 degrees so that it melts inside the mold and forms the hull and deck.

The new shuttle oven will allow Triumph's process to run more efficiently, Genmar officials said. When one hull mold is finished, it is shuttled off to the side to cool while another mold is shuttled into the oven. Previous conventional ovens required builders to work on the hull in pieces and to cool the molds inside the oven.

Triumph molds are made of stainless steel and injected with a special polyethylene powder.

"This is much more efficient. The oven is in constant use so there's not a lot of down time," said George Blaisdell, Triumph's director of engineering.

The company's roto-molded polyethylene process — called Roplene technology — was first used in 1994 by Logic. Genmar bought the company in 1999.

Similar roto-molded construction is used to make kayaks, beach balls and back boards for emergency medical teams. However, the Triumph oven is likely the largest system in use, capable of producing a boat up to 23 feet in length.

Roto-molded hulls are five times more impact-resistant than fiberglass hulls, Genmar has stated. The Roplene process is also more environmentally friendly, because no styrenes are emitted into the air, as in a fiberglass process.

Triumph's new custom-built "shuttle oven" streamlines the Roplene boat-building process.

"Basically, there is no byproduct unless the boat were to blow up in flames while we were making it," Blaisdell said. "People say it smells like the smell of bread baking in here."

The Roplene hulls are one piece; deck and hull are molded together. Triumph also uses oversized stringers, gussets at the transom and two kinds of flotation to add stiffness and strength to the hull.

"One of the challenges we had at the get-go was to try to get structure out of this material. Polyethylene has great impact strength but not as good stiffness," Blaisdell said. "We do that in a number of proprietary ways; that's where our patents come in. But we also do some simple things."

The shuttle oven method itself sounds simple. It also sounds like something designed by a Disney "imagineer."

First, specially formulated marine-grade polyethylene powder, which has the consistency of fine-grain sugar, is blown into a closed, stainless-steel mold. The mold is then lifted with a crane into the pre-heated, 550-degree oven. It immediately starts to cook.

The oven rotates the mold 360 degrees on its keel axis and rocks it 45 degrees — like a Fantasyland ride where the spherical frame spins itself into zero gravity. The melting powder forms a substance with the consistency of molasses.

Triumph hulls await finishing in the Durham, N.C., plant.

A computer monitors 110 functions including temperature, position and hydraulic conditions at 40 times per second. When the hull is finished, the mold is removed from the oven for cooling. The entire process takes two to four hours depending on the boat's size.

Roplene boats are slightly lighter than fiberglass boats that are double-wall type hulls, Blaisdell said. They also shrink more in the molding process. Compared with fiberglass hulls that experience about .25 percent shrinkage, Roplene boats can shrink as much as 3 percent. A 21-foot mold will produce a boat that is 8 inches shorter upon completion. Consequently, Roplene molds must be 3 percent larger than the finished hull size.

All Triumph boat models come with a lifetime limited warranty. They also feature a satin finish with color molded throughout the boat, eliminating potential gel coat cracking, the company has stated.

"As the technology leader in the marine industry, we are always trying to push the limits," Genmar Chairman Jacobs said. "We have discovered systems that improve the way boats are made, and then we have found ways to expand those technologies even further."

Genmar builds 17 brands of power and fishing boats including Aquasport, Carver, Crestliner, Four Winns, Glastron, Hatteras, Hydra-Sports, Javelin, Larson, Lowe, Lund, Ranger, Seaswirl, Stratos, Trojan and Wellcraft.

For more information on Triumph boats, go to www.triumphboats.com.