photos groupe finot

High tech composites - "Autostruct" process

It is in the Atelier des Grillons, in Toulouse, that Pierre Lallemand, with his crew, has st up and now develops this building process "Autostruct", with the support of the Region.
The quality control, the traceability, are their main concerns as it is in aeronautic industries, their neighbours.

The solid hull , clinkers, stringers, frames are made out of prepeg cured in an autoclave under a pression of several atmospheres, all in one step ( "Autostruct" process).

The deck is built 100% out of carbon with Nomex core , the fin keel out of massif carbon.
They are cured in an autoclave too.

The begining of the project

Our goal with the Open 6,50 has been to build stronger and lighter composite structures in order to obtain performances never achieved on sailboats.
Some of these concepts have been tested on our open 50 and 60's as well as the Giro 34. But they usually come at a rather high cost...
With a group of partners from the surroundings of Toulouse, we have developed a new technology to produce a radically lighter boat. A lot of the development and the construction methodology are derived from the Aircraft industry using carbon fiber cured in autoclave.
We have received the support of the Midi Pyrenees region, the CRITT of Toulouse, the Socam, CTA, Latecoere and several other aircraft equipment manufacturers of the area.
The hull is built with a process called "Autostruct" which allows the construction of the shell, stringers and reinforcement all in one piece. The effort is concentrated on a flawless construction that can be translated into production.
A boat of that dimension half way between a dingy and a cruising sailboat seemed to us the right size to validate this concept.

Jean Marie Finot

Design

Light,strong, with a very low center of gravity thanks to her carbon mast and her heavy ballast (deep keel, lead bulb, carbon fin ). This ballast accounts for 43 % of the weight of the boat.

The shape of the hull provides a lot of stability and the ability to carry a large sail area.

A large open cockpit allows the crew to move for and aft to adapt to the sailing conditions.
Under the roof a shelter is accessible by a watertight hatch, closed at sea, protecting the gear stowed inside.
Hiking position(legs inside) is natural ans comfortable.
Extremly while planning from bload to closed reach, almost touching the ultimate dream : planning while beating !

light, trailerable	insinkable

The Open 6.50 is very hard to capsize and unsinkable.
At sea the closed hatch is watertight.

Its width adaptd to the road clearance, the Open 650 is easily trailerable.
It is with a lifting keel : it is brought up with the main halyard or a winch on a leg and tackle located aft of the cabin.
The boat is easily launched from its trailer.
The very light mast can be stepped directly by hand.

surfing sensations : easy, safe on a strong boat

2004 regattas : Spi ouest, grand prix de l'école Navale à Brest, bol d'or on the Genova lake (with a specific adapted ig and sail).

photo JM Finot bol d'Or

Photo Pascal Alemany, Ecole Navale

Ecole Navale

Photo Pascal Alemany

Photo Pascal Alemany, www.voile-cotiere.com

Open 6.50 class association The association is chaired by Eric Vernet. For any information : info@lesgrillons.net , Stéphane Menuet : +33(0)6 22 41 52 17 It aims at creating bonds between the owners and helping gather the boats in meetings : friendly, sporting and convivial regattas. For 2004-2005, six meetings have been done : north Brittany, south Brittany, La Rochelle, La Grande Motte, Genova lake. http://www.open650.com/