Sail Lifevideo
⛵️ Getting ready & a new awesome method for window forms. Ep 682
June 14, 2026 · 23 min · 62K views
What this video covers
Mads Dahlke develops a rapid, cost-effective method for creating thermoforming molds for the acrylic windows of an Antares Yachts 44 catamaran.▶ 1:33 Moving away from labor-intensive fiberglass layup, he uses 3D scan data in CAD to design a plywood rib-and-surface structure.▶ 2:17 The design features 12mm plywood ribs with CNC-cut rabbets for precise alignment, topped with a 6mm plywood sheet that conforms to the required curvature.▶ 13:28 He secures the assembly using thickened epoxy fillets and screws, noting that the 6mm top layer provides sufficient stiffness for the thermoforming process.▶ 18:03 This CNC-based approach reduces the fabrication time for a single window form to approximately one day.▶ 15:53 The project also includes upgrading a CAD workstation with 64GB of DDR5 RAM and an RTX 5080 graphics card to better process large 3D scan files.▶ 2:50 Tidying the catamaran and tool trailer remains a priority to improve workspace efficiency during the ongoing refit.▶ 7:10
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