Boat test for the 2008 Marlow Explorer 86 CMY with boat pictures, boat specifications, and boat test results. Includes pricing, videos, engine test reviews, and ratings for the 2008 Marlow Explorer 86 CMY.

In David Marlow's hands are two coffee stirrers buttressed at either end with the lids from our large Styrofoam cups. "You see," he explains as he leans his elbows on the granite countertop in the galley of the Marlow 86, "these lids represent the Kevlar skins..." As the owner and founder of Marlow Yachts begins his explanation, I sip on my coffee and pay careful attention, knowing that he and his company had just attained one of the grails of boatbuilding: full-stack resin infusion.

Resin infusion is the process of laying up fiberglass by using a partial vacuum to suck resin into the porous matrix of a preformed structure. (The main differences between it and resin-transfer molding are the use of a vacuum and much higher pressures on the laminate.) The process has undergone many iterations and acronym changes since its inception nearly 25 years ago, but arguably, the most advanced version to date is the Resin Transfer Molding Vacuum Infusion Process (RTM VIP). It requires a large bag, a vacuum; resin, mat, and coring; and a preformed mold of the structure to be built.

Recent advancements in RTM VIP—such as dramatically decreasing the pressure of the partial vacuum—have allowed resin to better penetrate the matting materials, working deep into the "sprues" (tiny cavities) of both the matting and, when present, the core. This ensures that the proper amount of resin fuses to the preformed structure (an issue that can inhibit RTMs that don't enlist an extremely low-pressure vacuum).

The benefits of RTM VIP over other types of RTM and classic roll-and-mop layups are well documented: It's quicker, forms products that are both lighter and stronger, and produces less waste. When you remove the bag, the part is basically finished—almost no need for grinding, sanding, or painting.

Until now RTM VIP worked much better on smaller parts, like hatches and bulkheads, where bagging is more manageable. Some bigger hulls had been formed from this process, but only in stages. Builders of large yachts had to form the outside skin, then add the core, then add another skin. But Marlow Yachts has changed that.

It patented a process called Resin Infusion Vacuum Assisted Transfer (RIVAT), which is basically a souped-up version of RTM VIP (the details are proprietary). David Marlow states his is the first company to reach the goal of "full-stack" infusion of an entire hull of more than 80 feet; that is, infusion where the outer skin, core, and inner skin are all laid up in one mold at the same time. For Marlow Yachts that means that the resin has to fully penetrate the seven to nine layers of engineered laminates and two layers of Kevlar that comprise the outside skin, two 11⁄4-inch-thick Corecell foam layers sandwiched in the center, then another seven to nine layers of laminate and two more layers of Kevlar that form the inside skin. Marlow Yachts manufactures the 86 in three main parts: the hull, superstructure, and bridge deck. The superstructure and the bridge deck are also laid up using RIVAT; the core formed from E-glass, S-glass, and selected carbon fiber is filled in afterwards.

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