Holding Class in the American yachting industry

Holding Class – what does this mean for the American yachting industry? Dolfab Metal Fabricators, part of Doll Marine, recently performed repair work aboard custom charter yacht Kipany, a Class charter boat. Jim explains what it means to hold “Class” and what it means for the yacht owner and for the American marine industry. Watch … Continue reading “Holding Class in the American yachting industry”

Holding Class – what does this mean for the American yachting industry? Dolfab Metal Fabricators, part of Doll Marine, recently performed repair work aboard custom charter yacht Kipany, a Class charter boat. Jim explains what it means to hold “Class” and what it means for the yacht owner and for the American marine industry. Watch the video or read the transcript below.

Here’s the transcript:

The vessel we’re presently working is interesting setup… the keel was set in […] Savannah, GA […] and they set the keel here, and sent the boat, because of cost reasons, to Europe- to Italy and have it outfitted. So this would enable them o have an American keel, which they were able to hold and keep class.

Class meaning that there’s are different sanctions through the government states that a keel must be set in this country if you’re going to use it for charter in these waters; they want to make sure that it’s an American boat. That way it protects the American industry… you know… “Built in the USA” still has some credence -and it has for a long time- in the marine industry. So it’s a whole different maritime law and sanctions and rules that are governed for the uh, fabrication and the design a lot of the [yacht] repair.

There’s different classifications. Some charter boats are classed out for the Coast Guard, and (like a T-Boat status) there’s different classifications on the amount of people they will allow on the vessel due to the stability of the vessel. So there’s governed and sanctioned and under inspection from the Coast Guard. Another one is American Bureau of Shipping, or ABS, also has a classification. There’s also Lloyds of London, or Lloyd Specs, which is the European class.

With the ABS, the American Bureau of Shipping, they have their own criteria and standards to work from in from the welding. The welders have to be certified by ABS has to be approved and inspected- and as far as the electrical work, all the mechanical work, everybody there has to be ABS certified… and the material they use… the mills that we get the material from… the alloy, the aluminum, and the stainless… anything we use on the boat has to be- have record and classification, it be from a certified mill, from-sanctioned from the American Bureau of Shipping.

So it does cost a little more, in the initial, but in the long run it-it really protect the owner of the vessel; it gives them a good quality product with good common sense fabrication… things that, you know, would normally maybe get overlooked in running a boat building business, this way everybody knows that somebody’s watching over it. It’s like a watchdog.

 

Yacht repair highlight: New transmission mounts for Troy

Superyacht Repair highlight: 90′ Maiora S/Y Troy is getting new transmission mounts courtesy of Dolfab, Inc. In this video, Jim Doll explains the importance of a properly aligned transmission in superyacht applications. Troy’s transmission was misaligned after a series of events, and the shafts snapped. Listen to how it all happened:     S/Y Troy … Continue reading “Yacht repair highlight: New transmission mounts for Troy”

Superyacht Repair highlight: 90′ Maiora S/Y Troy is getting new transmission mounts courtesy of Dolfab, Inc.

In this video, Jim Doll explains the importance of a properly aligned transmission in superyacht applications. Troy’s transmission was misaligned after a series of events, and the shafts snapped. Listen to how it all happened:

 

 

S/Y Troy has been undergoing these yacht repairs for a few weeks now, as repairs conducted on superyachts are usually extensive and require vast amounts of knowledge and refined expertise.

 

Dolfab Metal Fabricators (part of Doll Marine) is well experienced in performing and managing super yacht refit projects from start to finish servicing all of Fort Lauderdale and parts of Palm Beach, Florida. Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn to see updates from this and all our other projects.

 

 

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Waterjet custom metal window frames

We recently posted about some waterjet custom metal window frames that we at Dolfab were working on. We showed you the pieces, the custom table, and the waterjet. But what was the thought process that went on behind the fabrication of these windows? What did we do different to improve on the previous set?  Jim … Continue reading “Waterjet custom metal window frames”

We recently posted about some waterjet custom metal window frames that we at Dolfab were working on. We showed you the pieces, the custom table, and the waterjet.

But what was the thought process that went on behind the fabrication of these windows? What did we do different to improve on the previous set?  Jim Doll explains, in his very knowledgeable voice, how these window frames were made and what makes them unique.

Watch the video here:

Project highlight: 55′ Cheoy Lee Maraya’s new custom metal window frames

  55′ Cheoy Lee sailboat Maraya is getting some new custom metal window frames by Dolfab Metal Fabricators Creating custom metal window frames for a 55′ sailboat is a great testament to the ingenuity of the Dolfab team, and it gives us a chance to show you some of our equipment in action. These custom- … Continue reading “Project highlight: 55′ Cheoy Lee Maraya’s new custom metal window frames”

 

55′ Cheoy Lee sailboat Maraya is getting some new custom metal window frames by Dolfab Metal Fabricators

Creating custom metal window frames for a 55′ sailboat is a great testament to the ingenuity of the Dolfab team, and it gives us a chance to show you some of our equipment in action. These custom- made window frames require the use of our Waterjet cutter and a special router table that was created and assembled by our team specifically for this purpose.

The table allows for the router to be held in place while the window frames are turned around it, instead of the other way around (normally, the metal fabricator would turn the router around the piece being worked on). The pieces of metal being turned were too thin for the traditional application, so we came up with this solution:

This isn’t the first time we get creative with projects, and we know that it won’t be the last. Every metal fabrication project, yacht refit, and repair or custom project is unique, and we see new situations all the time. We draw from our collective experience in metal fabrication, which is quite extensive, to come up with innovative solutions to each new challenge.

We’re scheduled to complete this project over the next couple of weeks and will be posting updates to our Facebook page.

See Waterjet Cutter in action:

Go to our YouTube channel to see all our videos and subscribe for project updates.

AJAO Hull Restoration: Yacht Refitting

DolFab Metal Fabricators recently completed extensive repairs on the hull of Ajao, a beautiful 80’ Baglietto yacht. Ajao suffered from major corrosion to its hull due to an issue with the external exhaust system. The yacht almost sank due to this corrosion and demanded an array of extensive refinements.   Dolfab was hired to perform … Continue reading “AJAO Hull Restoration: Yacht Refitting”

DolFab Metal Fabricators recently completed extensive repairs on the hull of Ajao, a beautiful 80’ Baglietto yacht. Ajao suffered from major corrosion to its hull due to an issue with the external exhaust system. The yacht almost sank due to this corrosion and demanded an array of extensive refinements.

 

Dolfab was hired to perform repairs on the hull, fuel tanks, and bow. The process of repairing the Ajao was quite an undertaking. The scope of the project involved emptying the fuel tanks and removing corroded sections there, removing large sections of the yacht’s hull, replacing all the missing sections with customized new panels which were then welded into place, and finally pressure-testing the structure to ensure its seaworthiness.

 

The Dolfab crew found other issues on the yacht. The damaged hull created too much pressure and had caused the teak flooring on the bow to burst open. The team repaired and reinforced the structure of the bow, going through the forward bulkheads to ensure the yacht is seaworthy after all repairs are finished.

 

Ajao passed the pressure testing procedures and was scheduled for fiberglass repair and paint before it was relaunched earlier this month. Ajao has now been restored to its former glory!

 

DolFab has been working since 1984 in the commercial and private marine market to deliver custom metal fabrication and yacht finishing solutions in the Fort Lauderdale area.

Detaclad: Innovative Method that Offers High Sheer Strength & Quality

  Welding is a common process which is used in a number of different industries such as chemicals, refining, engineering, metals, and mining.  Earlier, conventional methods were used to join or fuse together two metals, however, now we have access to the latest technological advancements including tools and techniques that science has created to make … Continue reading “Detaclad: Innovative Method that Offers High Sheer Strength & Quality”

 

Welding is a common process which is used in a number of different industries such as chemicals, refining, engineering, metals, and mining.  Earlier, conventional methods were used to join or fuse together two metals, however, now we have access to the latest technological advancements including tools and techniques that science has created to make our jobs easier.

A peculiar new technology has come forth which uses the energy of controlled explosions to weld plates together. Explosion Welding Process or Detaclad, is a unique and robust technology that is in great demand these days and has been adopted by a number of different industries due to the advantages that it offers.

Detaclad technology is widely in practice all over the world and is implemented to fuse together two dissimilar metals.  Explosion welding process is a step by step procedure that involves six phases such as: –

  • Plain Material Inspection
  • Grind Mating Surfaces
  • Assemble Backer, Cladder & Explosive
  • Explosion
  • Flatten & Cut
  • Testing ad Inspection

All these steps need to be followed in a sequence, in order to get the desired results. Significant precision is involved in all the stages to avoid errors. Even a small mistake can be significantly costly as all of the raw material will then have to be disposed off. With the help of explosion cladding, one can join unlimited range of compatible ad Non-compatible metals.  The Cladding process creates ductile, high strength weld over the entire metal surface. Using Explosive Clad, there are many benefits over roll band and weld overlay. There are many different metals such as Titanium steel, aluminum steel, and aluminum copper which have been created by using explosion cladding technology rather than the conventional welding process.

In nutshell, we can say that Detaclad is a globally tested and proven technology. Products designed with explosive welding procedure have better design options, corrosion resistance and improved service life. Here at Dolfab we are very proud to say that we use this innovative and awesome technology. Check out the Dolfab project gallery to see the work we did on Life of Riley, a 113′ Burger yacht that underwent this process.