Factory
The ISLAND SPIRIT 401 is robustly built for South Atlantic Ocean conditions. Designed by Naval Architect Phil Southwell, the emphasis is on performance, comfort and safety. The ISLAND SPIRIT 401 is manufactured to the highest international standards using biaxial fiberglass and isophthalic resin vacuum bagged close cell foam, in the hulls and balsa, in the deck, sandwich construction.
ISLAND SPIRIT takes pride in its product and goes to great lengths to ensure the reliability, quality and integrity of the yacht is maintained. Therefore, upon completion of the yacht, it is checked comprehensively in the factory, by means of a formal inspection. The technical manager will sign off on the boat when all systems are given a clean bill of health.
At Launching the ISLAND SPIRIT is commissioned and a surveyor will give his stamp of approval after North Sails, Volvo and all the hardware suppliers have formally tested and inspected their products on board.
Highly qualified and competent delivery crew will deliver the boat across the Atlantic on an approximately 7000 mile voyage to the USA , or any where in the world. The delivery crew and ISLAND SPIRIT support team in the USA will do the formal hand over to the new owner and will ensure 100% satisfaction.
Unique construction
A - Hand laid up GRP construction using multi layer biaxial or quadriaxial glass mat.
B - Isophthalic resin below water line.
C - Chopped strand mat and woven glass fabrics with close cell DIAB foam (vacuumed bagged sandwich ) above the waterline.
D - Marine ply inserts at load points for reinforcement to key areas such as mast step, keels, chain plates, rudders and bow.
E - Closed watertight compartment in bows and sterns.
F - Antifouling over epoxy based osmosis barrier.
G - Molded anti-skid pattern to deck and couch roof.
H - Louvers over front facing windows that act as steps onto the coachroof
News from the Island Spirit factory in Cape Town
The Island Spirit factory was moved to a modern facility in Woodstock just outside of Cape Town in June 2003. It is an impressive building with twice the floor space that we originally occupied and is currently geared up to build 12 boats per year, double the capacity of last year. This is good news for prospective buyers, as there seem to be a shortage of Island Spirits! Six boats can be produced at one time, starting with the mold lay up facility. There are a further four boats at various stages of completion and finally the finishing bay where the boat under goes a formal inspection of all systems before launching in Cape Town Harbor.
The move of the factory has created a bit of upheaval and delivery times were delayed by a few weeks but all seems to be on course again for Island Spirit. Jannie Els, the director of Operations, maintains a firm grip on the production schedule and quality control with second in command Dries Greyling.
The Island Spirit factory, being CE approved, is now also selling on the European market and has invested in new tooling and modernized equipment in order to be more efficient and comply with European standards. One of the new developments in the manufacturing process is the factory's move towards modular building and the use of more composite materials. This will reduce man hours in the building process and thus result in a reduction in costs. Composite materials will dramatically reduce maintenance and increase durability while increasingly minimizing the weight of the boat. We are all well aware that, the lighter the cat, the better the performance. We believe that although quality and innovation are still a high priority with buyers, some clients prefer less maintenance dependent boats which they can sail themselves. The Island Spirit 401 seems to fill this need.
Phil Southwell is involved with redesigning the new deck layout. The deck will be a vast improvement on the old design. We insisted the hull's underwater configuration stays the same. It is fast, tracks well to the wind and does not dig her bows into the water like some designs. We have indeed raised the deck clearance slightly even though slamming never seemed to be a problem. The deck mold has been remodeled and retooled at a cost of $200,000.00 and the first of the 401 models will be launched at the Cape Town and Annapolis, USA in 2005.
The new in house design office with Dries Greyling, gives the factory a lot of flexibility to do custom designs to the interior. Drie's department produces a custom owner's manual for every Island Spirit that leaves the factory. The manual is packed with information and technical drawings of all systems on board.
The Island Spirit factory has a full order book and with it's newly awarded CE Mark rating, new premises and modernized manufacturing equipment, the factory is set to do well!
