This week I had the pleasure of surveying a very special boat: Guardamago II, the Italia Yachts 11.98 boat that won the 2023 Italian offshore sailing championship.
This is a beautiful boat, designed for demanding sailors who want to use her for cruising or racing.
In this video you can admire Guardamago II in all her splendour
The construction method of this Italia Yachts line seeks no compromises, with virtually integral sandwich construction using vinylester resin.
This solution makes the boat very light but rigid at the same time.
In this type of construction, checks during an inspection will focus not only on the classic structural areas, but also on verifying the condition of the sandwich.
The sandwich, if poorly worked, can allow water to enter the internal body between the 2 resin skins, increasing the weight of the boat and in some cases leading to the deterioration of the material with the possible consequent detachment of the skins themselves, damaging the rigidity of the whole.
To better evaluate these hulls I use the tap test with a specific hammer to assess the correct bonding of the skins, the digital hygrometer to check the possible degree of moisture trapped in the sandwich, and the ultrasonic thickness gauge to check the compactness of the skins – both from the inside and from the outside.