ANAHEIM, CALIF. - We-no-nah Canoe Inc. won the $3,000 best-of-show, first-place award in the ACE competition at Composites '95 with its advanced Solstice Grand Touring sea kayak. The Composites Fabricators Association and PPG Industries sponsored the contest, which drew 21 entries and awarded a total of $11,000 to seven winners. ACE stands for Award for Composites Excellence.
We-no-nah Canoe licenses the design from Current Designs of Victoria, British Columbia, and manufactures the line of kayaks in a 40,000-square-foot plant in Winona, Minn. A proprietary resin-induced vacuum-bagged construction eliminates the use of bleeder and release cloths and emits no fumes. The result is a 53-pound kayak with a glass-to-resin ratio of 70 percent.
Other winners include:
Molded Fiber Glass Cos./West in Adelanto, Calif., took second place in best-in-show for a more than 65-foot-long wind turbine blade of balsa wood core, triaxial and unidirectional fabrics, polyester gel coat and epoxy resin. Three blades per turbine were installed on a 10 megawatt wind farm in Texas.
Advanced Composite Products Inc. of Harrisburg, Pa., took third place in best-in-show and the ACE technical innovation award for a utility electric vehicle prototype of carbon fiber, fiberglass foam, honeycomb and epoxy and polyester resins. Batteries account for 1,200 pounds of the rapid prototype's 2,700 pounds, which should drop to 2,500 pounds in production. The Pennsylvania Electric Transportation Council and Pennsylvania Electric Energy Research Council partially funded the $475,000, nine-month development.
Appalachian Plastics Inc. of Glade Spring, Va., won the ACE market-viability award and the people's choice award for a Class I composite duct system that was developed for Perry Fiberglass Products. Hand lay-up creates the corrosion liner, and filament is wound for the structural layers. Materials include regina surfacing veil, 1.5-ounce chopped strand mat, continuous roving and three resins.
Professional Manufacturing Inc. of Paris, Idaho, won the ACE quality award for Bell motorcycle helmets made with hybrid carbon fiber and vinylester resin using hand layup.
