An honest assessment of vacuum resin infusion as a do-it-yourself technique, based on practical experience during the construction of Fram.
Vacuum Resin Infusion – Do It Yourself?
At first glance, vacuum resin infusion can appear intimidating. The process looks complicated and unfamiliar. In reality, however, the difficulty depends almost entirely on the complexity of the part being infused. Infusing a flat panel, for example, is simple and very straightforward.
Over the years, I received many questions about resin infusion. This made me think about how the process could be made more accessible and easier to understand for other builders. That was the starting point for assembling a simple vacuum infusion starter kit. Once the basic principles are understood—especially why resin flows the way it does—the technique becomes much less mysterious.
Controlled vacuum infusion is an excellent solution for complex shapes such as boat hulls. For simpler components like panels and bulkheads, however, no simulation software is required. A combination of common sense, good preparation, and an understanding of typical beginner mistakes is sufficient to achieve excellent results—without wasting expensive composite materials.
When it comes to bulkheads and flat panels, some sources suggest that vacuum infusion is more work or significantly slower than vacuum-bagged panels. My experience shows the opposite.
Apart from all other advantages, infusion is also a time saver when producing panels and bulkheads. I can produce a double-sided infused sandwich panel of 4′×8′ (120×240 cm) entirely on my own in approximately three hours. This includes cutting all required materials—glass fabric, peel ply, release film, flow mesh, and vacuum film—and using a standard pre-perforated 15 mm Corecell sheet. The result is a composite panel of exceptional quality that only requires curing time before further processing.
Infusion strategies such as those used for the floats and the interior of the main hull are often based on a herringbone pattern of resin runners. This approach does require careful preparation and planning, as supported by the computer-generated simulations described earlier. Resin is supplied from a single bucket through one feed line. Infusion times typically range from thirty minutes to one and a half hours, depending on the size of the part.
For a DIY builder, the process can be simplified further by dividing a hull into multiple sections, as was done during the infusion of the exterior laminate of the main hull. Even then, a single resin feed line can be used, minimizing the chance of errors.
Other methods exist, based on parallel feed lines that infuse separate sections individually. While these approaches are well controlled, they require significantly more time and much more intensive monitoring and management of resin and vacuum lines, including multiple valves.
For many years, it was possible to order a resin infusion starter kit through this website. This package contained the basic materials required to infuse a small double-sided panel, along with step-by-step instructions. Since the completion of my project, I use very little infusion material myself and have therefore stopped supplying the starter kit. However, the original manuals and instructional videos that were included on the CD are still available.