Tag Archives: DN Iceboats

Cold Weather Bonding

By Don Gutzmer – GBI Technical Advisor

“What’s the lowest temperature WEST SYSTEM Epoxy can be applied?” During cold weather, this is a common question our Technical Advisors are asked. Fortunately, it’s one we’re well equipped to answer. Gougeon Brothers, Inc. got its start in the world of DN Iceboat racing. Both Meade and Jan Gougeon have won multiple DN cup races worldwide. It’s not unusual for an iceboat to need repairs mid-regatta, so part of the discipline of iceboat racing is getting epoxy to cure despite cold working environments. The trick is using strategies that bring epoxy temperatures up to adequate cure levels in cold working environments. Continue reading →

Golden Day 1976

Looking Back on Epoxy Technology

How WEST SYSTEM® Products Got Their Start

By Meade Gougeon — GBI Founder
Epoxyworks 28

Cover Photo: Top image – First GBI crew building GOLDEN DAZY in the early ’70s. Bottom image – The Gougeon Brothers, Inc. team in 2008.

 

2009 was the 40th Anniversary of Gougeon Brothers, Inc. 1969 marked a point in the Gougeon brothers’ careers when they applied all they had learned about wooden structures and epoxy technology to manufacture, for the first time, a product utilizing wood/epoxy composite construction. The full story of Gougeon Brothers, Inc. begins long before that date and is sure to continue well into the next 40 years.

Continue reading →

Pioneers of Speed

by Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor

Above: The proa Slingshot was one of the true pioneers of speed, topping out at 40 knots.

There are those who believe sailing fast means advanced composites with high-tech fibers, exotic cores, and plenty of cash. Very few think of wood when they think of fast, but before carbon fiber, before Kevlar™…there was wood. Continue reading →

DN Iceboating

How the Old Guy Won

By Meade Gougeon — GBI Founder

On January 18, 1997, Gougeon Brothers Inc. co-founder and CEO Meade Gougeon, 58, became the oldest person ever to win the North American DN Iceboat Championship. He explains how he managed this feat in what is essentially a young man’s sport, in this article excerpted from the DN Newsletter. —Ed.

I was still out on the ice watching the last two races of the Silver Fleet for the North American Championships when word got to me that I had won the series. To say the least, I was shocked. I figured at best that I might have made the top five, but the fact that I was in the hunt to win never crossed my mind, even up to the last two races where I managed second-place finishes. Continue reading →