Plascore PP Honeycomb on Board Award Winning Mako 18 LTS
Tracker Marine Group, Springfield, Missouri
Boasting a patent-pending Rapid Planing System, the MAKO 18 LTS is an incomparable light tackle skiff. The features, ride and versatility of a larger craft are melded with the maneuverability and shallow draft of an inshore boat. It does this with far less power than is the norm by today’s standards Just ask the industry experts: this new boat is the winner of the Trailer Boats Excellence Design Award and the 2009 Innovation Award from the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and Boating Writers International (BWI). Commented one of the judges: “This boat gets out of the hole quickly in skinny water and does so at an affordable price.”
At the core of the many accolades accorded to the MAKO 18 LTS is great design and Plascore PP Honeycomb. As it does in automotive, recreational and industrial applications, Plascore PP Honeycomb delivers more performance for the dollar by reducing structural weight while increasing performance of laminated cores, all at an attractive price point.
“In today’s market, you need a cored laminate that performs and is cost effective,” says Tracker Marine Group Director of Tech. Development Bob Mataya. “There are many good cores out there to choose from, even so, to design a cost effective cored laminate is difficult. We were able to meet the requirements with Plascore PP Honeycomb.”
Used in the deck and structural liner, both of which have Class A Surfaces, PP Honeycomb outperformed other polypropylene cores in extensive lab testing. Because of those test results, the award winning 18 LTS has featured Plascore PP Honeycomb since day one.
“PP Honeycomb fit our design philosophy,” continues Bob. “Without it, it would have been difficult to hit the cost and weight targets we were after. We ran tests on cored panels, the numbers were very good and extremely consistent for the Plascore product. We looked at the standard physical properties of course, but more importantly we looked at the failure mode: what happens when the product does fail? We were very happy with the PP Honeycomb results. In fact, we see several other applications for the Plascore products in our product line.”
From decades of experience and a passion for building quality fishing boats, the Tracker Marine Group team delivers excellence to anglers with the highest expectations for their boats. Now, Plascore PP Honeycomb is on board.
For more information visit Tracker Marine Group at www.trackermarinegroup.com.
