Princess Yachts

Location: Plymouth
Industry: Marine Manufacturing

Princess Yachts was preparing to launch a new R35 sports yacht into the marketplace. To support this product introduction, the business needed to increase production capacity for hull lay-up, curing, preparation, and final painting operations.

The project required the installation of a new, integrated finishing and curing facility within an existing production area at the Newport Road site in Plymouth.

The available space was constrained by the layout of existing production sheds, requiring all new equipment to be designed around a fixed and restricted footprint. The facility also needed to support a complete end-to-end process, from fibreglass lay-up and curing through to final painting, while meeting precise process and quality requirements for a high-performance marine product.

STL delivered a bespoke, multi-booth solution, designed specifically to fit within the existing production environment and support the full manufacturing process of the R35 hulls and components.

The installation included:

• Two high-temperature curing ovens (17m × 6.5m × 5m) for fibreglass hull and deck lay-up

• Two large rear wall extract painting and curing spray booths (20m × 7.5m × 6.6m) for final finishing

• One additional rear wall extract spray booth (11m × 4.5m × 2.2m)

• One dedicated paint component spray booth for smaller moulded parts

Each element was engineered to work together as a single, integrated production facility.

Curing ovens (booths 1 & 2)

The curing ovens operate in multiple programmable modes to support different stages of the lay-up process:

• A solvent-clearing mode introducing fresh air into a high-volume circulating airflow

• A controlled curing mode with temperatures ramped up to 100°C and held for extended periods, matched precisely to product requirements

High-level, high-speed air delivery nozzles promote turbulent airflow, ensuring uniform temperature distribution throughout the booth, with low-level extraction removing spent air.

Painting spraybooths (booths 3 & 4)

The main spray booths utilise a hybrid downdraft/horizontal airflow design, ideal for painting large, aerodynamic structures such as yacht hulls. Filtered air is introduced at high level and extracted at low level through duplex filtration media, delivering consistent airflow across painted surfaces.

All air handling plant was positioned at ground level behind the structure, improving accessibility for maintenance.

Component spraybooth (booth 5)

A dedicated booth was provided for smaller moulded components, allowing batch painting in a clean, controlled environment, with curing temperatures up to 100°C using the same hybrid airflow principles.

The entire facility was installed within an operational production area, requiring careful coordination and sequencing. The bespoke design allowed the new process areas to be incorporated without compromising existing workflows or site infrastructure.

The completed installation significantly increased production capacity, enabling Princess Yachts to successfully support the launch of the R35 sports yacht. The new facility provides a controlled, efficient, and scalable environment for hull production and finishing, supporting both current and future product programmes.

• Increased hull production and finishing capacity

• Purpose-built curing and painting capability for a new product line

• Bespoke solution integrated into a constrained existing facility