Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

10-2016

Publication Source

Michigan Modern: Design the Shaped America

First Page

199

Last Page

205

Publisher

Gibbs Smith

Edition

First

ISBN

9781423644972

Abstract

Plastic Fantastic: The Fiberglass Boatbuilding Industry in Holland, Michigan is a chapter concerning the use of fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) to build boats starting in the 1940s. In the 1950s boat builders discovered that fiberglass would allow them to design boats that would lead to new boat sales and increased profit margins for years to come. This technology steadily spread throughout American boat manufacturing plants, including Holland, Michigan, placing the town among the leaders in the industry.

Keywords

fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP), Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation, polyester resins, Ray Greene, Michigan Fiberglass Company, Holland, Michigan, Lake 'n Sea boat, boatbuilding, marine industry, mahogany-planked, runabout, sheet plywood, molded plywood, Clyde Poll, Poll Manufacturing, Wonder Craft, Leon Slikkers, Slick Craft Boat Company, SlickCraft, SlickCraft Division of AMF, S2 Yachts, Inc., Chris-Craft, Algonac, Michigan, Christopher Columbus Smith, Chris Smith and Sons Boat Company, Chris-Craft, Cobra, Lake-N-Sea boat, Lakensea Boat Corporation, Southern Plastic Corporation, Boca Raton, Florida, Wayne Pickell, Parsons Corporation, Brooks Stevens, Styrofoam, Dow Chemical Company, John T. Parsons, Traverse City, Michigan, Parsons Corporation Special Products Division, numerical control, Bert Carlson, Lawrence Valentine Meyering, Camfield Fiberglass Plastics, Inc., Henry Kort, speedboat, Borculo, Michigan, Super Porpoise, Richard Levy, Morrie Kleiman, Lovecraft Boat Company, Moes Enterprises, Inc., fi

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