Since you asked....
Some of you will have seen this in the Bluefins newsletter.
The project started off when I needed a plat for Nationals a few years back. I decided to do it properly and fortunately had some useful tools at hand. The design was drawn up in 3D on CAD, and transferred to cross sections on paper. These were then used to help shape a polystyrene form, which was fibreglassed over to create the plug. This was smoothed down, preped up and fibreglassed over again to make a mould. From there its a case of popping them out when required.
A lot of thought and advice has gone into the design. Stability was the key, so I went for a generous size of 1200 long x 550 wide. This means that the plat never flips over, and can also fit most species that you'd come across in a comp.
The hull was also shaped to achieve stability, straight tracking and has a deeper central Vee to settle the catch into the most stable position. It tows pretty light, and I'd go as far as saying it offers an advantage when you have more than a couple of fish that you're towing in a comp.
The plat shown has been spay gel coated and then layed up to 3mm with a chopper gun. I then go in and reinforce the potentially stressed areas with weeve. The theory here is that you don't want to be nursing your plat. When mine hits the rocks I leave it there until I'm ready to move on.
A fair bit of thought went into the hatch design as well. There is a generous overlap between the hatch and the deck which means that water can't get in unless the plat is submerged. There is also a clever little bungy system set up to ensure the hatch remains up when it's opened.
Another big advantage is that it's big and yellow. That gives me a huge ammount of confidence when I'm diving in boat infested waters as it is pretty hard to miss. There is a gland on the top of the deck which holds the flag, again a pretty noteworthy reminder to boaties about whats below.
My plat hasn't been the cheapest thing to develop but its been worth it. No doubt there are more cost effective solutions around, but I'd be suprised if they can perform any better. I've got two at the moment so one usually gets loaned out at comps and so far the Bluefins who have used it haven't had any complaints. We're building up Fizzlestick's one next weekend so I guess thats a fair endorsement on its own.
Steve