Summer gets closer

Now the engine is there and it's only the electronics and the fuel system that need to be installed. At this point I realized that the Mid-summer target was a bit tight. But after moving the boat I was able to work also on weekday evenings on it.

Some navigation help is nice to have.

Engine start-up service.

And finally two weeks after the target date the boat is finally in the right element.

The first rain showed the nice surface on the side deck.

The new boat now docked at the new bridge. A project longer that originally planned was finally to an end.

Among the first trips were taken out to the nice archipelago restaurant Hyppeis Värdshus out in Houtskär in Turku Archipelago. A place worth visiting, both for the nice nature and the delicious food.

After a delicious dinner in good company, we took a late drive back over a calm sea in the sunset.

The project moved to a new location

After last blog update there was a longer break in the project, until spring time 2018 when I managed to get the project moved from the school to a boat building shop. 
Now a intensive period started with normal work in the weeks and working on the boat in the weekends, with a goal to get the boat ready by Mid-summer.

The hull was ready, but there were a lot to be done in a relatively short time. The steering consoles, wind shields, back bench and all technology. Steering and fuel system, electronics, engine.

Under the back bench you have the compartment for the fuel tank. To keep this compartment as dry as possible the bench need to be made water tight both for water on the floor and for rain. 

The designing of the steering consoles and the wind shield was the most difficult part of the project. The reason was that it is really difficult to visualize these parts and at the same time ensure the functionality.

After the first parts were mounted it was just to continue gluing one part after another and see the result after that.

Last part to put together was the door.

 

After this there was some varnishing to be made. The whole hull is epoxy treated and for the surface I used  Double Coat UV  A two component PU varnish that was easy to roll out and the result was pretty good.

 

Now the boat was ready to move to next location where I got some help with installing all the electronics and other stuff.

  

Some progress

It has been a bit quiet here on the blog lately. The reason is that the progress with the boat has been a bit slow. Things doesn't always go as you plan, not even as you hope or dream. 

Today I reached one milestone when the boat was lifted into the cold sea to check how she floats and if the waterline is on correct level.

After last post the deck has been installed.

As well as tubing for the cables.

In the picture below you see some storage space, in the front step and in the middle below the floor. And in the stern the space for the fuel tank.
 

Here I try to form the space at the stern.

This is how she looks today. Next in turn is to attach the back bench and build the control and navigator desks.

Today we lifted her into the right element to check how she floats and if the water line is on the correct level.

All the guys in the boat are simulating engine, fuel tank and control and navigator desks. As she was lifted to day we also checked her weight which was about 500 kg at this point.

I'm afraid there will again be a pause before there is something to tell you on this project, but as soon as I have something to show you I will update you.

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to you all readers.
 
 

Interior is taking some shape

Today we got the floor almost formed and it helped visualize the boat in a better way.

After we turned the boat and started with the inside, the first thing was to fix the supporting strips for the side deck.

The inner sides also need their supporting strips. The construction will be with double walls and air filled compartments for ensuring the enough floating capacity.

The transom also needed some more stiffness to carry the motor. These boards where glued with epoxy.

Ensuring that the fuel tank will fit into the planned compartment under the floor. 

After the supporting parts on the inside were ready it was time to seal all surfaces with epoxy. One learning was that epoxy could have been applied before the supporting strips where attached, it would have been a bit easier.

Following step was then to start forming the floor. Below you see how we planned the front part with the help of a model made of some strips.

Below the result of today's work. Tomorrow still some tuning to get the floor to fit as it should. Then the floor need to be sealed with some epoxy before it can be attached.

 

One milestone reached

Hi and sorry for being quiet for a while. 

This week we reached one major milestone when we got the hull turned in right position for a boat.

The laminating of the hull has taken longer than originally planned.

First layer of epoxy paint applied on the bottom to make it easier to get the final smoothness of the bottom. 

Here we have continued the sanding of the bottom and now it is ready for another epoxy paint layer. That will be applied later when I'm able to paint all the needed layers including the bioside-free antifouling paint from SeaBoost. 

Then it was time for the big moment and turn the hull for the first time. Everything went well with some extra hands.

From here we will continue with the inside.

More images of that later.

Last week there was very positive news when the Barchetta 26 was nominated Motor boat of the year at the Helsinki boat show Vene 17 Båt. This proves that wooden boats are appreciated.