She is Tucked Away for a while before Finishing

I did not stop yesterday from early morning. Firstly with help of the Bob Jennings who I hold in the highest esteem, we fitted the newly finished centre board back into the case and thankfully it did fit this time. Liz Colyer, Lyme's new resident sail maker then arrived for the first fit of the custom cover that she is going to make. I then had a vist to her new loft where she is kindly storing my sails until I retrun back from a much need holiday back home in N.Ireland. After lunch I started working on some reinforcement strutts to span the cockpit when the boat is strapped onto the trailer. Bob and I worked until 4:30 when the boat was finally strapped ready to leave the BBA. Driving off with her was more of a moment and send off than the anti-climax of launch day. We safely made it to the top of Cobb Hill which was a major test of out tieing on. She is safely tucked away in Axminster under tarpaulins and Liz will make a couple of trips this week to fit the custom cover.
I return to the South Coast in a couple of weeks to take up my new position with in the marketing department of Wessex Resins who manutacture West Sytems Epoxy. It will take me a while to settle into this new role and so I do not know when or if I will have the Haven completely finished and launched this summer. To tell you the truth I am so shattered that I need to step back for a while and come back to her refreshed to enjoy doing the last little finishing touches. She will come to no harm until my enthusiasm returns.
So the Blog has not finished just yet. Keep watching until you see her launched somewhere in the Solent with her name on the bow. Thanks for all the interest and support from everyone watching.

The Boat on Display on Launch Day

This is the boat on Display on Launch day. It is largely complete looking but the centre board was too wide for the slot when we went to fit it the day before launch. With all the filler and EPU primer it was too fat by about 3mm. I froze with grief at the realization for a while while Nick and Jenny went into overdrive. We frantically worked to the late hours shaving material off and re-fairing before coating it in Epoxy as a temporary water proofer for launch day. The wrong trailer arrived the day before launch to add to the complications and so I was relying on the Harbour master to cradle me into the water but as the gusts of wind were too strong he would not allow any of the sailing boats to launch into a crowded harbour anyway. I was relieved in a way as the boat was just not quite right. I have since removed the centre board and I am in the process of re-sheathing it with cloth and giving a light skim of bubble filler. I am completely shattered at the moment to tell you more as in the week running up to launch I must have got about 12 hours sleep in total. We were rigging it until 3 in the morning before launch and did not quite finish that either.
I am delighted with the finish of the colour scheme which I stole from Morris Yachts of New England whose boats I absolutely love. It took me about 24 hours in total to create the split boot top line above the anti foul. The paint needs a month to harden off and then it can be wet & dryed with 400 grit and worked up to a high gloss shine with Farecla. I am happy with the finish as it sits though. The decks and all the woodwork have been saturated with Uli's No1 Yacht care Oil. This is a one off life time job and I just need to decide which bits to coat with the No2 gloss Oil. The seats are the only pieces of wood to have been glossed with No2 and they look fantastic.
The centre baord has been re-sheated and faired with a light coating of glass micro bubbles epoxy filler ready for sanding and painting on Monday. I have until Tuesday to finish this and re-fit the board before I leave for home.
I will post some more photo's next week.

The Keel and Hull Become One.

The last couple of weeks has seen us finish the decks by priming and filling the grooves with Saba. I had to keep putting this off as the primer was not delivered on time and it was important to prime the grooves as the decks will be finished off with a special German deck oil which has been introduced to us all by the boat building maestro Uli from Bavaria who swears by it. It will leave a maintenance free finish on all the decks and most of the wood work.
The lead ballast keek arrived back and we quickly got to work fitting it on the boat. We first used our male mould to set up the dead woods fore and aft. With the dead woods in place the boat was moved in the workshop over underneath the hoist where the lead keek was lifted on top of the boat. The centre board slot was used as a guide for placing it on the boat and everthing lined up good with just a slight kick off of the lead on the aft end. A couple of extra days work was required to build up a small laminate on one side of it and then fair the whole thing in and encapsulate everything in a cloth and epoxy. The end result is very pleasing and I am extra pleased in that we lost no weight at all as nothing was shaved off the lead to make things fair.
We have been doing other little jobs at the same time such as sheathing the centre board and rudder ready for fitting and we also made a really nice set of margin boards to go around the sole boards by laminating kaya and oak around a jig.
In between all this we have been sanding and preparing the cockpit area and most of the wood work for finishing. We started painting the outer hull today with a high build two pack primer.
Must go, so much to do. I do not know if I will get the time to do another post before I launch on June 7th in Lyme Regis harbour but I will round off with hopefully some beautiful pictures of a finished boat on the slip way.

The Haven is whole again

Just a quick note to say that Justin returned on Monday and spoke to the Foundry about the keel and on inspection of some emailed photo's and the conversation it was decided that things are not that bad and the keel can be attached to the boat with some simple adaption. From my understanding I think we are going to attach the keel straight along the centre line of the boat with the slots lined up and fair in the sides of the keel to the rest of the boat. I am not entirely sure until I see it but I have been assured by Justin that all is OK and he admits a knee jerk reaction when he first saw it arrive. It was not even taken off the pallet apparently and ispected from all angles. Well there you go.......I don't know at all......what pavlova and a stressfull couple of days but I will rest even easier when I see it attched to the boat. Alot of other issues have been resolved over the last day such as the rigging order and we are back on track.

Week 17 - The week the Haven 12 & a Half became Half a Haven.

This week we were fitting the coamings that frame the cockpit area and move forward over the fore deck to form the breakwater. The hardboard templates started by Nick were finished by myself over the bank holiday weekend so that on Tuesday we could start to cut out the actual material in Kaya. This was done by Wednesday which was a day which brought the worst news possible.
I was away in Southampton and while I was there the lead ballast keel arrived. While on my way back I got a call from Justin Adkin the the course tutor telling me that the keel had arrived (finally after nearly 3 months) but unfortunately it had been cast wrongly and he was sending it back on the lorry along with my male pattern to the foundary. This is absolutely disastrous as there is only now 4 weeks to launch and the boat is useless without its keel. There is no way the founday will be able to cast and deliver another one in a week or two which leaves the finishing really tight.
When I first spoke to Justin on the way back from Southampton, the question of who is responcible was my first and has been ongoing until late this afternoon. I was informed by Justin that the cast keel cast by the foundry did not match my male pattern and he went on to say that the centre board slot was skewed which would have made it impossible for the centreboard to drop down. While still on my way back from Southampton the MD of the founday called me asking why the keel was on its way back to them to which I just had to pass on what I had been told by Justin and that it would be best to speak to him. I gave him the number of the college and I made way back as quickly as possible. When I got back to the BBA to hear the outcome of the conversation with Justin I was told it did not happen.
On Wednesday evening I emailed the founday my concerns about the extremely tight deadline and what I was told by Justin caused the problem. I then spoke to the MD of the foundry who told me that he could not comment on anything until he received the keel back. I have been waithing until this afternoon to hear from the foundry with the staff who are in the BBA at the moment asking every few minutes what was happening and that I should be keeping on top of the foundry more. Well I had to give them time and I did hear this afternoon and the foundry are saying that they have cast a perfect representation of my pattern and went on the explain the exact details of what went wrong in terms of my pattern. This I could not really grasp and so I told the MD I could not really comment until it was explained to my course tutor. He has unfortunatley been off the last 3 days and the principle has also been on holidays too so I told him it would be Monday before I could perhaps obtain a member of the staff here to talk to him. We had a few more conversations today involving myself and an experienced pattern maker who is now on the staff at the BBA and the foundry. Basically the foundry are blaming my patttern (which it could be) and the school have been blaming the foundry but maybe not as much as the afternoon has gone on. In anycase I have to vist the foundry on Monday who are going to lay the keel on a marking table to show me the problem which is basically that the pattern I supplied is not symetrical and to discuss recasting it.
I stand in the middle as a student who made a pattern under the supervision of my tutor who passed it as perfect for casting before I delivered it to the foundry. Unfortunately it seems like I am the one who is going to be hit with bill for the keel that is useless and the re-casting of another. I have to visit the foundry on Monday to discuss the options and what can be done. I will be interesting to see who really is to blame but one thing is for sure, it aint me! I made the pattern 100% perfect the way I was instructed. Maybe things have come to a head on matters that have bugged me for a long time now! The BBA might not have 13 boats launching now on 7th June and I certainly will not be launching Half a Haven with concrete or any other crap other than lead in the bottom of it just to keep up appearances. It sucks that I might not experience launch day which is the pinacale and reward of the last 9 months rediculous intensity of work and humongous financial commitment. This is one mistake that I can not see a way out of due to the time scale left and the huge amount of money involved in putting it right. This is absolutely disastrous as there is only now 4 weeks to launch and the boat is useless without its keel.
Anyway I have another long trip to Cornwall on monday. The name I have had in the back of my mind for the boat I think needs to be changed.........I have thought several times about this......perhaps Gary's Folly would be more suited.

Weeks 14-16 Laying Decks & Floors

The last few weeks have been very filled with lots happening on the boat build and life in general at the BBA. We had week 15 off as an official holiday before exams and then the final push to get the boat finished for launch on 7th June, now only 5 weeks away. I took a couple of days off during the holiday week but the rest of the time worked on with the build and tried to fit in some revision for the the exams but always seemed to get distracted on that front. The exmas were all passed this week anyway without too much fuss. Yesterday was ofcourse a holiday and Monday is again a bnk holiday and with Lyme Regis having such a holiday atmosphere and such great weather it is hard to do a full day. With all these interuptions though the build has been moving forward well still.
My main aim before our week off on week 15 was to have the oak decking laid which we managed to pull off but I also wanted the Black Sikaflex to have been laid too and then during the week it would have cured but aunfortunately it was not ordered for me which was disapointing. Apparently though it will be better to leave it until the Mahogany Breakwater is fitted......this we shall see. The job of laying the deck took up a full week starting with making templates for the covering boards and king plank out of Kaya Mahogany. The tempates were taken to the machine shop and nested onto a sheet of 14mm thick Kaya and then cut out with a jigsaw. The boards running aft of the foredak were then thicknessed down to 10mm and the ones for the foredack down to 4mm veneers as they were being laid on 6mm marine ply sub-deck. There were many changes of plan along the way to takle the thicknessing of these components and in the end In ended up with 2 sets of covering boards for the fore deck and lots of wastage. This wastage has been slowly used up though over the last couple of days for other components and disappeear I hope totally. I shudder th think about the cost ofthe decks but still they will be well worth it in the end and will give the boat that final lift above the norm.
With the decks laid we moved onto making the side seats and mock fitting them. These were maid out of Sapele Mahogany. Two pieces were ordered the finished width and then a spile made of the hull shape onto a hardboard template. The template then was marked on to the material and the hull shape to the back of the seat cut out. This was then moved to the front of the seat and jointed on the form the complete shape of the seat. The final job looks great and the join is almost invisible and no waste was caused in the process. The seats have been sanded down to 180 grit and left to one side . At the same time the seat risers were fitted to the fore and aft bulk heads and the mid-ships seat risers were also spilled and cut out and fitted this week.
The tiller was laminated over the last few weeks aswell and cut out to shape and sanded down to 180 grit and left to one side aswell.
Yohann took a week off and went back home to France so myself and Nick decided to take a trip down to Wadebridge to the Foundary and see what the hold up was with my lead keel. We met the MD who showe dus the cast keel and we had the privilidge of marking it out ourselves for the drilling. This was the week before Easter and we were told it was going to be drilled that week before Good Friday and to expect delivery this last week. It never arrived and I have been told that it will now be drilled next week for defintae and delivered next week. All the hoidays has lead to the foundary being short staffed which I suppose is a legitimate reason but the late delivery really is cutting it fine now and do hope that it arrives next week. After our visit to the foundat we spent a couple of days touring around Cornwall in the most gloroius weather and it was heaven on earth!
We returned to the workshop on Tuesday and Yohann returned re-charged from France tnd tore straight into laying the sole boards. Material was ordered for the dead wood and Nick finished the seats before sating to make the hardboard tempate and spile for the breakwater. My job has taken on more of a management role this last week ordering the bronze rigging fittings, finalising last details of the sail order and ofcoarse chasing up the keel. In between I have been roughly fitting the wood floors that will take the weight of the lead keel, making finishing trim for the bulkhead door and a mock door to balance out the bulkhead.
Next week the breakwater will be made and the sole boards finished and hopefully the boat will be turned back over to fit the deadwood. Officially all building work has to be finsished by Tuesday 10th May to allow 4 weeks for painting/finishing and rigging. If you do not hear from me for a week or 2 you will know that I am serioulst busy but I will try to keep the blog up to date with a little information every week.

Week 12 & 13 Fitting out

The past two weeks has seen the biggest leap forward in the boat. The foam sole board supports were fiited in with their mahogany cappings first. These took a long time to get right with a good fit but the end result has been really good enabling an easy fit of the floor boards. The bulk heads were then fitted both fore and aft and then the deck beams fitted. The correct camber of the deck was laid out on the bulkhead beams closest to the cockpit and then worked back on the subsequent beams both fore and aft. With all the bulkheads and deck beams in place the breast hook was made and fitted last weekend allowing the king planks to be notched in place on Monday. This was duly carried out on Monday by Nick and Yohann while I shaped the fore deck carlins. A glueing in session was then carried out on the various deck supporting structures on Tuesday evening. With all the components in place we then faired in the fore deck to the carlins by eye using a batten and the deck beams to the hull skin. This was carried out by Nick and myself while Yohann spiled in the ply for the aft sub deck. With it cut out and ready Yohann and myself glued it down late in the afternoon while Nick began painting the fore locker area with white two pack primer. Nick had cut out the opening for the locker door in the morning aswell. With a fair fore deck structure it was time then time to fit the marine ply sub decks. The fore deck was scribed and cut out during Thursday. The fore deck was laid in 5 pieces, one central piece, then two side pieces running into the carlins and two tiny pieces either side of the stem. With the ply all set in place and a glueing and clamping strategy all worked out we began our glueing session just after break and finished around 6:30. Aswell as epoxy glueing down the marine ply with epoxy and silica, all the timber deck structures the underside of the ply was also coated with epoxy resin. A total of 67 pumps of epoxy was used just to do the for deck. On friday we unclamped our deck and everything looked good and the clean up began. The width of the gunwhales were faired in a bit more closely to the stem at the same time.
We then began scribing and making templates for the covering boards and margin boards for the decks and had most of them finished by early friday evening. These will then allow an accurate order for mahogany to be made for making them and efficient use of material by nesting. We decided that the final capping/rubbing stake would be nice to be done in American White Oak to match the laid deck which will be oiled American White Oak with black Sikaflex pin stripes. The oak strips were ordered a couple of weeks ago and delivered last week. In between these jobs I had decided to double up the thickness of the floor members that will carry the lead keel as it is due for arrival next week. I also set up the lamination jig to make a laminated oak and mahogany tiller.
Material arrived this week for making the seats, seat risers and supports and material for the floors is to arrive next week aswell as the lead keek so next week should see things moving along well.