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Last sunday we boarded the Spirit of Tasmania and took the easy way across Bass Strait, thinking about the day we would be sailing across the pond in our own boat. It was a smooth crossing although there was a respectable … Continue reading
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Building a catamaran is a bit like building two boats. Much of the work that has occupied us for the last four weeks has been covered in previous posts, but here is an update of our current situation. After taking … Continue reading
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Our building mates had advised us that we would be surprised by our progress with the second hull. This has turned out to be true. In the last two weeks we have erected the frames, glued and screwed the keelson, … Continue reading
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It was a big day for us when we finally completed the starboard hull. After fairing the hull we had a delay of a couple of days as we waited for the paint to arrive, which somehow got lost in … Continue reading
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After the fibreglassing is the process of applying and sanding a coat of Qcell. Qcell is a micro balloon glass bubble filler that is mixed with epoxy resin. It’s so fine that in its dry form it runs like water, … Continue reading
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Boatbuilding has taken a back seat this month for a much more important project … the wedding of our youngest daughter, Haley. It was a terrific day and we are thrilled to have a new addition to the family, Sam. … Continue reading
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Its been a few weeks since we have posted an update. We took a week off the build for a trip to Kettering to spend time with Pete’s mum and dad. Being around to help our parents was one of the reasons … Continue reading
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This week was about preparing the boat for fiberglass. We fiberglassed the keel with four layers of 300 gsm glass and a 450 gsm Dynell protective boot and fitted it to the hull. We also applied Q cell and faired … Continue reading
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Last Tuesday was a milestone day, as we completed sheeting the starboard hull. We are now moving on to the next stage, which is preparing to fiberglass the hull. Before that however are a few jobs to complete. The hull … Continue reading
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Work continues at a steady pace, interspersed with family events and celebrations. We are close to completing planking, and on rainy days continue to prepare frames for the port hull, fabricate rudders and mini keels, and pre-coat the inside faces … Continue reading
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The last few two weeks have settled into a regular routine. Pete gets up at around 6.30 and heads to the beach for some God (and personal) time: breakfast, then off to the site around 8am. Tarps are removed, Rex (resident watch … Continue reading
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Well Selah has survived yet another wild nor’easter since our last post. She certainly has had a baptism of fire in her short life. If nothing else, it has reinforced in us the necessity of building strength into every joint. … Continue reading
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A week of good weather has seen us make steady progress. We have commenced planking the hull. First each plywood sheet is offered up to the hull and temporarily clamped in position. The edges are marked for trimming, and the location of the … Continue reading
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Now that all the stringers and chines have been glued in, we are beveling. This is the process of planing the chines and keel to match the frames, to provide a firm base for the sheeting. Selah is to be sheeted … Continue reading
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Building a boat outside in winter in northern Tas is not for the faint hearted. We have a fire bucket that is surprisingly effective, good quality thermals, and are intentional about keeping each other’s spirits up on the occasional dreary … Continue reading
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Its been a good week. The stringers and chines have been installed on the starboard hull. deb has filled all the screw holes with builders bog and sanded them back. She has also sealed all the bulkheads and frames with … Continue reading
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Over the past two weeks Tasmania has let us know who’s boss, in her own particular way. Sunday before last I woke at 5.30am to the sound of wind and rain. I checked my weather APP and was alarmed to … Continue reading
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Its been 12 weeks since we took delivery of the timber and began lofting (marking out) the frames and stem pieces. Although we took great care, and Deb double checked measurements, its not until assembly you can be certain no mistakes have … Continue reading
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One of the major decisions we had to make early on was weather to build the hulls consecutively or concurrently. We chose to build both the hulls at the same time. Four months in, we are glad we did. We … Continue reading
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After weeks of wild weather, we have been able to move operations out of the workshop and make the final preparations for hull assembly. We moved all the bits of boat out to the shelter, and got them labelled and … Continue reading
Building Selah 