Saturday, March 15, 2008

Lots of Work without Visible Progress

We're at a stage right now where there's a lot of work going on in out of sight areas, namely the interior under the decks at the deck to hull joints and in such added features as the built-in ice box. These details have to be completed though, and then more visible progress will become evident. Stitch and glue wooden boats like this are literally built from the inside out, unlike some other more traditional forms of construction. In the case of Wharram catamarans, it is easier to completely finish the interiors while access is easy. When everything inside is done, the exterior surfaces can be sheathed, faired, primed and painted.

Below is a view from inside one of the forward bunks. This is the final paint coat in this area of deck to hull joint.

The ice box is taking an inordinate amount of time, but we feel it will be well worth the effort. That's 4 inches of solid foam insulation you see below, in addition to the insulating properties of the wood hull skin. The interior surfaces of the foam will be glassed over and painted. This ice box should stay cold enough to keep perishables for a long time using block ice.

In the foreground you can see the central epoxy station we now have set up between our two major projects: the Tiki 30 build and an interior fabrication for a Liberty 42 motor vessel. Between the hulls is another view of the tables mentioned previously that we've set up between the two hulls to allow easy access to all work areas. This set up is working out well.

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