First Fiberglass Ariki Hull

With the mold well waxed we put a sheet of plastic over it to fit our fabric.

 Below we have sprayed the mold with PVA, a mold release coating.

 Here we have the first layer of glass on. 

 After the inner skin is layed up we start adding Coosa board to high load areas of the hull. Coosa board is a high density foam filled with layers of glass fibers.We will use it along the rubrail, the keel and stem,where the chainplates and beam lashings go and where through hulls will penetrate the hull.

We have cut the foam to fit and are getting ready to coat it with resin and vacuum bag it to the hull.

 This is our first bag of the foam and we started small.

Here we have all the foam on and have added the keel and stem strips. Along the entire stem and keel we used a 6" wide piece of 3/8" thick foam instead of the 5/8" foam that we are using for the hull. Then we feathered the 5/8" foam down to the 3/8". This allows us to have some space to add the keel overlaps and doublers without causing a hump that would be difficult to fair out.

Here is the skeg and the stern post added and partially reinforced.

Next we will cut a shallow rebate into the foam for the glass overlaps in the outer skin. This will make our fairing easier.

I didn't get a photo of the rebate before we got glass on it.

This is with the first layer of glass on. The clearance for the next two layers is visible here.
Below the clearance at the top for the hull to deck joint doublings.

Below we have the next layer of glass on. We will next put two more keel strips and a layer of mat for the outside surface. Then we will roll on several coats of bog and start fairing.

 

Liberty Yachts Revisited Yacht Interior

Liberty Yachts closed their doors in 2009.  But Bill and Linda who we built the interior for on "Lidda" (Liberty #18) really like their boat. In fact they like it so much that they bought Liberty #17 and are having us remodel and refurbish  the boat. We are doing this work in Cracker Boy Boat Works in Riviera Beach, FL. Bill and Linda are very experienced boaters and had their boat built and equipped just the way they wanted it. Liberty #17 was set up differently than Lidda and had some different equipment. We are changing the interior and some of the equipment. Below is the interior as we built #17 originaly 7 years ago.

 

This interior was built for the guy who first had the boat built. Bill and Linda saw this boat as it was being built and were impressed with our work among other things about the boat. We then built this interior for them on #18.

As part of the remodeling of #17, we are adding a washer dryer under the forward  bunk. This requires a new bunk as it needs to raise up several inches for clearance. We will also remove the starboard settee and cabinet and install a cantilevered table with two barrel chairs and a slide-up TV very much like their other boat "Lidda" is set up.

Here's a picture of us getting started on this remodel by removing the forward bunk and starboard settee.  More information and pictures to come in future posts.