Belt up!

Sanding continues on the exterior hull. As I had hoped, things are going quicker than with the interior. This is due to a combination of unobstructed surfaces and the feasibility of using a belt sander. I was able to knock down some nasty drips very quickly with the belt sander, and then went over the hull with the 1/4 sheet orbital and 120-grit paper. Though wet sanding is not called for at this point, I ended up doing a fair imitation of it, what with the heat and all the safety gear on my head. I ended up in some awkward contortions so as to avoid dripping sweat on newly sanded surfaces. Half the hull is now done; another session or two of sanding, and I should be ready to start painting the hull. Total hours 83.75.

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Bottoms up!

With the interior finally (!) sanded, tonight was the point when the hull was flipped over to sand the exterior. So it was back onto the sawhorses, which were now covered in old towels to pad them, so the boat could rest on the bow and stern seat surfaces without damaging the hard-won smooth surfaces. The exterior sanding will apparently go a bit quicker. The large expanses of smooth surfaces with outside curves meant that the faster belt sander could be used. I was able to do about a third of the hull before the heat got to me and the 120-grit belts that I had on hand were expended. As that point, I mixed up some unthickened epoxy and gave a first coat to the bare wood of the skeg and skids, something I hadnt done the last time the boat was bottom up. Total hours 83.00.

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John Zs Mistral Bend em Up Stitch and Tape Boat Building Instructions

With the publication in Earwigoagin of the stitch and tape, Classic Moth, Mistral design offsets;

• Mistral Hull Panel Offsets
• and the Mistral Hull Section Offsets

I received an inquiry; "How do you actually assemble the hull? Again, I turned to master builder, John Z, and he supplied the following short PDF of photos and captions detailing at least the first assembly stages of a Mistral Classic Moth build project.

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A Big Boy Up and Hammering

Every once in a while I get a hankering to pull out a video of one of those wide-body French offshore speed machines. This is the French PRB, one of those IMOCA 60s.


PRB Imoca 60 - Aerial footage from Valencia Sailing on Vimeo.


A video of the small tykes, the Mini-Transat 6.5s planing can be seen here.

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Seat touch up

It was a quick job to touch up the fillets on the bow seat. Adding to the base set down previously, I filled it to a level flush with the seat surface, and shaped it into the contour of the bow. The only tasks that remain are to install the bow and stern transom knees, motor pad, and oarlock blocks. It is amazing how rigid the hull has become with the final addition of the seats; such a long way from the collection of flexible strakes that I started with a few months ago. Total hours 70.25.

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