Construction: Week 17 & 18 - Out of the Mold

Good news!!!!  Our Friday photos showed considerable progress and a significant milestone. The 63 is out of the mold.

The photo below shows the boat on her cradle.  She will sit on the cradle from now through her shipment to the US. The only exception is when she comes off the cradle for her sea trial prior to shipment to the US on a freighter some time in the late fall. 

Notice how the hull shines.  Readers will recall that the key to the boat's finish is the quality of the mold.  The mold, which looks rough on outside, is actually highly polished on the inside.  A releasing agent is applied to the inside of the mold, which is then waxed prior to application of the gelcoat layer.


Guided Discovery sitting on her cradle

Top view showing the bulkhead structure.  See diagram below for details.

Aft view - Notice how the hull shines

Removal Process:  Once lay-up is completed and the stringers and bulkhead are installed (see Construction articles for details) lifting rings are installed on stringers at points forward and aft.  Then the mold is split in half by releasing the bolts along the sides that hold it together and removing the braces along the top.  The hull is lifted, the mold is removed and the hull is lowered onto the cradle.

Lifting rings in the lazarette just aft of the engine room bulkhead

A hull being lifted from the mold

The photos below show fore and aft views of the fully layed-up superstructure, which is still in its mold.

Superstructure looking forward

Superstructure looking aft

Here's what the superstructure will look like when it is removed from the mold.

This week we received a photo of the boat's structure that we had not previously seen.  Try and guess what it is (as that's what I initially had to do).

What is this?

What you are looking at in the above photo, up side down, is the aft end of the boat deck (which acts as the cover for the aft deck), the perimeter of the boat deck (which acts as the roof for the covered walkways) and the floor of the flybridge.   As I understand it the open space the middle permits installation of the engines, generators, appliances, cabinetry and other large equipment.  The boat deck floor will be installed when all the large equipment is mounted.

The section immediately forward of this boat deck structure is the fiberglass hardtop.

Some progress is also evident inside the hull.  The photo below shows the forward engine room bulkhead with its door looking into the accommodations.  Notice the 500 gallon fuel tanks on either side.  The engines will be mounted adjacent to the fuel tanks.  Later in the construction process equipment will be mounted on this bulkhead. 

Engine room bulkhead with soundproofing installed looking forward into the accommodations 

Cross section of the sound proofed bulkheads that surround the engine room

The photo below shows the space between the engine room and master stateroom bulkheads looking toward the starboard side of the hull.  The engine room is to the right. You can tell because of the thicker bulkhead which contains the multiple layers for soundproofing.  Ultimately, this area will contain a hanging locker (closet) to starboard and shelves and drawers to port.  At the outer limit on each side will be the mechanism for the hydraulic stabilizers.

Compartment between the master stateroom and engine room

Moving forward into the accommodations we can see that the sub flooring has been installed in the master stateroom.  And looking forward from there you can see sub flooring in the compartments leading forward to the v-berth.  Those areas include the stairwell (ladder in nautical terms) leading down from the pilot house, the washer dryer locker, the guest stateroom, the guest head (bathroom) and the VIP stateroom.  You can blow-up the diagram below to see these areas in greater detail.

Master stateroom looking forward.  Notice the sub flooring

Diagram showing below deck areas

V-berth sub flooring.  Notice the holes for the bow thruster tube

Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. 

A view of the finished product

According to Outer Reef, lots of work is concurrently happening in the cabinetry shop and the boat appears to be on schedule for completion sometime in the late fall.

Written by Les.