IMG_20180803_104833Progress on Möbius’ hull for this week of July 30 through August 3rd of 2018 was very visible as the final row of hull plates were set in place so let’s jump right in.

IMG_20180730_110323Beginning of the week saw the Port side hull plates being fully fitted and tacked in place.


IMG_20180730_170211This shot from about mid ships on what will be the Port (left) side of the hull looking aft lets you see the final shape of the aft section now emerging.


IMG_20180730_170216As is the looking forward section up to the bow.


IMG_20180730_170524Up on the scaffolding and looking forward towards the bow you can see the slippery smooth shape of this critical section of the hull that will be under the waterline.


IMG_20180730_170535And turning around here is the shape going aft towards the prop tunnel and skeg which is that fin shaped extension where the prop shaft goes through.  The propeller sits immediately behind this foil shaped skeg the shape of which you can start to make out from those curved thick vertical plates you see here.  This will all be sheathed in aluminium plate in the coming weeks.

IMG_20180731_143446Moving aft you can see that Team Möbius has prepped all the edges of these 12mm/1/2” and 15mm/5/8” thick hull plates for the Starboard side and have them all stacked up and ready to be lifted up atop the upside down hull.


IMG_20180731_143505These piles of plates sitting behind Möbius have been getting smaller and smaller each week and by the time we get to the end of this week there won’t be too many left on the ground.


DJI_20180731_165604Must be time to call in the eXtremely long reaching crane again.


DJI_20180731_174858The quick clamp is locked in place on each plate and up they go.


DJI_20180731_174846Uğur and Umit are up on top of the hull to help set each plate in place.

The middle bottom area of the hull is the widest and the plates become long thin triangles where they fill in the area between the third upper row of plates you see here and the central keel bar so they set these plates up at the very top to await their turn to be fitted later in the process.  Watch the video at the end to see this all in action.


IMG_20180801_104828Looking towards the bow you can see how the wider set of 3rd row plates are set in place resting on the large flat bars which have been welded along the whole length of the upper edge of the 2nd row plates to keep them perfectly aligned as the 3rd row plates butt up against them.


IMG_20180801_104812Looking aft you can see that the whole 3rd row of plates are now set in place with their overlapping edges being aptly similar to fish scales to my eyes.  Bar clamps are for safety to ensure that the loose plates can slip off the flat bars.


DJI_20180731_175509With all those Starboard hull plates lifted in place this is all that is left of the piles of aluminium we started wtih a few months ago.
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Nihat and Uğur start work on the 6m/20’ long bow plate by welding on this temporary tab to help them slide it forward into position up against the Stem Bar using a chain tackle and pry bars.


IMG_20180802_100528This closer look at the aft edge of that first 15mm/5/8” thick bow plate and the underlying WT bulkhead frame and stringers will give you a sense of the eXtreme strength of the underwater bow section. 

If you look closely (click to enlarge) under my thumb you can see how the stringer has a step in it to accommodate the 12mm thick plate which will slide in here next.


IMG_20180802_100542Doesn’t take them long to have this first bow plate all tacked in position.


IMG_20180801_181029With the bow plate done they move aft to repeat the process and slide the next plate back into position.


IMG_20180802_100402Which goes very quickly and you can now see the smooth shape of the forward section of the hull.  This is a very critical section of the hull as it makes the transition from the initial piercing of the water with the axe like shape of the Stem Bar and then widens out gradually as the beam of the hull widens.  It is quite a tricky transition as we want the knife like slicing into the water and waves and at the same time we want to have good flotation or upward lift in large seas to prevent the bow from digging in.  Some of this comes from careful design of these shapes and transitions and some comes from keeping this bow area as light as possible.

You may recall that the first meter of the bow is a fully air and water tight “collision” compartment and the next 3 meters are the relatively empty forepeak storage area so all these features combine to provide the just right combination of wave piercing and bow lift when needed.


IMG_20180802_100750Standing up where the 25mm thick Stem Bar makes its transition into the Keel Bar and looking almost straight down the Keel Bar you can see how this cutting edge of the bow is both knifelike sharp and yet ice splitting strong.


IMG_20180803_114311Sezgin soon went to work on welding the bow plate fully to the underlying framework.


IMG_20180803_114327In no time flat he soon has all those slots you’ve seen in previous postings all filled up with weld now.  These will be ground down flush with the surrounding hull plate and disappear once we do the final finishing of all the exterior aluminium with rotary sanders and 3M abrasive pads to create a uniform finish to the beautiful raw aluminium.


 IMG_20180803_161342Now that the hull plates are all in place at the bow, Sezgin and now do the final welding where the hull plates transition into the Stem and Keel Bar.


IMG_20180803_182137Producing our version of the BowTy and the Beast.  Sorry, must be the Argon gas fumes from all the welding?


I captured much more of the process of living all the hull plates in place with video so be sure to watch the time lapse video compilation below of this week’s progress.

But wait, there’s more!!

IMG_20180801_103816There was also good progress on the new Naval Yachts shipyard a few blocks over this week as the steel structure of the large ship working area started to go up.


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The roof trusses are due to go in next week so I will keep you posted as construction continues over there.