A VERY busy week here onboard the Good Ship Möbius as everyone on Team Möbius moves into the final stage of the build completing all the installations of equipment and beginning the commissioning of all these systems by their factory representatives and others. Due to a major reconstruction project of the harbour inside the Free Zone * which removed all the previous launching facilities, Naval needed to launch us quite a bit sooner than expected by transporting Möbius overland to the nearby Setur Marina. So in addition to the usual post launch commissioning of systems, we all continue to work our way through the Punch List of jobs needing to be completed in order to get Möbius into seaworthy condition to begin taking her out for sea trials. To say that we are all eXtremely busy would be the understatement of the year! But. for Christine and me, we are even more eXtremely eXcited to be back where we belong, home onboard a boat that floats.
* You can learn all about this huge and fascinating project by watching THIS VIDEO ANIMATION which does a great job of showing how the whole new harbour facility will work.
I hope you will accept my apologies in advance for another hurried weekly Möbius Update as I blast through as much of all the different jobs that we have all worked on this past week. So grab your favorite beverage and chair and join me for this week’s Show & Tell.
Let me start with a quick snapshot leading up to this adventure that began over 5 years ago.
After two years of intense collaborative design work with our AbFab Naval Architect Dennis at Artnautica Yacht Design, the building of XPM78-01 Möbius began at Naval Yachts on April 6, 2018. 1053 days of build time later, as most of you have likely seen in last week’s posting HERE, she finally left that temporary womb last Friday for a watery delivery into her permanent home with Mother Ocean last Saturday. As I write this blog post from the SkyBridge of our beloved Möbius, we have just finished our first week afloat tied up to the concrete dock wall inside the Antalya Free Zone Harbour.
And I am VERY happy, though not surprised, to report that ALL the sea water has remained where it belongs OUTSIDE of Möbius and our bilges only hold the remnants of construction dust and debris.
DOCKSIDE NEIGHBORS
Looking all the world to me like two tugs that escaped from a children’s animation story, these two almost new tugs are our most immediate neighbors. Tied up less than a meter in front of Möbius’ Bow.
These two tugs have crew aboard 24/7 as they are responsible for bringing every cargo ship into and out of the commercial side of the Harbour such as this recent little visitor, the 180m 36k Ton Argo B, who left about 04:30 this morning after loading up with several thousand “Big Bags” of industrial dry goods. These two tugs are also the Fire Boats for the Harbour. And last night, they surprised and delighted us by bringing over a home made pizza just out of their oven! Can’t think of a better example of why we LOVE living with these awemazing people of Turkey. Tied up almost as closely to our Stern is this first of four Police boats which are being built by Ares Yachts here in the Free Zone for the government of Oman. These are a bit longer than us at about 26m but share many of the same basic attributes as our XPM-78 with all aluminum construction and built like the proverbial tank. We even have the same jet propulsion system though in our case just with our Tender and a single not these massive twin jet drives driven by two equally massive MAN diesel engines. One item that we do not share, YET! with these boats is that mount for a 50 cal machine gun. But rest assured that once I get my 3D printer setup one of my first projects will be to create a realistic enough looking plastic replica to produce a silhouette that will add to our “don’t mess with me!” look to any onlookers thinking of approaching us with mal intent! I took this shot of our neighborhood early this morning after the Argo B had left and the tugs were back in front of us. The weather has been truly spectacular for the past two weeks with daytime highs reaching 24C/77F and gloriously sunny clear blue skies with very little wind. Not a bad place to spend our first week afloat.
For safety of such a new and incomplete boat, Christine and I are sleeping aboard each night and then going back to our apartment for breakfast and dinner and then we will move aboard full time once all the sea trials are done.
ANCHOR AWEIGH!
One of the projects I did not have enough time to show you last week was the completion of our rather unique “Sidewinder” anchor roller assembly that Dennis and I came up with so let me show that to you now. I decided to make the two anchor rollers out of solid aluminium and didn’t take me long to design a 3D model of this in Autodesk Fusion 360 and create the 2D dimensioned drawings to machine them from. Aluminium is a dream to work with and the in house machine shop has a very good sized lathe that was easily able to machine the two anchor rollers out of a single blank of 200mm/8” OD aluminium round stock. I wanted to keep the anchor and the chain electrically isolated from the hull to reduce any corrosion problems and was able to do so with two details. One is this Black Delrin bushing which we press fit into each roller with a nice rolling fit for the 40mm/1.6” SS pin that each roller spins on. The second isolating detail was to machine these Teflon discs that get separate the sides of the rollers from the inside cheeks of the anchor roller assembly welded into the hull. Then a large SS end cap bolts on either end of the SS pin on the outside. Here is what that all looks like when assembled. For safety and quiet when pounding into big seas we very specifically designed the whole roller assembly to exactly match the shape of this 125kg/275lb Rocna anchor by obtaining a 3D model from Rocna to design with. The way our design works is that those flared out bottom edges you see in the photo above have been designed such that they exactly match up with the inside of the flukes of the Rocna when pulled aboard and thus the Rocna becomes one with the hull and will not budge no matter what Mother Nature throws at us. This creates not only a very tough and strong anchor mounting setup but also one that does not make any noise due to movement between the anchor and the roller assembly which is so common on many other boats we have run. So Nihat, Uğur and I spent quite a few hours with the anchor raised on a chain block that allowed us to get the position of the anchor just right and then layout the centers for each SS roller pin. Front pin and roller have been mounted here and we are laying out the location for the 2nd Aft roller. Uğur and I came up with this idea of building an extended 40mm carbide hole saw so that he could drill both cheeks in one go and keep the two holes for the SS roller pin on the same centerline. We lucked out finding the head of a 40mm carbide hole saw with its shank broken off and Uğur TIG welded a 200mm/8” long piece of 13mm/ 1/2” OD rod to it that we could chuck in my Milwaukee drill. Worked like a charm! With the rollers both installed we tested it all out with the 13mm / 1/2” chain and the Maxwell VWC4000 Windlass and did a bit of tweaking of the rollers final shape to capture the chain nicely so it stays aligned as the chain goes Out/In and doesn’t twist. Did not take us long to get to the Goldilocks Just Right point and “Rocky” was in his new home as solid as his name. Uğur and Nihat both gave it their thumbs up and so we knew it was good to go!
BOTTOMS UP!
Another job and details I did not have time to post last week prior to the launch was the finishing of the silicone based International InterSleek 1100SR Foul Release bottom paint and the zinc anodes so let me go back and show you that.
Once the super slick, slippery and shiny silicone InterSleek was fully dry the last few underwater details could be attended to such as mounting the Red plastic prop on the Vetus 220kgf 300mm/12” Extended Run Time Bow Thruster. Which is capped off with its own Zinc to reduce any problems with corrosion due to the mix of dissimilar metals involved with its construction of Bronze, SS and AL. In keeping with our Darth Vader, lean & mean look, we decided to make the 100mm/4” Boot Stripe that makes the transition between the top of the Black InterSleek and the bare AL hull, be gloss Black as well and we are eXtremely happy with the result that emerged as the masking tape came off to reveal the final look. The final detail for the underwater portion of the hull was mounting the ten 125mm / 5” diameter Zinc anodes which keeps all the metal bits that are in contact with seawater all at the same potential voltage and eliminates the battery effect that would eat away at our precious Stainless Steel, AL and Bronze components. Being near the bottom of the Noble scale of metals, Zinc is what will erode instead and makes it easy to replace the zincs every few years when they get too worn away. We designed a very simple mounting system for the Zincs and Uğur had previously welded 80mm discs of 20mm / 3/4” thick AL to the hull with an M16 thread in the center for the SS M16 bolt that he is fastening this Zinc on the Rudder with. To ensure a good electrical connection for many years between the Zinc and the AL mounting disc, we coated those surfaces and the bolt with dielectric grease and then I followed along after Uğur and covered the SS bolt heads with some clear silicone to make it all the easier to remove and replace these zincs in a couple of years. I usually do this while the boat is in the water using my Hookah or Snuba system so these little details all help to make that job go quick and easy. With all these preparations of the below the waterline areas of the hull and everything removed from underneath, Möbius was ready for the arrival of “Big Bird” the yellow 72 wheel boat mover to arrive the next morning and carry her overland to the marina for launching.
TILLER ARM DETAILS:
Another few details that we needed to look after before Launch Day were for the all important steering system and the Tiller Arm in particular. Similar to the Bow Rollers, last year I had designed this typically over engineered Tiller Arm in Fusion 360 and had it CNC milled out of a single block of aluminum. Here is a shot from almost a year ago when we first mounted the finished Tiller Arm to the 127mm / 5” OD solid AL Rudder Post. And here is a more recent shot of what it looks like with the two double acting Kobelt hydraulic steering cylinders in place. Such a massive Tiller Arm being powered by equally as beefy twin hydraulic cylinders, produces a LOT of force and so there needs to be some eXtremely strong and solid Tiller Arm Stops built in to stop the Tiller Arm when it goes hard over to each side. Fusion 360 to the rescue yet again to help me quickly design these Stops which Uğur and Nihat quickly fabricated and were ready to mount. After carefully testing out the Just Right position for each stop, they were able to drill the four holes in the AL Rudder Shelf and bolt down one Stop in either side of the Tiller Arm body. The SS bolt and lock nut allow us to adjust the final Stop position of the Tiller Arm once we are in the water and have the steering all working. I like to practice and live well by what I call “Readiness for the UneXpected” and in the case of our steering system that meant having multiple layers of fault tolerance for the Steering System. This starts with twin independent Kobelt 7080 hydraulic steering cylinders sized so that either one can fully steer the boat in the most adverse sea conditions.
Then two independent Kobelt Accu-Steer HPU400 24V hydraulic Power Pack pumps, two independent Furuno 711C AutoPilots plus two independent Furuno Jog Levers. This gives us eight levels of fault tolerance to go through.
And if ALL of that should uneXpectedly fail, then we have this Kobelt manual hydraulic Steering Pump …………… ……….. that we can slide this Emergency Steering wheel onto and steer the boat the “old fashioned” way. And if ALL of that should somehow uneXpectedly fail we have THIS final layer of fault tolerance for our steering system; a completely independent and manual Emergency Tiller Arm. Can’t get too much more KISSS or Keep It Simple Smart & Safe than this; a 2m/6.5ft length of 80mm thick walled AL pipe that slides through the 20mm/ 3/4” thick plate we see Uğur bolting to the Tiller Arm body and then the pipe slides through a matching hole bored through the top of the Rudder Post. We attach a block and tackle setup on each side of the end of the Emergency Tiller which fasten to shackles mounted on stringers on the adjacent hull sides which allows us to move and lock the Rudder in any position we want.
Yes, I do know that it works and Yes, you can ask me how I know that!
Miscellaneous Work on Deck
Finishing up this blog post is between me and another very late dinner so I’m going to speed through a series of other jobs that got done this first week in the water. Turkish Turquoise Marble countertops got installed atop both Vent Boxes on the Aft Deck to create our Outdoor Galley. SS sink plumbed. And installed in the Starboard/Right side Vent Box. Plumbing connections all ready to connect to the sink; Red & Blue PEX lines with shut off valves for the Hot/Cold water to the sink faucet, Brass elbow for the sink’s drain and small Blue tube with the Black elbow to drain the water extracted by the Mist Eliminator grills in the Engine Room supply air duct. Orhan with his home made adaptor for his pneumatic caulking gun …….. ……. to get into some hard to reach spots around the Pilot House windows like these. Uğur prepping the nylon insert mounts for the Passarella on the Swim Platform and another on the Port side gate. Ever the ingenious one on Team ,Uğur came up with this brilliant DIY solution for mounting our Fire Hose in the HazMat Locker; an empty plastic spool of MIG welder wire!
Which will rotate on this pipe mounted on the side of the HazMat Locker. With the Black Fire Nozzle mounted alongside. Any wonder why I just love working with this guy who has been with us from the very first day of the build?!!! More Uğur Goodness, on Saturday no less, as we designed and built this simple setup for propping the front 3 Solar Panels mounted on this hinged frame up in the horizontal position when we are on anchor.
This horizontal position not only helps out with solar power production but you can see the demister grill across the far end of what now becomes a giant wind tunnel to capture all the fresh breezes blowing over our bow at anchor and funnel them down into the SuperSalon. Two SS pipes that are hinged to the bottom of the Solar Panel frame and will fit into these Black Delrin collars Uğur machined which were then glued down to the aluminium floor with a SS set screw to lock them in place.
When we are ready to convert to passage making mode and head out to sea, you simply lift the panels up a few inches and the two support rods slide aft as the panel is lowered down and locked into place.
ELECTRIAL WORKS:
Our Sparkie Hilmi always has a long list of electrical jobs that need his attention and this past week was certainly no exception. With almost 150 circuit breakers on XPM78-01 Möbius to safely look after all our 12 & 24 Volt DC circuits and our all our 120V & 240V AC circuits, it was quite the design challenge to figure out where and how to place all these.
We ended up with two primary circuit breaker panels; this one on the angled short wall on the Stbd/Right side of the Main Helm Station. And this larger one in the Corridor at the bottom of the stairs leading down from the SuperSalon to the Guest Cabin, Ships Office and Workshop/Engine Room. After months and months of preparation, Hilmi was finally able to bring it all together this past week by attaching these Black AL panel fronts with all the engraved labels onto the hinged access doors into each of these Circuit Breaker panels.
Next week the hinged glass doors are due to arrive which will finish off these critical component of the electrical system on Möbius.
GLASS WORK
The double paned 16mm thick glass window finally got installed in the Engine Room door this week which is a critical component to completely closing in the Engine Room in the case of a fire. And the gas lift cylinders have now all been installed on the Glass Deck Hatches which I designed and Naval built in house. Now just need to finish installing the rubber edge seals and the AL hatch handles and the deck is totally watertight!
HELM STATIONS:
I can’t possibly do justice to explain the amount of work that Christine has done this past week alone on getting all our navigation and electronics in both Helm Stations all setup and working.
Nor can I articulate how much I LOVE my Captain! What I can do though is to leave you with this shot from early this morning that does capture for me just how well we have succeeded in designing and building our new home with all of Team Möbius to meet the goal we set out over 5 years ago to blend in perfectly when in a commercial dock as apposed to a ‘yachty’ marina. And with that I am going to hit the “Publish” button on this latest Möbius Weekly Progress Update and look forward to bringing you more Show & Tell of this coming week’s progress that begins first thing tomorrow morning.
But WAIT!!!
There’s MORE!!!!!
One year ago, Christine and I returned from a brief trip over to the UK for her Birthday (March 15th) just as the whole Corona 19 pandemic was ramping up and caught us squarely in the vortex. Given our ages, let’s just say rapidly approaching 70, every day since we have been playing a kind of Russian Roulette by going into the shipyard to work on Möbius and so we are eXtremely eXcited that tomorrow morning at 11am we are going to get our Covid 19 vaccine shots!
Of course, this doesn’t put an end to anything really but sure will help with our upcoming travel plans, for which we shall be eternally grateful to this country we have called home for almost four years now and that love a wee bit more every day. Thank you Turkey for allowing these two salt water turkies to enjoy your beautiful country and people!
Though I continue to shake my head in disbelief, it does indeed appear (on Jan 2nd as I write this) that this tumultuous and challenging year that was 2020 is rapidly ending and 2021 just as rapidly beginning. Actually, it is now Jan 2nd as I am writing this so as usual, Wayne is way behind!
As with many of you I suspect, seeing the end of 2020 is somewhat welcome as we look to put most of the severely challenging aspects we experienced in 2020 behind us. However being the “terminal optimist” I am, my observation would be that the end of 2020 is all the more welcomed with exponentially increasing trend lines of positive progress that is happening around us as 2020 winds down. This progress is both in the most important and macro view of the truly awemazing progress that has been made with more and more effective vaccines and testing for Covid-19 as well as in my much more micro perspective of finishing and launching XPM78-01 Möbius. I think most of you might agree that ending the year with positive progress rapidly rising is certainly a welcome change from when it was all going the other direction,
One of the words I would personally chose to describe 2020 is “accelerant”. My brilliant and beautiful daughter Lia is a very successful chemist and one of the many things I learned through her is that, as Wikipedia words it
“Accelerants are substances that can bond, mix or disturb another substance and cause an increase in the speed of a natural, or artificial chemical process. Accelerants play a major role in chemistry—most chemical reactions can be hastened with an accelerant.
My point here being that I think that as we put 2020 in the rear view mirror and perhaps provides us with the 20/20 or better “vision” that hindsight most often does, we will see that 2020 was very much an accelerant for trends that were already happening prior to the beginning of 2020 and increased the speed and rate of change of these trends which were BOTH, positive and negative.While making sure to attention to and learn from those negative trends I chose to focus on the positive trends which have been equally or great accelerated by the events of 2020 and which I will try to further in 2021 and beyond.
Very selfishly, those trends include the accelerated rate at which Christine and I hope to finish the building of Möbius and start a whole new trend which we can also accelerate, that of returning to our life at sea as full time liveaboards as we pick up where we left of in “wandering, pondering and wondering the world one nautical smile at a time.” You can be the judge of how well we do at this if you chose to continue to follow our adventures here on the Möbius.World blog as we make the transition from building to cruising. Wish us luck, we’re going to need it!
OK, after yet another “brevity challenged” opening, let’s get to what you really came here for; this week’s Progress Update Show & Tell for the 3.5 day week of December 28-31, 2020. New Years is a VERY big deal here in Turkey and so everyone on Team Möbius and Naval Yachts was very anxious to finish up at 13:00 on Thursday and get the New Years festivities started. It all worked out very well on the calendar as well as this gave all of us a 3.5 day weekend to celebrate the end of 2020 and ring in 2021. As in many parts of the world there was no shortage of fireworks for Christine and I to enjoy from our 9th story apartment here in Antalya as we toasted this dual closing and opening of windows in our world. We hope that however and wherever you were for New Year’s Eve 2020 that you too were able to celebrate this annual transition and that 2021 will turn out to be one of if not the best year we have ever had.
Why is Wayne Floored?
Two very good reasons this last week of 2020 has me so floored and this is the first; Uğur and Nihat installed the grated floors in the Engine Room surrounding Mr. Gee! This is the same very cool composite floor grating that you’ve seen us installing for the floors in the Forepeak and the Workshop. eXtremely rigid, impervious to all chemicals, easy see-through to the bilge spaces below, easy to install and lift out when needed. Very simple aluminium L-bar framing to support these floor grates which Nihat and Uğur have perfected now and weld up in a jiffy. This is the frame for the raised floor at the Aft end of the ER. By raising the floor here about 200mm/8” above the two side level floors flanking Mr. Gee, we were able to make this all one level floor across the whole width of the ER. In addition to the Safety factor when moving about in the ER during our hourly ER checks on passages and when I’m working in there, the grating also protects the hoses, solenoids, dipstick, etc. on the Nogva CPP Servo Gearbox and the two heat exchangers on either side of it. Then we dropped the two side floors down to be about 50mm/2” above the tank tops so as to give me the maximum amount of space on either side of Mr. Gee when I’m servicing and working on him. This Port/Left side is the service side of the Gardner 6LXB where the majority of components are such as the fuel injection system, dipstick, on engine fuel & oil filters, throttle lever, etc. so it is wider and longer and relatively clear of other obstructions other than the sea water exit manifold that connects to the exiting Sea Chest in the top Left corner. Purposely a bit busier on the opposite Starboard/Right side where the dual sea water intake strainers and the sea water supply manifold live and connect to the Supply Sea Chest partially visible in the upper Right corner here behind the 127mm/5” ID exhaust hose as it exits the ER and runs under the Day Tank to exit out the side of the hull.
The red hose is now ready for Cihan to install on the side of Mr. Gee where it will transport the engine coolant (water + antifreeze) out of the ER and through a heat exchanger loop inside the Webasto IsoTherm Calorifier/water heater tank where it gives up some of its heat to our DHW Domestic Hot Water system and reduces the need for the Kabola KB45 diesel boiler to provide our DHW whenever Mr. Gee is running. I am very happy with the way this has all turned out and how much it adds to our priorities of Safety, Comfort and Low Maintenance inside the ER. In the next week or so Uğur and Nihat will be fabricating and installing the Exhaust System supports which will add even more safety to working in here and I’m already excited about showing you that.
Master Cabin is Floored!
And what is the second reason I ended the year being so floored?
Hmmm, it sure doesn’t look that it has to do with increasing the comfort of the big bed in the Master Cabin?
Oh wait! This is where Ramazan has put all the planks of LVT vinyl flooring for the past 2 days so that little ceramic heater in the upper right corner can bring the temperature of everything up 20+ degrees C / 68F where Ado, the manufacturer, recommends for installation. These LVT planks are installed as a “floating floor” so no adhesive is used so that the vinyl can expand and contract a bit without causing any buckling or warping. As we will be taking Möbius through the full spectrum of temperatures from the poles of Antarctica and the Arctic down to the tropical heat on the Equator, we need to account for these kinds of conditions.
Each plank “click locks” to the next plank on both sides and ends so the installation is relatively easy but quite time consuming on a boat where there are almost no square corners or parallel lines and so all the planks at the ends and sides of each room must all be carefully and accurately custom cut and fit.
Here is a good example of that where Ramazan had to carefully cut the LVT flooring to fit just right around this area just inside the door on the full height wardrobe as you enter the Master Cabin. Ramazan started by laying out the Centerline of the hull and using that to provide the lengthwise reference line for laying down all the LVT planks. Then he worked from there putting down the LVT planks parallel to this Centerline and cutting the edges to fit just right up against the Rosewood wall panels. The blank plywood rectangle under the vacuum is one of the many places on the Master and Guest Cabin floors that need to be removable to allow you to get at the access ports to the water and fuel tanks below all the floors. This one in the Master Cabin is the largest of all because it spans the corners of four individual water tanks which we located here for that reason. Hey! I would have sworn that there used to be a removable access panel here?!?
Ramazan is quite the flooring expert having apparently laid down a lot of this LVT flooring and you can see this on display here where he has been able to make the joint where the ends of the LVT blanks butt together with almost no gap at all.
On the rare occasions when we need to remove these sections of the floor to inspect or clean out a fuel or water tank, we simply use one of my favorite tools, an industrial suction cup like this which you’ve seen us using to install the big 26mm thick laminated glass panels round the Pilot House a few weeks ago. We won’t get to installing these until a bit later but in anticipation of the inevitable questions about what happens to these removable floor panels in the unlikely event of a full roll over (lets hope!), we will be installing these SS floor anchors. I’ve used these floor anchors from PYI before on previous boats and they not only work eXtremely well, they are more bits of kit on my “boat jewelry” list for being so beautifully designed and built. Flooring pretty much all done in the Master Cabin and here is a full length shot of the floor alongside the bed leading to the stairs up to the SuperSalon.
We are eXtremely pleased with how all the various colours, materials and textures have all come together. Not bad for two very inexperienced interior designers don’t you think?
And the indirect dimmable LED string lighting really helps to not only increase the Safety factor throughout but also really uses the Silver/White colour we chose for these LVT planks to maximum advantage in reflecting and diffusing that light across the floors and around the edges. What better way to show you the flooring than by getting down on floor level? Best I could do to try and show you the texture of these LVT planks which works eXtremely well as a non-skid surface even with bare wet feet.
BTW, the LED strip lights are just being test fit right now and will soon be installed into their grooves with some clear silicone to keep them fully hidden and well secured.
Fitting out Mr. Gee
Cihan was able to return for two days this past week and he is always a treat for me to work with and is super productive. Remember those red hoses that connect Mr. Gee’s hot water to the Calorifier you saw in the ER in the Flooring section above? Cihan now has them all connected and starting to insulate them to keep the heat in the water and out of the ER. This is the front Stbd/Right side of Mr. Gee and we are tapping into his AL coolant manifold up on top of the cylinder head to return the coolant from the Calorifier. We then tapped into what was a drain plug fitting in this lower coolant manifold where the water comes out of Mr. Gee’s side mounted centrifugal water pump. Over on the opposite Port/Left front corner of Mr. Gee, Cihan now has the diesel fuel return line hose connected now. With Cihan being so busy on other jobs at Naval I’ve been busy lending a hand by fabricating some of the mounts he needs to complete jobs such as mounting one of the big Electrodyne 24V 250A alternators on that same upper left corner of Mr. Gee you see in the photo above.
KISS right? Some 20mm/ 3/4” thick AL plate gives the neccessary strength and rigidity to support this hefty alternators that tip the scales at 33kg/73lbs each. Ask me how I know?! Once I had the two plates all drilled for the four mounting studs on Mr. Gee and had worked out the precise location of the alternator so that its serpentine belt pulley would be aligned and on the same plane as the other three pulleys I could drill and tap this 40mm/1.6” thick mounting block. After test fitting this on the Electrodyne alternator the mounting block needed a bit of trimming to fully clear the body of the alternator when bolted in place but nothing that my super handy Milwaukee angle grinder could make short work of. Here is the final result with Big Red #1 now fully fitted onto Mr. Gee.
I’ve lost track of how many times I had to lift all 33kg of this beautiful red beast up and down to get these mounts all worked out but I’m thankful for the workout that helps me keep my girlish figure I guess!
Also pleased with the way this mount will work out position wise to give me good access for future maintenance and with being rock solid to carry on the Gardner tradition that Mr. Gee demands. For those wondering, the six terminal studs on the sides of the junction boxes on each Electrodyne are where the AC current comes out of the two “Siamese twin” alternators inside each Electrodyne and then carry that 3 phase AC current over to the external Rectifiers mounted outside the ER over on the Stbd/Right side of the Workshop. That AC current will be carried by those 12 Red cables, 6 from each Electrodyne, that you can see coiled up to the Right of the alternator and in some of the photos in the ER Flooring section above.
Next up for me is to work on getting all the cogged belt pulleys mounted and aligned but that will have to wait till next week.
I Can See CLEARLY NOW!
Saving the “Clearly” part of this week’s title for this last part of our Show & Tell this week as this is another one of those big milestone events in the build for Christine and me. It actually all started more than a month ago when this photo was taken. Do you see the clues as to what this is all about? Does this closeup help you guess? Correct! This was when the acrylic team from Hakan Glass was onboard back in November to build the hardboard templates for each of the 15 removable acrylic windows that will allow us to make the whole SkyBridge weatherproof! Let me backup a bit and show you the design that I worked out with the guys at Hakan Glass. This test sample they made will help me show you how it all works.
Four basic components …………………… 1. The clear 8mm / 3/8” thick cast acrylic sheet that forms the tough windows. Cast acrylic is more heat and scratch resistant than common Plexiglass which is usually extruded. Acrylic has a tensile strength >10,000 lbs/sq inch and an impact resistance about 17 times greater than ordinary glass and under high impact, (cyclones anyone?) it won’t shatter and if it does break it fractures into large, dull-edged pieces.
Acrylic is also eXtremely clear, half the weight of glass and resistant to most chemicals.
Clear, Safe, weatherproof, not easily scratched.
Low Maintenance – Check 2. Aluminium anodized U-channel extrusions for the track frames that hold the acrylic sheets in place. Note that the U-channel on the Left has its upper side cut down to be half as high as the regular one on the Right as that is key to how this system works as I’ll explain in a minute.
Being anodized AL these U-channel extrusions are easy to keep clean and never oxidise.
Low Maintenance – Check 3. Black EPDM rubber edge molding that keeps the sheets tightly in their frames so they don’t rattle or move.
Simple, Secure & Quiet
Comfort – Check
4. To add some Secret Sauce to the mix let’s stir in two strips of these silicone magnetic seals that are typically used on glass shower doors.
Simple to use, Clear, Long lasting & Weathertight.
Comfort + Low Maintenance – Check
Now let’s put it all together to see the solution we’ve cooked up for Möbius’ SkyBridge.
Remember how we cut off half of the height of one side of the lower U-channel? That’s what you are seeing here. With half the height of the inside wall of the bottom U-channel, you can push the acrylic sheet all the way up into the full sized upper U-channel which allows you to now push the bottom edge of the acrylic panel into the U-channel and then push it down and presto, you’re done! My inspiration for this design comes from something most of you would likely know from putting bug screens in and out of the outside windows in your home. You know the ones where you remove them by pushing the frame of the bug screen up into the top U-channel in the window frame and then pull the bottom out of the lower U-channel which it now clears.
There is always great elegance to me in simplicity.
But what about where two acrylic sheets need to butt together on the long side stretches of the SkyBridge you ask?
Aha! Simple, just press a length of these silicone shower door strips onto each edge and their internal magnets snap the gap shut. Last step, with each acrylic panel installed just press the Black EPDM rubber edge molding firmly into the small space between the inside edge of the AL U-channel to lock the acrylic tightly in place.
et voilà!
You’ve can now clearly see those beautiful views all around you from this premium vantage point high above the water while all the wind and rain stay outside and you are completely dry and comfy inside. Wait …………………. What’s that you say? You are now in the tropics and it is hot and humid? You want those high up beautiful views more than ever but you also want some good breezes and fresh air?
No problem. Möbius has you covered. Just lift out as many of those acrylic window panels as you’d like because every one of them is removable! But how would you remove them you ask?
Ahhh, remember out little friend from the previous section on how we lift out the removable floor panels? Yup, that same little fella works even better to grab onto those sleek smooth acrylic panels and quick lift up and out comes the panel to be stowed away while all those fresh tropical breezes flow through and keep you cool and smiling.
Well, you get the idea.
OK, now let me quickly flash through what the process looked as the talented boys from Hakan Glass cooked up this recipe of 4 simple ingredients I had put together:
Start by cutting some of these 3m/10’ lengths of anodized AL U-channel in a table saw to take off 1/2 the height of the one edge for the bottom and some of the side frames. Glue the U-channel pieces to the tops and bottoms of the AL framed openings of the SkyBridge and its roof using clear industrial epoxy adhesive. Once all the lengths of U-channel have been affixed, tape off the joints where the U-Chanel joins with the frames of the SkyBridge on the inside and outside …. ……. then apply a small cove of black Sikaflex 296 to completely seal these joints and add a nice visual accent to these edges. Cut and fit hardboard to create templates for each removable acrylic window panel. Cut and fit the two magnetic edge seals where two acrylic window panels meet to make sure that the size of the templates are just right when they are pushed Up/Down into place and the two aft corner panels are also pushed sideways into their vertical U-channels. Rinse and Repeat for all 15 window panels surrounding the SkyBridge and then take the templates back to the Hakan workshop to cut them all to size. Two weeks later, make Wayne’s day by bringing all 15 acrylic window panels to him on Möbius. Clean up all the edges of the acrylic panels and start fitting each numbered panel to its awaiting U-channel frames. Finish off the Black Sikaflex sealant and remove all the Blue painters tape. Let Wayne double check that the EPDM seals squeeze each acrylic window panel to his just right Goldilocks fit to help them seal and be rattle proof.
Sheesh! Some Owners are SO fussy! Peel off all the protective plastic covering on the outside and …. ……. inside of each acrylic panel.
Note the 10 year guarantee! Clean up the Sikaflex seals on the inside and clean off all the aluminium with solvent. Let Mr. Fussy get his kicks by checking out how slickly and strongly these magnetic strips old the vertical edge joints together and get tighter as the wind pushes against them. Sides and Aft end panels all in place now with their magnetic seals and Black edge trim. Finish putting in the Black EPDM strips on the three front facing windows. Stand back and take a tour around the boat to admire this outstanding job! Crystal clear view out the Aft facing windows from the outside and ….. …… the inside. And all clear from the Upper Helm Captain! And looks eXtremely sharp from the outside too!
Well done Hakan Glass! Gold stars to you all with our thanks for such clearly outstanding work! And that’s a wrap for the week, the month and the year that was 2020!
Happy New Year to one and all and we can’t wait to bring you the final episodes as all of us on Team Möbius renew our efforts to finish off Project Goldilocks and put this awemazing boat, and her Owners where they belong; IN THE WATER!!!
See you again next week as we get 2021 off to a rapid start!
Most of Team Möbius was MIA again this past week but once again the combination of those who were working along with the outside contractors working this week, a LOT of very eXciting progress was made this past week of Dec. 21-25, 2020.
And somehow or another Christine and I also managed to include a wonderful Christmas celebration to end our week and carry on through to tonight, Sunday, when as soon as I finish writing up this blog post we will sit down to enjoy Christine’s turkey soup which is one of the many great outcomes of all the work she put in to create a fantastic gourmet Xmas turkey dinner with all the fixin’s’, dressing and gravy! Guess what? Turns out that I’m not the only turkey in Turkey! Who knew??
As in some previous weeks, there were a lot of “small jobs” that we were able to check off the punch list this week and taken together they add up to a very big deal. That saying “Don’t sweat the small stuff; and it’s ALL small stuff” could not be truer than in a big boat building project like this. So I may jump around a bit but there is one eXtremely BIG job that got done this week and is an equally big part of the title of this week’s Progress Update.
But this blog post is between me and dinner so let me jump right in with what will likely be a very rapid fire Show & Tell which I hope you will still enjoy.
EXTERIOR PREP WORK:
We only had Uğur on the job for Monday and Tuesday this week but he still managed to be his usual productive self and looked after several important jobs such as this one.
The shot is taken from down in the Engine Room looking up through the big open hatch overhead to catch Uğur finishing up the AlucoBond paneling that surrounds this hatch.
Up on the Aft Deck now, you can see how he had attached the AlucoBond outer liner to the Hatch itself last week, and also installed those beautiful Bofor dogs and latches that keep this hatch solidly in place and fully watertight.
This week he is finishing up the work on the AlucoBond walls and ceilings in the ER by using Sikaflex to adhere and seal the AlucoBond paneling that is bent up around the inside circumference of the opening such that the whole ER is fully sealed now. Uğur was in an “AlucoBond state of mind” this week I guess so he also finished off the AlucoBond panels that form the ceiling above the Outdoor Galley on the Aft deck. Hilmi has the LED lights all wired and snapped in place so Uğur was able to put in a small bead of Sikaflex around all the outside edges and around the support poles to seal the whole ceiling.
eXciting for us to see as well was when this was the first area to have all that protective film with the Red & Black AlucoBond printing on it and reveal these very reflective satin White plated aluminium surfaces.
Another one of those “small things” but what a difference to see these finished surfaces at last! More small but important jobs done this week was when Ali finished covering all the newly applied TreadMaster non skid surfaces with some protective cardboard. This is the Port/Left side of the Swim Platform and the stairs leading up to the Aft Deck.
There is still a LOT of work to do to finish Möbius so these areas will be seeing a lot of foot traffic, tools and materials so the cardboard will help keep them clean and new till Launch Date.
The dogged door on the Right is the HazMat locker for any flammable or odiferous items we want to store onboard and keep completely isolated from the interior of the boat. Winch handle is how you open the Bofor dog latches. Opposite side of the Swim Platform with the WT door, currently removed, into the Workshop and Engine Room. Ali also has all the Aft Deck all covered with cardboard sheets and fully taped down. Same story up on the Front Deck and Anchor Deck TreadMaster. All the solar panels are also covered with protective cardboard sheets. In the case of the solar panels this is both to keep the glass surfaces clean as well as the safety aspect of keeping all sunlight off of these panels so that they are not generating any power that could cause problems to equipment and workers.
FINISHING UP the HOTWORKS on the TENDER:
Down on the shop floor off to the front right of Möbius, Nihat was also with us for Monday and Tuesday this past week and was able to finish off the last few small jobs to complete the “hotworks” or welding up of the Tender.
This is the Aft Port/Left corner of the Tender with the Engine Bay lid opened up. Nihat is grinding all the welds down flush and then doing the final sanding of all the AL surfaces with a random orbital sander with the same finish that he has perfected from all his work doing the same to the outer surfaces and hull of Möbius. A sneak peak at the interior of the Engine Bay where you can see the Port side Engine Bed starting where Nihat’s foot is and the framed opening for the Castoldi 244DD jet drive behind with the “Mickey Mouse” cut-out in the thick transom plate.
This will likely end the work on the Tender until after we launch Möbius and I can spend the time to do all the outfitting installing the Yanmar 110HP 4cyl diesel inboard engine and the jet drive.
SNEAK PEAK at the FINISHED INTERIOR:
An American couple and their son, who are also faithful followers here on the blog and have become very interested in having an XPM of their own, came by on Tuesday for an extended tour on Möbius and visit with Naval Yachts and the Free Zone.
So on Monday we all pitched in to remove all the protective plastic and cardboard covering up all the interior surfaces so they could see what is underneath and the quality of work that Team Möbius is capable of producing. Möbius received a much needed and very thorough cleaning to look her best for these prospective new XPM owners.
Both their visit and seeing Möbius at her clean and shiny best were equally eXciting for Christine and I, so let me capitalize on this opportunity to give all of you a sneak peek of the interior. I will go through this in very rapid fire fashion, so hang on as we take you on a quick whirlwind tour of the freshly cleaned and exposed finished interior of mv Möbius
MASTER CABIN:
Staring up at the very front of the interior in the Master Cabin, this is the Vanity Sink which sits front and center up against the WT bulkhead with the Forepeak on the other (very well insulated )side.
Flanked by the Washer & Dryer behind the Blue/Green leather doors on the Right and the Shower on the Left.
Almost complete and just waiting for the 2 thin strips of mirrors on either side of the soon to be mirrored door above the sink.
Sorry, I can never resist the glowing beauty of this unique hand painted all glass sink.
Note the combo 120V + 240V plug behind the sink and spread throughout this “world wired” boat. Stepping back a bit will help orient you to the Master Cabin and you can now see the whole Starboard/Right side bank of cupboards and wardrobes with the Washer & Dryer at the front.
On the Left side is the door into the Head/Bathroom as well as the adjoining Shower hiding behind that etched glass corner wall. Before I continue walking back, a quick peek through the door into the Head to show the matching rectangular Blue glass sink inside. The vertical doors above are anxiously awaiting their mirrors.
Bidet VacuFlush toilet is just visible on the bottom Right and the adjoining Shower is on the far Left. Continuing aft one step at a time reveals the full etched corner walls of the Shower. One more step back and the Master Bed comes into view with its overhead boxed ceiling and the Bureau of Drawers on the far Right side which is also waiting for the big mirror that will soon be mounted inside the Rosewood framed side wall.
Just wait till you see this space filled with a hanging 3D textile sculpture of our Möbius strip which our artist / niece Lindsey created for us! Baking up ALL the way Aft in the Master Cabin and starting up the stairs to get this shot looking down into the entrance to the Master Cabin.
The door which goes here is one of our Swiss Doors that I’ve shown in previous months which do double duty by being a door in two positions. Here it is the door in the large full height Wardrobe on the Right as you walk in here, and then this same door closes this entry into the Master Cabin itself. Brilliant! if I do say so myself and eliminates one complete door here and two more back in the Guest Cabin. Going back up to the front of the Master Cabin and looking Aft now, you can see how that door on the Left of the stairs is now closing off the Wardrobe behind it and can then be swung “open” to close off the Entryway into the Master Cabin. One last shot in the Master Cabin before we head upstairs to check out the SuperSalon. This is the two stairs that wind their way up to the platform on the Port/Left side of the bed. This platform serves multiple purposes;
* the HVAC Air Handler is housed below inside this platform
* provides easy access for Christine getting In/Out of her side of the bed
* easy access when making the bed
* when on long passages and covered with a custom fit memory foam mattress, this platform transforms into a very safe and comfortable bed for whichever one of us in Off Watch in really rough weather where the high sides keep you safely snuggled into bed no matter what Mother Nature is doing to Möbius on the outside.
SuperSalon, GALLEY, MAIN HELM & LOUNGE areas:
Continuing with this “one step back” tour of the interior, let me head up the stairs out of the Master Cabin which you can see at the bottom Right here and take you on a quick tour of the whole SuperSalon.
Main Helm on the Left here and the forward end of the L-shaped Dinette seat on the bottom Right. One more step back into the space where the Dinette Table will soon be mounted on that aluminium XY Slider peeking out of the bottom Left corner. Dinette Settee on the bottom Right, Main Helm Chair middle Left with the forward electrical control panel partially open on the Right side of the Main Helm.
Two 19” touchscreen daylight readable monitors will soon be mounted into those two rectangular openings on the Black leather covered panel front and center of the Main Helm dashboard. Sliding over to Port/Left for a better view of the Main Helm and where those two monitors will be mounted. Stairs down to the Master Cabin through the space on the bottom Right.
Look closely and you will be reminded that all the 26mm triple laminated safety glass windows are now fully installed around all 360 degrees of this truly SUPER Salon. Stepping back on the Port side the Dinette Settee comes into better view now and you can now see how that gorgeous Zwaardvis AL pedestal works. Up/Down Z axis adjusts with an pneumatic lift cylinder inside the 2 stage pedestal and then the table top can be moved 200mm/8” in the XY axis to adjust the table to Goldilocks position Left/Right and Fore/Aft. Pivoting to Stbd/Right side for a better view of the Settee, pedestal and a sneak peek into the Galley. Stepping back yet another step or two to go up the stairs leading out of the SuperSalon to the Aft Deck, reveals the twin 130 liter side by side Vitrifrigo refrigerators nestled inside their Ro$ewood cabinets on the Left and some of the countertop Galley Garages on the Right. Two more steps up those stairs to give you this shot looking forward and down into the Galley on the Right, dual door fridges on the Left and if you turn Left at the bottom of these stairs you will continue down a matching staircase to the Corridor leading to the Guest Cabin and Workshop. Staying on that same top step at about Aft Deck height and pivoting towards the Stbd/Right side of the hull to give you this overhead view of the Galley and its surrounding Galley Garages.
Stepping into the Galley itself briefly to see the four burner Bosch induction cooktop with built in central exhaust fan and the matching Bosch Smart Oven that automagically combines convection, microwave and broiler elements to cook each dish to Goldilocks perfection. Double SS sink inset into the Turkish Turquoise marble countertops. Smaller faucet on the Right is plumbed direct to the 150L fresh water “Emergency Tank” that is independent of the rest of the fresh water system for some “just in case” backup of always ready very fresh water. Moving forward for a change provides this perspective of the full Galley looking Aft towards the Rear Stbd/Right side.
Stairs up to the Aft Deck and the Outdoor Galley on the far Right here surrounded by windows, windows, windows with views, views, views everywhere you look. Just before we leave the SuperSalon, a rightfully proud Sinan posing with his masterful upholstery work on the these Sky Blue Ultra Leather covered Settee cushions. Just imagine what they will look like when we finally get to remove al their plastic covers!
Table is down close to its “bed” position here and the Black release handle for the XY slider is hanging down below waiting to be mounted to the underside of the table next week. Trying not so successfully at being incognito, Captain Christine aka my Beautiful Bride, couldn’t resist the chance to try out her first sitting at the Dinette table with it now at full eating/working height. Looking straight Aft at the stairs and out the door onto the Outdoor Galley on the Aft Deck here. Dinette table back down into Bed mode with Coffee Table mode in between and the stairs leading down to the Corridor and Guest Cabin on the far Right. Apologies for not getting better shots of it but over on the very Aft Left corner of the SuperSalon the stairs just out of sight below here lead down to the Corridor that takes you Aft through a WT Bofor door if you keep walking straight and if you turn Left you have the Guest Bathroom/Head on your Left, Shower on your Right. If you walk straight ahead now, you enter Guest Cabin/Office and can see the fold down Latte coloured Ultra Leather Couch/Bed in the bottom Left with the Pullman Berth that Sinan is about to pull down above. This Couch has been custom designed for Christine to be her Goldilocks “pondering pad” when she is cooking up the next plot twist in her next sure to be a best seller thriller novel with its super wide base to give her plenty of room to relax and curl up.
Then the bottom portion pulls all the way out towards you and turns this into a full Queen size bed. Christine’s Office desk just visible on the far Right here with printer bay on the left side of the desk and plenty of bookshelves above and on the opposite side of the Couch
Need more bed space in the Guest Cabin you say? No problem, flip up two latches …………………….. …………….. and the Pullman Berth folds down to provide yet another single bed as Sinan demonstrates here. Before you know it was Thursday and time to cover everything back up again for the next few weeks of finishing off the interior. So here’s the deal folks. It is now past 21:00 for me here in Antalya at the end of a wonderful Christmas weekend and the Chef has been eXtremely patient with me, yet again, and keeping her Turkey Soup on the boil. I still have not gotten to that BIG exciting job that happened this week and is the key to the “Much Clearer” part of this post’s title BUT, I’m going to have to disappoint you or at least keep you waiting until next week to cover all that.
For now, let me just end by wishing ALL of you a VERY Merry Christmas and that you all find ways to make this last week of 2020 as good as it can possibly be. I’ll be back to you next weekend with the latest Weekly Progress Update and really hope you will join me again then.
Team Möbius might not be back to work yet but two of our sub contractors were and Wow! did they and we ever make some great progress and hit some very eXciting new milestones. As per the title both of these sub contractors were in the glass business, one with “real” glass and the other with the acrylic based often colloquially referred to as plexiglass. For simplicity and clarity, I will use glass and plexi in this article.
By whatever name you prefer, we were definately up to our ass (ets) in glass this week. We have glass for all the 360 degrees of windows surrounding the SuperSalon or Pilothouse, glass in all the 10 deck hatches, another 360 degrees of tinted glass around the bottom panels of the SkyBridge coaming, glass for the Guest Shower door, glass tiles in the Master Head/Bathroom, plexi for the 360 degrees of windows around the entire SkyBridge, and then of course the “pièce de résistance en verre” the etched glass corner walls for the Master Shower.
As you are about to see then, it is really not just typical eXaggeration from your author to say that I was up to my assets in glass this week! And before I torture you any further with this play on words, let’s just jump right into this week’s Show & Tell so you can see for yourself.
Pilothouse/SuperSalon Window Glass
There were a bunch more milestones this week but the biggest one for Christine and I was to see this truck load of glass from Hakan Glass here in Antalya, arrive with all the glass that will close in the whole Pilothouse.*
* This area of our boat and all the XPMs can be called either Pilothouse, Wheelhouse or our moniker of “SuperSalon” but for clarity I’ll stick with just PH for the rest of this article OK?
BTW, many of you might be surprised to know that Turkey is one of the world’s largest glass manufacturers! With thanks to Baris at Naval Yachts for providing me this information, you can check out the factory where our glass was made HERE. This will give you a bit more information on “Paşabahçe” which is the biggest glass factory in the republic of Turkey’s and responsible for making glass one of Turkey’s top industries economically. For those interested in more about the long history of glass manufacturing in Turkey be sure to check out THIS site that does a great job of walking you quickly through the history from when Atatürk started all this in 1934.
The reason this is such a big milestone for us is that once all the window glass is installed around the 360 degrees of the PH along with these square glass pieces which will be adhered to each of the ten Deck Hatches, Möbius is WATERTIGHT!
As you may recall seeing in previous months, all the Watertight doors are in and so once the PH and Deck Hatch glass is all in, we are fully weather and water tight! In addition to the glass windows for the PH and the Deck Hatches, the truck also had the slender glass panels that wrap around the bottom edge of the SkyBridge coaming. First challenge though was to get each of these eXtremely heavy pieces of glass off the truck ……………… ……. up the stairs leading up to the Swim Platform ………..
……. then up the winding stairs onto the Aft Deck ………….. …… and then onto the wood pallet on the Aft Deck …….. …….. where they will be stored before being moved into their respective aluminium window frames.
Whew! This shot showing the edges of two of the PH glass windows on the Left and 7 of the Deck Hatch glass panels will help you see why these glass panels are so heavy. The PH glass windows are made from triple laminations of 8mm / 5/16” thick glass and the Deck Hatch glass is made from double laminations of 8mm glass. With three 8mm glass laminations plus two layers of laminating adhesive which are each about 1mm thick, each of the PH glass windows ends up about 26mm or just over 1” thick. These are but a few of the glass windows required:
20 pieces for the PH windows
12 pieces for the SkyBridge “eyebrow”
10 pieces for the Deck Hatches
Each one of these PH glass windows have been custom cut to match the exact sizes of plywood templates the Hakan Glass team had made a few weeks ago so each one is a bit different but on average each window weighed about 22kg / 48 lbs and so this all started with a LOT of heavy lifting! For adhesive, after consulting with the application experts at Hakan Glass and at Sikaflex, we chose Sikaflex 296 along with ….. ……. with SP-206GP primer.
This is the best combination for structural adhesion between glass and aluminium and is often what you see used on commercial buildings whose exterior surfaces are clad with glass. The process begins with the application of the Sikaflex SP-206GB primer that goes on both the aluminium surfaces that the glass will be bonded to ………. ……….. and the inner perimeter of the glass that will be adhered to the aluminium. Once the primer is cured, each window can be carefully carried from the Aft Deck to its respective window bay. Then a thick bead of Sikaflex 296 is laid down around the outer perimeter of the aluminium window frame. Having the right tools for the job always helps and this Milwaukee cordless caulking gun sure beats all the years I’ve had to hand pump window caulking.
The triple aluminium suction cup is one of many we used to lift the window glass into place and push/pull into the right position. Previously that day I had gone around and pulled the leather window mullion covers away from their frames where we have used the new plastic style of “velcro” to hold them in place and I had run a wide strip of Blue painters tape along the Rosewood edges in case any of the Sikaflex oozed its way there. Next PH window glass ready to be lifted into place … ….. and pressed firmly into place. The Sikaflex 296 both bonds the aluminium and the glass to each other as well as filling in the gap between the aluminium faces of the window frames which can have a bit of waviness to them, and the perfectly flat glass surfaces. Typically the thickness of the Sikaflex ends up being about 5mm / 0.2”. small wooden spacers are used to keep the glass edges an equal distance away from the AL frames. Some scrap pieces of Teak (who knew there was such a thing??) were pressed into service to act as spring loaded pressure clamps …. …….. to keep these negatively raked front windows tight up against the frames overnight while the Sikaflex cured. Similar process on the other end where there are three panes of glass along the Aft end of the Galley. It is pretty much a “rinse and repeat” process from there to put all 20 glass windows into place. Pardon the mess but this will help show you how it all looks from inside. This is the Aft Starboard/Right corner of the SuperSalon where the Galley is. This is looking forward from the Galley towards the Bow. If you look closely you might be able to see that these five front windows are all completely clear glass where the rest of the side and rear windows have a slight Gray tint to them as they have a UV blocking film on the inside surface of one of the laminations. With no glass in the Left window and one of the tinted ones on the Right you can see the amount of tint the side and rear windows have.
Tinting is one of those things you want to get to that Goldilocks just right point but it is difficult to judge or calculate other than by experience in situ. So we will live with the glass like this for the first year or so and then decide if we want to add a film to the inside surfaces for more privacy blocking or heat blocking as some of the newer window films that are now available are truly amazing.
This is how the outside is shaping up when viewed from down on the shop floor.
Also a preview of what I’ll show you next which is the glass “eyebrow” around the bottom edges of the SkyBridge coaming up above.
Clint Eastwood’s Squint
This early rendering will help show you how the exterior will look when all glassed in and you can see the thin band of tinted glass that runs around the edge of the coaming (walls) of the upper SkyBridge. Several years ago now when we were working with our awemazing NA and designer Dennis Harjamaa at Artnautica Yacht Design in Auckland NZ, he jokingly remarked that the combination of shapes …… ……. of the narrowing vertical height of the PH glass as it makes the transition forward/aft along with the thin upper height of the tinted SkyBridge glass, reminded him of that squint that Clint Eastwood made famous in his early western movies. We all got a good laugh out of we have kept referring to the Clint Eastwood Squint ever since. Clint is always a good guy to have on YOUR side so we figure this helps add to our “Don’t mess with me!” look. Here you can see the framing that wraps around the SkyBridge. The narrow bottom frames are about to be filled with tinted glass and next week the upper frames will be filled with plexi. Same process as with the PH glass; apply the Sikaflex Primer to the outer perimeter of the AL frames and the glass …….. ……. run a generous bead of 296 around the AL frames …….. ….. and press the glass into place.
Rinse and Repeat. Aft Stbd/Right corner all done. Front 3 panels in place too. Here is how it looks so far when viewed from the inside.
And here is what it looked like by end of the day on Friday.
Last two PH windows still to go in next week.
Deck Hatch Glass
We have a total of ten hatches spread out on the decks of Möbius and they all have double laminated glass lids on them.
You may recall seeing these Deck Hatches which I designed back at the beginning of the build and then Team Möbius built them in house. They have been sitting and waiting for their glass tops so it was eXtremely exciting for me to see this last part of the puzzle fit into place.
Each hatch will have one of these double laminated glass panels bonded to them. Two 6mm glass laminations with about 1mm of adhesive and the thickness of the black film inside creates eXtremely strong glass lids that are about 14mm thick. The hinged aluminium hatch lids are made from 10mm / the 3/8” thick AL plate and so each of the glass hatch lids have black film sandwiched between the two laminations that matches up with the shape of the AL lids where they will be bonded to the glass. First Deck Hatch to get its lid was this one on the Port/Left side of the Aft Deck.
We carry quite a few of these suction cup tools with us as they come on handy for SO many different jobs. We use them to give us a handle on the bottom of the hull when we are cleaning it every few months Hookah “Snuba” setup and we also use them to remove and replace the FastMount panels on the interior of the boat. This hatch is directly overtop of my workbench in the Workshop down below and I can already feel those breezes wafting down on me and the sunlight pouring in as I work down there. The Hakan boys prepping the AL hatch lid in front of the Port/Left Vent Box which is #4 in the hatch layout diagram up above. You can see the shape of the AL lids with their cross bar that matches up with the black film you see on the hatch glass. Same process repeated as with the PH glass; first apply the Sikaflex primer to both the AL bonding surfaces ……. and the glass surfaces. Butter the AL with a generous bead of 296 and press the glass into place. Sikaflex 296 takes several hours to cure so you have lots of time to nudge the glass into the Goldilocks position so that the gap is perfectly even around all four sides of the hatch opening. Both of the smaller 400mm / 16” hatches in front of the two Vent Boxes on the Aft Deck are all done. These two Vent Boxes also create our Outside Galley. Seen from the Stbd/Right side of the Aft Deck to see those same two hatches as well as the larger 700mm / 28” square hatch underneath the spiral staircase leading up to the SkyBridge. These are numbers 4, 5 and 6 in the hatch layout diagram above. Popping up into the SkyBridge to check out Hatch #7 on the “day bed” up there beside the SkyBridge Helm Station.
Our Llebroc Helm Chair is what is underneath all that plastic wrapping in case you are wondering.
This hatch will be eXtremely helpful and open most of the time as it allows us to easily talk with each other when one is in this Upper Helm and the other is down below in the Galley or SuperSalon. Also makes it easy to pass up a coffee or meal from the Galley below. Here are a few shots of how these hatches look from the inside. This one is about centered in the Guest Cabin which will most often be configured as Christine’s Office. This smaller one is directly above Christine’s Office desk so she too will have plenty of fresh air when this hatch is open and lots of natural sunlight all the time. Lots of fresh air and light pouring into the Guest Shower as well. Back up on the Aft Deck, I wanted to double check the glass clearances so I brought up one sheet of TreadMaster that we will soon be applying to all the deck surfaces. The Treadmaster will be about 5mm thick once glued down with West Systems epoxy adhesive so I designed the hatch geometry such that the top surface of the glass sits about 2mm above the AL Deck surfaces. This way the glass surfaces will be just slightly lower than the top surface of the Treadmaster and be very foot friendly.
For those wondering, we will be putting multiple strips of non skid tape across each Glass Hatch so they are very safe to walk on.
GUEST SHOWER GLASS
Based on your comments, many of you will think that I have saved the best for last as all the glass for our Guest and Master Heads/Bathrooms and Showers also arrived this week! Different company that specializes in shower glass and they arrived on Thursday as well to do the installation. This is the simplest part, the clear glass door into the Guest Shower. This door has a full height anodized AL hinge that bolts directly to the Rosewood door jamb. Then a matching AL channel on the opposite side …. …… with the magnetic silicone seal, handle and latch.
Works great in the “dry run” and we will test it out with a real shower after we launch.
MASTER SHOWER GLASS:
Moving up to the Master Cabin Head/Shower/Bathroom, they installed this clear glass separator between the Shower on the Left and Bathroom counter and cabinets on the right. As you can see we designed this partition to stop short of the ceiling so that all the fresh air pouring in through that big 700mm square hatch up above can flow into both the Shower and the Head/Bathroom. And as if we didn’t have enough going on aboard Möbius Thursday and Friday, the tile man showed up to install the glass tile accent on the side wall of the Head! Christine had picked these glass tiles out months ago and they have been patiently waiting to come out of their box and be where they belong.
Wasn’t a big job so he was literally done in less than 2 hours and we think this little detail adds just the right amount of colour and texture to this otherwise all white room.
But of course what really stole the show this week is this “pièce de résistance en verre” , the two etched glass corner walls for the Master Shower. The more narrow 700mm wide wall panel goes athwartships and then the wider 1200mm panel goes in lengthwise to create this gorgeous etched class corner. Very simple mounting of the glass into rabbets in the Rosewood panels surrounding each glass plate which are then filled with clear silicone to hold them in place.
Blue Painters tape and some wood shims at the bottom were all that are neccessary to get them all lined up and ready for the silicone adhesive/sealant.
BTW, ALL of the credit for this work of art goes to our dearest friend Sherry Cooper in Vancouver BC. If you have not already seen THIS blog post from two weeks ago where I covered her work in more details, please do go check that out.
If you don’t have time for that and want to find out more about Sherry you can check out her other works HERE and HERE as well as her Instagram page HERE. Below is a quick synopsis of what I wrote.
Christine and I worked with Sherry to describe as best we could what we wanted to achiever with these etched patterns which was things such as a marine/nautical theme, a taste of First Nation people’s art from the British Columbia area we know and love and to have all this captured in a somewhat abstract and ethereal way.
This is what Sherry came up with and we think the nailed it! A perfect example of our favorite Goldilocks; just right, just for us type of result.
Stepping back a bit to try to show how the whole thing will look when done. Even with all the plastic protective coating and painters tape this work of art and engineering shines through with almost blinding beauty.
Difficult to capture the inside of this small space but this will hopefully give you a rough idea of what the finished shower will look like and just how magical it will be taking a shower in here every morning!
I got more work done on the cogged belt drive system that is going onto Mr. Gee to drive one of our two Electrodyne “Big Red” 250Amp @ 28V alternators and the Jabsco sea water pump but it is already very late Sunday night here so I will cover all that for you next week.
But WAIT! There’s more!!
Speaking of “assets”, the winter rains are about to arrive here in Antalya, as early as tonight according to Christine’s weather apps so we took advantage of today being a truly sunny Sunday, to go for a nice long bike ride along the eXtremely well done bike paths along the 20+ kilometers of the crescent shaped beachfront that Antalya stretches along. Like most places in the world right now we are under stronger restrictions but we are allowed out in the mornings so we took advantage of that for this bike ride and stopped for a lovely little picnic lunch on this stone beach section for an hour or so before heading home to write up this blog. The Med here is still plenty warm enough for swimming and it was almost too hot in the sun here just before noon. All of this adding to the hundreds of other things that both Christine and I have to be SO thankful for as we wish all our American friends and family the very best for their Thanksgiving weekend.
Thank you all SO much for taking time to join me here again this week AND for adding your comments and questions in the “Join the Discussion” box below!
Hopefully Team Möbius is back next week and we will have much more progress to show you.
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