Exciting times here at Naval Yachts as the intensity picks up several notches each week as the launch date gets closer.  There were several new components which all involved having things fold up and down, hence this week’s title.  So let’s dive in shall we and go find out what all happened this past week.

ALUMINIUM WORK:

Let’s start with the largest folding component that was started this week. 

Any guesses what these tacked together pieces are?
Does it help if I stand back a bit so you can see all of them?
How about if I show you how one end is installed?
Yup!  These are the two hinged folding posts which we will install whenever we want to put the SkyBridge roof assembly up or down. 
Once the roof is up there are a series of support posts around the forward perimeter which are bolted in place and keep the roof solidly in place so these two folding posts are only used when raising or lowering the roof and the rest of the time they stow in the Workshop.

If you have not seen this unique feature we have designed into this XPM this short animated model shows how it works.

There are two primary use cases for this fold down SkyBridge roof.  One is when we are leaving the boat for a longer time to go visit grandkids and such when it is cyclone season where the boat is and we want to reduce windage and streamline the boat.  The other instance would be when this folded down roof puts the boat in “Canal” mode by significantly reducing our bridge clearance or Air Draft to be able to explore things like inland canal systems where there are height restrictions.  We don’t expect to do this too often but the ability to do so expands our options tremendously and adds a huge safety factor so this feature is well worth it in our opinion. 

This week was the first test run at folding the roof up and down to make sure it all worked, nothing was binding or there were any changes needed and everything worked just as designed.

Kudos to our brilliant designer Dennis for creating this very cool feature with us during the design phase and to Dincer and Yigit here at Naval Yachts who helped me modify the folding posts to make them simpler and stronger.

Looking up from the shop floor to show the whole assembly it is easy to see how this works. 
Very much in keeping with our KISS or Keep It Simple & Safe approach, these two folding posts are all that is needed to put the roof up and down and as you’ve seen they are very components with just a straight length of 60mm/2 1/2” thick wall pipe with a cylinder machined from solid aluminium on each end with a hole for the SS hinge pin.
The means of raising and lowering the roof is the epitome of KISS consisting of just two Dyneema lines, one attached to a lifting eye on the aft end and one on the front which then go down to the Aft and Forward Deck Winches.  This could be done by a single person in stages but having two people, one on each winch and line would be faster and this method maintains full control over the roof going up and down. 

Christine and I are former single handers before we met and were sailing around the world on our own boats, and while we are now “double handing” our way through life and around the world, we have designed the systems on these XPM boats such that the boat can be fully operated by a single person if needed. 

Just to be clear this is NOT based on any lack of confidence in our relationship!  

However, for multi week ocean crossing passage maker boats such as these XPM’s we remain cognizant of the possibility that one of us could become incapacitated or worst of all lost at sea and such a scenario would return us to being single handed.  So we take this VERY seriously and being to run the boat safely and well is a critical component of our design.  All part of how  we design with “Readiness for the Unexpected” in mind at all times.

OK, back to the build.  This is how the roof looks when it is folded down into “Hunkered Down” or “Canal”  modes.
Almost fully folded down for the initial testing you can see how the rear hinge point doubles as the primary support for the whole roof assembly.
Here is a short video of the first lowering of the roof and you can now see where the Fold-a-Boat reference in the title comes from.

Continuing with the Fold-a-Boat theme Uğur fabricated another new folding component this week.

This one should be easier to guess I think?
Here it is folded down for testing and ………
Here is a close up of the tacked up hinge.

Got it figured out??
Correct!  This is our Bow Mast as we’ve been calling it where an assortment of components will live such as forward facing LED flood lights, spot light, assorted antennae, one of multiple GPS heads on board, possibly a video cam and so on.

The bottom pipes of the Bow Mast penetrate all the way through the upper surface and the deck plated below to allow the wiring for all those components to be routed directly into the WP junction box in the Forepeak.

Next week Uğur and Nihat will make up two short horizontal stiffeners that will tie the Bow Mast pipe to the nearby Bow Pulpit pipes.  These will have flanges to bolt these two components together and still allow the Bow Pulpit to be removed if ever neccessary.
If you look closely you will see two other new additions this week, these air vents to help keep the Forepeak well ventilated.  Another example of KISS, just a 180 bend of 40mm/1.6” thick wall pipe that runs through the double deck plate into the Forepeak.  One side vent will be the intake by extending down all the way to just a bit above the bilge and the other side will be exhaust by staying up in the hotter air up in the ceiling. 
This will take advantage of some passive convection to help circulate the air in and out and prevent things stored in the Forepeak from getting too damp and moldy.  When at anchor the huge Forepeak hatch can be opened up so these vent pipes are only really needed when we are out on passage and can provide some ventilation without allowing any wave water to get into the Forepeak.
It doesn’t fold but Uğur finished up the Sampson Post by installing the cross bar and the top cap.
With the Bow Pulpits and Dolphin watching seats in, Sampson Post finished, Bow Mast installed and hatch mounted, the Forepeak area is shaping up nicely.
More Fold-a-Boat parts ready to be installed.  These are the lower half of the hinges for the Paravane A-Frames on each side, each about 50mm/2” thick solid AL.  These hinge plates fit down through cut outs in the beefy Rub Rails and run down the hull frames below and are welded throughout to create a hinge that will easily transfer the loads from the Paravanes to the hull.
Those massive hinge plates are keeping another new addition to the Möbius family company.  That is the 130mm/5” OD aluminium rudder post which has just come off the lathe and is headed to the milling machine next for the angled faces for the tapered sides of the rudder blade.  More on that as the rudder is being built.
The Engine Room Vent Boxes on the Aft Deck were fully welded to the deck plates so they are now permanently attached and ready for outfitting with doors and counter tops as they also create our outside Galley and BBQ.  More on those as they get built.

PROP SHAFT INSTALLATION

More excitement this week as the installation of the propeller shaft and log tube begins.  The beautiful big bronze four blade 1 meter diameter CPP Controllable Pitch Propeller is hiding under the clear plastic but you can see the 65mm/2.6” diameter prop shaft extending out with the red flange coupler on the other end.  This flange bolts to the matching flange you can see on the end of the red Nogva Servo Gearbox sitting on the pallet.

The aluminium tube in front of the prop shaft is the prop log tube which will be inserted into the aluminium prop shaft tube that is an integral part of the hull framework.

Here is a shot borrowed from the Norwegian Nogva company web site of our CPP prop and you can see that in this case I am not being hyperbolic when I say this is an eXtremely big and beautiful propeller!
The other end of the CPP Servo Gearbox bolts to the grey SAE1 aluminium flange which is in turn bolted the aft end of Mr. Gee our Gardner 6LXB engine.  The large black and grey disk you see here is the Centamax flex coupling that provides a safety cushion to transfer the torque output from Mr. Gee’s flywheel to the Nogva prop shaft.
The prop log tube you saw in the first photo has now been inserted into the prop tube in the hull so we can measure the exact fore and aft location as this is what will determine the position of the CPP itself when it is inserted into this prop tube.
Once we get the position dialed in exactly and the prop tube perfectly centered the 10mm gap between these two aluminium tubes will be pumped full of ChockFast which is a special epoxy like compound explicitly made for this purpose.
Looking through the Nogva prop tube we see the light at the end of this tunnel in the Engine Room and you can see the machined surfaces on the inside of the tube for the cutlass bearing to be inserted which supports the spinning prop shaft and keeps it well lubricated with sea water.
Yusuf’s head will give you a better sense of size and proportion and the large machined diameter on the end is where the aft end of the bronze CPP prop fits inside with just a small clearance to keep them from touching. 
The machined end of the bronze prop hub fits inside about half way to leave a 20mm/ 3/4” gap for the seawater to flow through those holes as it exits from being pumped through the length of the tube from the sea water pump in the Engine Room. 

This setup is designed to function as a Rope Guard by having no part of the prop shaft exposed which makes it more difficult for any errant line or fish net to get wrapped around it.

Much more on all this fascinating detail in future posts as we show you the whole installation of the entire propulsion system.  But now let’s move on to …………………….

GUEST CABIN CABINETRY

I will keep the Fold-a-Boat theme and the guessing game going so what’s your guess on what this is the beginning of?
Will this rendering and the clue that you are looking right at it help you guess?

Hint: It was laying down in the first photo above and will be vertical like this when installed in the Guest Cabin.  Getting warmer???
Our talented interior designer Yesim will help you see the size.
Last clue, this is the beginning of the folding part which sits inside the frame you saw above and will be hinged at the bottom.  The triangular gussets are just to hold the four sides square until the 20mm / 3/4” marine plywood bottom is attached.
Last chance and clue.  The plywood strip at the top is a template with the slots for the AirCon grills sketched on it.

BINGO!  This is the Pullman Berth which folds up into this cabinet mounted on the Starboard/Right side which forms the wall you see in the rendering above.  The memory foam mattress frame you see above will have a SS hinge pin between it and the bottom sides of the cabinet to allow the bed to fold down. 
Similar to a Murphy Bed but on boats and trains usually called a Pullman Berth which refers to pull down/out beds that were found in Pullman railroad cars, starting the mid 1800’s.

This is what that strip you see running across the inside of the cabinet above looks like and when I asked Omer, Yesim, and Hakan what this was for they explained that this was their “surprise” for Wayne & Christine.  There will be two of these, the lower one you see above and the second half way up from that. 
There is enough space left between the face of the mattress and the inside of the panel for these and their idea is that this will be a handy little shelf for anyone sleeping here to put their watch, alarm clock, pens, etc.  How can you not just LOVE working with creative fun people like this??!!

GALLEY SETTEE

Heading for the home stretch of this week’s lengthy progress update we’ll finish with one last guessing game for you.  What do you think Omur and Selim are working on here??
You can see it clearly in this plan view render
And as with the previous one you are looking right at “it” here……………………..

Correct!  As the close readers will have known since they read the sub title, they are working on the L-shaped settee that wraps around our multi function table.
This is the beginning of the seat back wall that sets up against the Starboard/Right hull windows.  The cut out is for an access hatch to the large volume behind this wall where the side deck frames sit.
Our Master Craftsman and Cabinetry Captain Omur continues to amaze with his execution of the large radius corners we designed into every exposed corner of the cabinetry.
And my infamous “blue horizon line” continues to run through this seating area as well, seen here on what will be the top surface of this upside down seat cabinet…………..
……… like this.
Even more breathtaking for me in this shot of the longer seat that runs under the windows.
The devil and the delight is in the details right?  A bit hard to make out but this confluence of transitions is masterful where all the different radius edges meld and merge vertically and horizontally here where the seat bottom, horizon line and end wall all intersect.
Many of you have asked about the “biscuit joints” being used to glue two or more pieces of the cabinetry together with a super strong joint with all its pieces perfectly aligned.  So here is a short sequence showing how this is done.
A special power tool with a circular carbide blade cuts these slots along the faces to be glued together and glue is inserted into them
A rugby/football shaped “biscuit” which is made from highly compressed wood is inserted in each slot.
Then the second board which has matching slots is set in place with no choice but to be perfectly aligned.
While it awaits being clamped tightly while the glue dries.  A carpentry version of KISS; simple, smart, quick and accurate.  What’s not to like?
Selim has built a level platform for test fitting all the settee components and making sure everything fits and measures just right before they are taken for their fitting onboard.
He is always reluctant to stop long enough for me to get a shot of him but I succeeded here in having Omur show how the simple access panels in the seats work, no hinges or hardware required.
Turning the tables, Omur and Yesim insisted that this other model standing around doing nothing should pose to show how this area will also serve as a bed, either single like this or full size when the pedestal supporting the table is pushed down.
All the cabinetry is being build in modules so the can be easily moved onboard so the settee seat bases are on the right here while Omur and Selim prepare the back wall panels, one against the Galley cabinets and the other off to the far left below the SuperSalon windows.
All cabinets rest upon the carefully leveled white foundation boards and you can see how this works for these settee cabinets.
Last photo for this week, this long view looking aft shows the proportions of the whole Galley and Settee cabinetry.
Whew!  Like I said at the beginning the intensity picks up several notches each week as the launch date gets closer and this “brief” overview of this week’s progress shows that very clearly.

And thank all of you for your intensity at getting through all these lengthy updates.  As with the build itself this blog is very much a labour of love and I’m humbled and delighted that you have once again take the time and energy to make it to the end of yet another Weekly Progress Update from Mobius.World.

Thanks!  And please keep sending in your comments, questions and ideas in the “Join the Discussion” box below.

It is late Sunday night over here in Antalya so I’m off to get a wee bit of sleep before it is time to head back to the shipyard.  I will be back with next week’s update so do stay tuned.

-Wayne