A bit of a slower week as the move to the new Naval Yachts shipyard continues as we are now in the midst of the most disruptive phase; moving the people!  Moving the boats was relatively quick and easy but moving all the staff along with all our computers, monitors, desks, chairs, printers, has been taking much more time.  However such disruption hasn’t prevented some very significant progress onboard Möbius, most of which was all up front at the bow this week.  Let’s go take a look shall we.

IMG_20181204_103056My Main Man Uğur is fitting the final piece of hull plating, this fully curved plate around what we refer to as Möbius’ Nose, where our snubber line or tow line will go.  This curved plate has to make a very challenging transition from a single point down at the bottom where it joins into the beefy 25mm thick keel or stem bar and then flares out and up a it connects with the top deck surface and wraps around the protruding “nostril” of the nose cone.
IMG_20181205_111308Here is that full frontal shot promised in the title so you can see how the vertical transition works.
IMG_20181206_104025Here is a good look at the business end of Möbius and what the breezes in the anchorage will see as they come aboard and head for the vents in the Pilot House overhangs to keep a nice breeze flowing through all the Cabins and the SuperSalon.
IMG_20181205_111320Sezgin made short work of laying down all the final welds and in doing so completed all the hull plating.  Still lots of other details to work on such as hatches, SkyBridge roof, arch and more but the hull itself is now fully plated and we now move on to completing the rest of the aluminium “hotworks”.
IMG_20181206_103646One example of the more detailed work now going on inside the hull is seen here inside the forepeak storage area.  Watertight Bulkhead and Frame #1 you see as the “wall” at the far end of this photo is 1 meter aft of that beautiful nose cone above and this area from the bow to this bulkhead is completely welded shut to act as a completely sealed “crash compartment” should we ever hit or be hit by something big and hard right at the bow. 

The huge thick stem bar would take the brunt of such contact but if such unlikely contact was severe enough to puncture the 15mm / 5/8” hull plating in this bow section and 6 meters aft, then this crash compartment would be all that was breached and not allow any water into the boat itself.

IMG_20181206_103715Moving forward and standing on Frame #2 looking straight down will give you a sense of scale of the framing in this bow area. 

Another detail you see here is the pipe that has been welded along the edges of the scalloped longitudinal stringers that run down the entire length of the hull and are spaced about 200mm/8” apart. 


The pipe eases these edges in areas like this where it would be possible to be thrown against them in heavy seas and the scallops provide handholds everywhere which double as perfect places to tie down fenders, lines and other items that we want to store here in this very large Forepeak area.


IMG_20181206_103749The inside of this Forepeak Storage area is difficult to photograph but here I am standing with my back against that Bulkhead/Frame #1 you see above and looking aft towards the next WT Bulkhead at Frame #4. 


The large void front and center of this shot will soon be fitted wtih the 300mm/12” diameter tube for the Bow Thruster and the two tank access ports you see behind this are for the Gray Water holding tanks in case we are ever in an area of the world that requires us to capture and hold all the water from our sinks and showers.


IMG_20181206_103740Looking up a bit will give you a better sense of how large this area is and the great headroom available which is about 220cm/7.2ft so no danger of hitting your head in here.  The forepeak is 3 metres/10’ long overall so this is a very big space to keep all the gear we need up front such as dock lines, fenders and such.  Other parts of this volume will be used for a large black water (sewage” tank that will go in the upper right corner of this photo. 


Looking over to the upper left corner above you can see the large access hatch opening and that work light is doing a good job of highlighting how those same pipe crowned stringers create the perfect set of steps for getting in and out of the forepeak with great foot and hand holds all the way down.


IMG_20181206_103258Moving aft to the other side of that Bulkhead/Frame #4 puts us into this much more spacious area which runs from Frame #4 to Frame #9 so 5m/16.4ft long as the hull quickly widens out as it moves aft to give us a fabulous Master Cabin. 
The Head/toilet and shower will be on the left with the washer, dryer and a hanging locker on the right with a sink and vanity against the bulkhead in between.  Our Queen bed will be in the lower left in this photo and the stairs up to the SuperSalon are behind me to the right of this shot.


IMG_20181208_121924Popping out of Möbius and up to the top of the bow of mv Legacy I snapped this quick birds eye view of Möbius that will give you more of a sense of her slender girlish figure that will help her slice through waves and glide through nautical miles of Mother Ocean with maximum efficiency.

IMG_20181208_120541Back down on the ground and moving inside the new Naval shipyard offices here is a quick glimpse of one of the more than 20 office spaces in this beautiful new building.
IMG_20181208_120517Just outside the office above is the main door and reception area and you can see that work is still progressing on finishing off the interior with lights, fittings and floors but it is a wonderful new space for all of us to get even more work done on all these awemazing boats that Naval Yachts is creating.
IMG_20181208_121403And I will leave you with a mystery question this week with this peek of the latest bundle of materials that just showed up alongside Möbius.
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Can you guess what this tubing rectangular and round will soon become?


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Or this nest of aluminium elbows trying to burst free?

Put your guesses in the “Join the Discussion” box below and then be sure to tune in next week to find out if you were right?!