First week of July and the summer weather has definately arrived as we see day time highs almost hitting 40C/105F yesterday however progress continues unabated inside Naval Yachts so I’ve got lots to show you this week and let’s get started.
Over the past few weeks you’ve been seeing the fabrication of the Dorade Vent Boxes that will bring lots of fresh breezes into our Master Cabin and this week they finished welding up the actual Dorade Boxes which will next be welded to the decks. These Dorade Boxes surround the 120mm/ 4 3/4” standpipes going through the deck plate that bring air only into the Cabin and leave any water to drain out through scuppers/slots that will be cut into the bottom edge of these Dorade Boxes.
As per the title of this week’s Progress Update more and more holes seem to be showing up all over the place. All very much by design of course so let’s go check on some of these purposeful holes. In previous weeks you may remember seeing the big 300mm / 12” holes that were cut through both side of the hull up near the bow for the bow thruster tunnel and this week those big holes gained two smaller ones just aft of where the concave fairing plates have been welded in.
Those new 60mm / 2.5” holes will have these two thick walled aluminium tubes welded inside and out …. ….. to create the In/Out Sea Chests up inside the Forepeak.
For those not familiar with them Sea Chests are how we create a ready supply of sea water inside the boat and an exit for putting Black, Gray and salt water out of the boat. We need a sea water supply for things like the watermaker, engine heat exchangers, salt water desk wash down hoses and sea water fire hoses. Then we need exiting Sea Chests for moving Black, Grey and salt water back out of the boat. Rather than have individual through hull “holes” all over the hull the Sea Chest tubes are eXtremely strong being welded through both sides of the hull and thus very safe and easy to plumb. Each supply or return hose ends with a ball valve threaded into the Sea Chest tube.
With the Sea Chest tubes tacked in place the 15mm / 5/8” thick Bow Thruster tube quickly had its angled ends cut off with the plasma gun to conform to the angled sides of the 15mm / 5/8” hull plates. And the Bow Thruster tube was soon tacked in place and the whole bow area is now all ready for Sezgin’s magic MIG gun to come along and lay down all the multiple fillets of deep penetrating welds inside and out. Here is how it all looks inside the Forepeak. The 220kgf Vetus Bow Thruster will be angled back towards the bottom of this photo so that it stays below the floor plates that will cover this bay and the one forward.
The Port/Left Sea Chest takes Black/Gray Water out from the Master Cabin Head, shower and sinks and the Washing machine. The Intake Sea Chest on the Starboard/Right side is for the salt water anchor washdown nozzle, deck wash and forward fire hose.
This is the view looking straight down the Port Sea Chest tube and as with all the other Sea Chests, 5 in total, there will be a thick clear Lexan cover plate bolted to this flange so you can easily see what’s going on inside these tubes. These covers sit about 500mm / 20” above the water line so they can safely be removed when in the water and underway and they will also have a threaded plug in them so you can push out any debris that might get in and clog these tubes. This is the other Sea Chest that made its appearance and corresponding hole in the hull this week. As you can see we have located this 120mm / 5” exiting Sea Chest just inside the lower corner of the Coffer Dam for the active stabilisers which are down in the Basement area. This Exit Sea Chest takes out Black & Gray water from the Guest Cabin head, shower and sinks as well as the Galley sink above.
The angled plate surrounding it provides the flat sealing surface for the gasket and lid that will be bolted overtop of the Coffer Dam.
Looking up while we are down in the Basement reveals more of the “superhighway” on the ceiling with the addition of more perforated aluminium trays that will soon be filled with AC and DC wiring and hoses.
Hilmi our electrical wizard is adjusting his riveting tool to secure more trays to the ceiling and walls as he gears up for putting in the miles and miles of wires that carry all the electrons to their just right place at just the right time. Above his head you can see two of the penetration pipes where wires will run up into the SuperSalon area and then these will be filled with special foam to keep the Basement watertight. Moving forward into the Master Cabin we find more of Hilmi’s work as he puts in the big DC cables for the Windlass and the Kedging Winch on the Foredeck. A good example of how well these perorated aluminium trays work to keep everything in them neatly organized and securely fastened. These cables carry 2.4kw each (100Amps @ 24V) so we twist them to cancel out most of the magnetic fields that surround them when this much current if flowing. To further assist with keeping this flux and “noise” out of more sensitive cables we run all the data cables in cable trays on the opposite side of the hull. Leaving the shipyard and walking next door to the Cabinetry Shop, we find part of the Whole New Look referenced in this week’s title as Omur and Selim have been hard at work on the cabinets and wardrobes which run along the Starboard/Right side of the Master Cabin. Last week we say this large bureau of drawers and 3D Möbius Strip sculpture space being assembled and the photo above is the start of the wardrobes that continue to the left. This is an upside down view of the base foundation for this bank of wardrobes and closets. The slot on the right is for the LED strip lights which will provide just the right amount of indirect lighting on the floor for those quick trips to the Head in the middle of the night. Everywhere there is a vertical corner we put in these large 50mm / 2” radius solid Rosewood corner pieces for safety, durability and a great look, though I may be a wee bit biased? Then there is this rabbet on the other side to create the jamb for the closet door to close flush into. These are the vertical dividers that will separate the different wardrobes and cabinets. And the assembly begins. Hakan on the left is responsible for all the detailed CAD drawings for the interior so he and Omur are in constant contact throughout the build to work out the details for these very custom cabinets. Being the first of the XPM boats to be built everything is new and we are designing most of the details as we go. Stepping back a bit to show you all three cabinets so far; the bureau of drawers in the back left behind Hakan, the new set of wardrobes on the right and the first full wardrobe that is laying on its side over on the far right. One of the best examples of the kinds of details we have developed is what’s behind these cut outs you may have been wondering about. The cut outs create the recess for this multi-purpose assembly. One of its primary functions is a constant hand hold about 1m above floor level around most of the boat’s interior. The grove in the upper segment is for LED indirect lighting which also illuminates the “Horizon Line” of an aquamarine coloured 2mm thick epoxy strip that is set into the shallow vertical dado in the back. The upper and lower flat surfaces form the faces for the tops and bottoms of the doors to close against.
Omur is dry fitting the Horizon Line assembly into the frames. Then the solid Rosewood handrail is set in place. This is how the handrail provides a just right and easy molded for your fingers to grip. Here is how the bottom half looks. The shelves are just temporarily held in place and will have adjustable stops let into the sides to enable multiple choices and changes of shelf sizes over time. The overall cabinet now takes shape. Below the Horizon Line all the doors will be Rosewood and above they will all be finished with a gray leather.
The upper cabinet on the left is for a standard sized Bosch washing machine and one to the right of it is for a matching Dryer. The two wardrobes on the far right are for hanging clothes and then all the shelves below are for other clothes, shoes, etc.. With the cabinets all dry fitted Omur gets started on building the doors. These 12mm / 1/2” marine plywood frames will have those two cavities filled with rigid foam and then both sized will have multiple layers laminated on top with solid Rosewood edging around all sides. This results in doors which are beautiful, rigid, dimensionally stable and light. Who could ask for more?
Not much time for video shots this week but here is a quick one of what I was able to grab.
And that’s almost all for this week but stay tuned for a special edition of these weekly progress updates that I’m about to create to give you a sneak peek of the other parts of the interior of XPM78-01 Möbius.
Thanks so much for joining us on this grand adventure and be sure to let us know your questions, ideas and suggestions in the “Join the Discussion” box below.
Thanks Elton. I always think of you every time I post a new blog wondering how many minutes it will take for our most faithful follower to read and comment. Sure appreciate you joining us for this awemazing adventure and look forward to the time we get to host you onboard when we get over to your side of the world.
At this point in construction there are three words that scream at me, maintenance, maintenance and maintenance. I see nook and cranny and materials and complex shapes and and and
Hi John, thanks for stopping by. You’ve got me scratching my head on this comment though and I would appreciate your help in understanding more details or examples causing your alarm for “maintenance, maintenance, maintenance”? As the only two people who look after ALL the maintenance on our boats I can assure you that keeping our boats as low maintenance as possible is one of our top priorities and is factored into EVERY decision we make.
Not sure where all the “nooks and crannies” and “complex shapes” are that you are seeing? To the best of my abilities and each situation, everything we’ve designed is smooth surfaced, well radiused, easily accessible so I’m not seeing what you are apparently. Perhaps the recessed Rosewood handholds are concerning you? However again very simple well radiused shapes which may well collect some dust over time but whose PU covered surfaces are easily wiped clean. Even if that were not the case the dramatically increased safety factor these ubiquitous handholds provide, especially for children and shorter adults, far outweighs any inconvenience of needing to be wiped clean once in awhile.
“materials”? Nothing but unpainted aluminium on the exterior, no paint, no wood, no stainless so hard pressed to see how this exterior is not one of the most low maintenance of any boat I know of? Interior surfaces are all wood, glass, unpainted aluminium or leather which have all been selected with low maintenance in mind to be easily cleaned, not attract dirt/dust etc.
So I am genuinely curious and anxious to know what brings you to such an opposite conclusion from mine that this boat’s design and material selection is creating a high maintenance boat? Very much looking forward to understanding your concerns better John and discussing this more with you.
Those dorade vent boxes are works of art. Beautifully engineered and made.
Sometimes when we are in port or at anchor we open hatches and doors for ventilation. If the breeze is light, and on a warm day, the air doesn’t move through the boat very well.
Have you considered installing a “whole house fan” to promote interior ventilation? I am thinking of something that would work like a residential attic fan. Or maybe more than one , but smaller. Install where noise from the fan(s) would be minimal. Flow through the boat could be controlled by opening /closing hatches and doors.
This might be a good system to have on those days where the weather is warmer but you don’t want to run the A/C.
Thanks for the kind comments George and glad you liked the Dorade Vents.
As you’d know the general principles of dorade vents are pretty straight forward but as usual the devil is in the details and so Christine, Dennis and I have spent a good bit of time trying to get them just right for our use case and the location of each of the Dorade Vents on Möbius. We too have been on boats in anchorages such as you describe when the air doesn’t circulate well and so even more often the case when we are on passages or in very inclement weather situations which preclude you having hatches and doors open for ventilation. Not a pleasant environment and with our fundamental principles being Safety, Comfort, Durability, Efficiency and Low Maintenance, we have in many ways started by designing the overall HVAC system (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) and then designing the rest of the boat around it. This is where the Dorade Vents really shine as they can be left wide open in all but the roughest of conditions and keep that much needed flow of air going.
Christine has had a lot of experience on her previous boats and she had the very “good problem” with them providing too much air into the cabins so they were always needing to throttle them down or turn them off all together. In our design we will have an adjustable cap on the top of the duct tube sticking up inside the Dorade Box on deck and coming down through the diffuser in the ceiling inside. This enables us to adjust the volume of air that can pass through the duct pipe or close it off completely. The ceiling mounted diffusers prevent the incoming air from blasting down on top of your head and instead disperse it out at multiple angles to “diffuse” the fresh air into the room and have it travel to the exits more evenly.
In conditions where all this passive ventilation isn’t enough to keep us comfy we have indeed what you suggested with a “whole hose fan” with multiple extraction fans strategically located around the boat. There are two large ones for example in the upper aft outboard corners of the SuperSalon which can be turned on if the air needs some help moving from the ten ceiling mounted air diffusers over the Main Helm and center of the SuperSalon to the exit vents aft. There are several other locations where we can actively assist the air flow in or out of the boat using fans and we have positioned these strategically in locations and on mounts that help keep them eXtremely quiet. We also size these larger than needed so we can run them slower and more efficiently where they emit even less noise to the point of not being heard at all in most cases.
We also designed the Aft Deck area around the WT door leading in/out of the SuperSalon to be fully protected from weather by extending the two “wings” of the aft windows on both sides and having the aluminium roof overtop of the Vent Boxes/Outdoor Galley area. By doing so we think that this door can be left open in all but the worst weather and be an eXtremely large “extraction vent” that is working almost all the time to keep the air flow moving fore to aft.
Like you it sounds we MUCH prefer to have natural air circulation rather than AC whenever we can and the key is to have great air movement flowing over you at all times. We have spent a lot of years sailing many of the most tropical areas of the world and find that as long as we can have lots of air flowing over us we are very comfortable and in our element. Not knocking AC and it is another aspect of our overall HVAC design that helps us maintain our priority of Comfort aboard in all conditions, seasons and locations.
Thanks again for your thoughtful comments and please do keep them coming as you think of them.
Fascinating as always! 🙂
Thanks Elton. I always think of you every time I post a new blog wondering how many minutes it will take for our most faithful follower to read and comment. Sure appreciate you joining us for this awemazing adventure and look forward to the time we get to host you onboard when we get over to your side of the world.
At this point in construction there are three words that scream at me, maintenance, maintenance and maintenance.
I see nook and cranny and materials and complex shapes and and and
Hi John, thanks for stopping by. You’ve got me scratching my head on this comment though and I would appreciate your help in understanding more details or examples causing your alarm for “maintenance, maintenance, maintenance”? As the only two people who look after ALL the maintenance on our boats I can assure you that keeping our boats as low maintenance as possible is one of our top priorities and is factored into EVERY decision we make.
Not sure where all the “nooks and crannies” and “complex shapes” are that you are seeing? To the best of my abilities and each situation, everything we’ve designed is smooth surfaced, well radiused, easily accessible so I’m not seeing what you are apparently. Perhaps the recessed Rosewood handholds are concerning you? However again very simple well radiused shapes which may well collect some dust over time but whose PU covered surfaces are easily wiped clean. Even if that were not the case the dramatically increased safety factor these ubiquitous handholds provide, especially for children and shorter adults, far outweighs any inconvenience of needing to be wiped clean once in awhile.
“materials”? Nothing but unpainted aluminium on the exterior, no paint, no wood, no stainless so hard pressed to see how this exterior is not one of the most low maintenance of any boat I know of? Interior surfaces are all wood, glass, unpainted aluminium or leather which have all been selected with low maintenance in mind to be easily cleaned, not attract dirt/dust etc.
So I am genuinely curious and anxious to know what brings you to such an opposite conclusion from mine that this boat’s design and material selection is creating a high maintenance boat? Very much looking forward to understanding your concerns better John and discussing this more with you.
Thanks,
Wayne
Those dorade vent boxes are works of art. Beautifully engineered and made.
Sometimes when we are in port or at anchor we open hatches and doors for ventilation. If the breeze is light, and on a warm day, the air doesn’t move through the boat very well.
Have you considered installing a “whole house fan” to promote interior ventilation? I am thinking of something that would work like a residential attic fan. Or maybe more than one , but smaller. Install where noise from the fan(s) would be minimal. Flow through the boat could be controlled by opening /closing hatches and doors.
This might be a good system to have on those days where the weather is warmer but you don’t want to run the A/C.
Thanks for the kind comments George and glad you liked the Dorade Vents.
As you’d know the general principles of dorade vents are pretty straight forward but as usual the devil is in the details and so Christine, Dennis and I have spent a good bit of time trying to get them just right for our use case and the location of each of the Dorade Vents on Möbius. We too have been on boats in anchorages such as you describe when the air doesn’t circulate well and so even more often the case when we are on passages or in very inclement weather situations which preclude you having hatches and doors open for ventilation. Not a pleasant environment and with our fundamental principles being Safety, Comfort, Durability, Efficiency and Low Maintenance, we have in many ways started by designing the overall HVAC system (Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning) and then designing the rest of the boat around it. This is where the Dorade Vents really shine as they can be left wide open in all but the roughest of conditions and keep that much needed flow of air going.
Christine has had a lot of experience on her previous boats and she had the very “good problem” with them providing too much air into the cabins so they were always needing to throttle them down or turn them off all together. In our design we will have an adjustable cap on the top of the duct tube sticking up inside the Dorade Box on deck and coming down through the diffuser in the ceiling inside. This enables us to adjust the volume of air that can pass through the duct pipe or close it off completely. The ceiling mounted diffusers prevent the incoming air from blasting down on top of your head and instead disperse it out at multiple angles to “diffuse” the fresh air into the room and have it travel to the exits more evenly.
In conditions where all this passive ventilation isn’t enough to keep us comfy we have indeed what you suggested with a “whole hose fan” with multiple extraction fans strategically located around the boat. There are two large ones for example in the upper aft outboard corners of the SuperSalon which can be turned on if the air needs some help moving from the ten ceiling mounted air diffusers over the Main Helm and center of the SuperSalon to the exit vents aft. There are several other locations where we can actively assist the air flow in or out of the boat using fans and we have positioned these strategically in locations and on mounts that help keep them eXtremely quiet. We also size these larger than needed so we can run them slower and more efficiently where they emit even less noise to the point of not being heard at all in most cases.
We also designed the Aft Deck area around the WT door leading in/out of the SuperSalon to be fully protected from weather by extending the two “wings” of the aft windows on both sides and having the aluminium roof overtop of the Vent Boxes/Outdoor Galley area. By doing so we think that this door can be left open in all but the worst weather and be an eXtremely large “extraction vent” that is working almost all the time to keep the air flow moving fore to aft.
Like you it sounds we MUCH prefer to have natural air circulation rather than AC whenever we can and the key is to have great air movement flowing over you at all times. We have spent a lot of years sailing many of the most tropical areas of the world and find that as long as we can have lots of air flowing over us we are very comfortable and in our element. Not knocking AC and it is another aspect of our overall HVAC design that helps us maintain our priority of Comfort aboard in all conditions, seasons and locations.
Thanks again for your thoughtful comments and please do keep them coming as you think of them.
Wayne