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.

– Wayne