Most of the visible changes this week of July 23-27, 2018 took place up at the bow though there was also lots of work going on inside as more of the thick hull plates on the bottom of the hull (currently the top in its upside down position) were pulled tight against the framework and tacked in welded in place.  Weather here cooled off nicely at the beginning of the week and temps are down to the mid 30’s during the day and dipping into the high 20’s a few nights so makes for very pleasant weather for our early morning workouts and sundowners out on the porch and pool at our apartment.  But things continue to go hot and heavy with Team Möbius as Project Goldilocks continues to make great progress so let’s get to showing you that now.

IMG_20180724_132949With the title providing some clues can you guess what this is??


IMG_20180725_101444Does this help?


PGL sketch 35How about this?

That’s right, this is Möbius’ nose cone!  Or at least that’s what we are calling it. 


Anchor Deck looking aftA few more clips from the Rhino model to bring this all into focus before I take you through the real thing.  This clip off the model looking at the front Port side.  Nose cone in blue.


Anchor Deck looking fwdHere is what it will look like when you are standing up on the anchor deck area.

You can see how the deck in this area is recessed and angled steeply as it goes forward to the nose cone which serves two purposes; a strong centered fair lead for the nylon snubber line to travel though from the Samson post out to the anchor chain and to provide a good drain for all the water and muck rinsed off the chain as the anchor comes aboard.


DJI_20180724_172436The nose cone started out as a 300mm/12” diameter cylinder of solid aluminium which was first bored out to an inner diameter of 120mm/5” and then machined to taper out to a diameter of about 150mm/6” at each end.


IMG_20180724_132949This created a very smooth curve on the inside a bit like the inside flared end of a trumpet with large radius blends around the outer ends to provide a very smooth surface for the nylon snubber line to bear against as it stretches in and out while we are on anchor. 


IMG_20180724_132943As you may recall from a previous post the snubber line acts as a shock absorber as the boat tugs against the anchor with wind and waves thanks to the stretchy characteristic of 3 strand nylon line. 


IMG_20180725_101502We spend the majority of our life aboard at anchor so this is a very important feature we use almost every day and night.  The snubber line also eliminates the rattle of the anchor chain in the bow roller as it is isolated from the boat by this length of nylon line.

My hand will give you a sense of scale.


IMG_20180725_101436Burak pulled some 2D templates off the 3D model which Uğur and the team used to trace the complex curves where the surrounding plates support the nose cone and it was soon tacked in place.


IMG_20180725_101508If you look closely (click to enlarge) you can see how the snubber line has a nice straight line through the middle of the nose cone to the Samson post it is tied off on.


IMG_20180725_140651Once everything is all lined up and tacked, Sezgin is called in to do the continuous welding


IMG_20180725_140704

With all the welding finished on the inside this large collision bulkhead,,


IMG_20180726_102503 the Starboard hull plate can now be fitted.  The Port side has already been fully plated so there is no access to the inside to weld this Stbd plate so these rows of slots have been cut to expose the underlying flat bar like the one you can see here running parallel to the upper edge of the hull plate. 


IMG_20180726_134041The hull plate is checked for precise position and then tack welded through the slots.


IMG_20180727_102041A length of flat bar is tacked to along the upper edge of this first plate to keep that edge perfectly straight when the next 10mm hull plate is welded where they butt together.


IMG_20180727_125858The 10mm plate is soon all tacked in place and ready for the final 15mm / 5/8” thick “ice plate” is welded in place to complete the bow plating.


Wayne   Ugur checking bow plateWhat is this guy doing over on the Starboard side of the bow?  That upper 15mm plate wasn’t quite up tight against the underlying flat bars under those slots so Uğur and I where deciding how best to pull the plate in tight before it was welded.  A U shaped bridge made out of thick aluminium plate was welded to the 25mm Stem Bar up top and the 15mm plate below so that a hydraulic jack could push the bow plate the last few mm to be tight against the flat bar and it was soon tacked to stay there.


IMG_20180727_102155Meanwhile over on the middle section of the Port side Enver and Umit have been working on getting the 12mm plate carefully fitted in place and tacked to the inner framework. 


IMG_20180726_102850These thicker plates with their complex 3D curves require careful work to trim them to fit just right with no gaps where their edges butt together and their inner curved surfaces are laying tight against the frames.  All in a days work for talented and persistent Team Möbius. 


IMG_20180726_102734Next week the attention will shift to the Starboard side plating some of which you see here with their edges all nicely beveled in preparation for being welded together.


DJI_20180724_104333Mehmet is a true worker bee as he works non stop to clean up all the tack welds with wire wheels and rotary bits prior to Sezgin coming along and laying down the final welds which Mehmet then needs to thoroughly clean again for their final finish.


DJI_20180724_104236Throughout the week the humm and crackle of the MIG welder is our ever present background music as Sezgin welds and welds and welds.


IMG_20180727_204218Not to be outdone by the work of mere mortals, Mother Nature topped off our busy and productive week with flair and Christine and I had the perfect view from the balcony of our nearby 9th story apartment for the truly awemazing sight of the total eclipse creating this extremely rare blood moon.


And so another week has zipped by and here is the time lapse video summary for you to enjoy.