After 70 hours and 38 minutes we’re tied up safely at the Cruising Yacht Club in Sydney Harbour! What started as a hairy trip to Eden then turned in to quite a comfortable journey into Sydney. Over the trip we averaged 5.4kn, hitting a max of 14.7kn! Going against the tides at stages meant the 374.8nm… Read More: Hello Sydney! »
After a very uncomfortable overnighter from Lakes Entrance to Eden, but we are now in flat water and calm seas. At this pace maybe only 24 hours from Sydney heads. Bickies and cheese passing Conran, autopilot doing all the work. One reef in for the night as a precaution. Turned out to be a very… Read More: 24 hours from Sydney »
Bossa Nova is heading north … very soon. Lots of planning happening now (we are good at planning … and lists). Three years building our Fusion, 18 months of ‘playing’, 12 months of building a new home (yes, we are crazy), now its time to head north and find some sunny weather. We recently met… Read More: Going North »
I suppose the video tells half the story, so I wil try and fill in the blanks. This trip had been long anticipated and very much planned for. We had selected Glen from Oversize Transport Service to do the job and what a good choice that turned out to be. From the moment he… Read More: Talk About A Road Trip! »
While the momentum seems to have wavered lately due to work commitments getting in the way, we are hoping we have picked it up again this last week. With rig here now and all other parts, it’s back to us. The weather is crappy with an excessive amount of rain over the last few weeks,… Read More: Few ‘little’ jobs »
Doors … what a royal PAIN!! I think today was taken up with doors and only doors … do they fit, will they shut properly, do they hit the bench, do they hit the bench when the handle is down, does the handle stick out too far, shit … the light switch is behind the… Read More: Doors … !!!!!! »
Our floors inside are nearly complete. The galley and our starboard steps are happening as I type. After a hectic few days tracking down some silver ash we are back on track. Lesson learned … order plenty in the first place! The cockpit ice-box is ready for some ‘coving’ (Amanda’s forte) and then some floor… Read More: Timber … »
We have designed vinyl trims that cover the gap between the overhead ply vinyl panels and hull fibreglass … and they work! The concern was that we needed them to be removable because various bolts are under them. Must always plan for leaks! So using ‘decorative’ stainless bolts, making them a feature, we have attached… Read More: Trims & icebox »
How exciting!…We actually started the motors today. With plastic tubs to represent the water we hope to float on, and 20 litres of fuel in each tank the man from Yanmar hit the key and the port motor immediately roared into life. a few nervous moments and a bit of priming saw the cooling water… Read More: Vrooom ….. »
I guess the only way to reduce the long long list of things still to do is to put in the hours…. and hours… and hours! The teak floor is progressing through the boat with the bathroom, both midship areas and half the lounge substantially done. The bandsaw you can see in the cockpit really… Read More: Long days … and nights! »
So much to wire up, so little time … I have just spent the weekend roughing in most (not all) of the wiring for the fourteen pumps, six tank senders, fifty odd light fittings and numerous other items such as the anchor winch that arrived this week. Even that included the need for heavy cable… Read More: The detail … »
There is a standard routine in our house when Multihull World arrives. Amanda leaves it on the kitchen bench and once I get my nose in it she gets no sense out of me for an hour or two. ( I always have to read the best bits twice!) This month was different. I tried… Read More: Our Multihull World article »
Perhaps it may be difficult to imagine anyone getting so excited about our first flushing toilet on Bossa Nova but it is also hard to imagine how much work went into getting it fitted and making it work, suffice to say the first working action of this Raritan unit was special and we are ‘flushed”… Read More: A flush beats a full house! »
We reached a milestone today with all interior fiberglass work completed … Whew!! A big few days from our fairing man Mick with Amanda taping and masking ahead of him to keep him on track. This afternoon she finally put the green tape away, removed the last of the brown paper to the bin and… Read More: A milestone reached today … »
You may be wondering where we’ve gone but we’re still here! The devil, as they say is in the detail. The wine rack is finally cut out in black perspex and ready to fit just as soon as the dust stops (you’ll have to wait that pic). Our ‘glove box’ style cubby holes under the… Read More: Still here! »
“Nearly” is a BIG word in boat building. “Finished” is a BIGGER word in boat building! Lots of jobs are “nearly” finished, including our windows. They are a bugger to fit. Placing them, wanting the same gaps between & deep, all rather tricky. As is applying the black Simsons with caulking between. All front windows… Read More: Windows … nearly … finished! »
Easter has arrived. The pictures tell the story, as they often do. We have finally fitted the link to the linear drive motor for the autopilot thanks to my brother John, who built a new one because the Lewmar part was too fat and wouldn’t fit. You can also see the rudder reference gadget which… Read More: Easter 2012 … 16 months on … »
Our internal door frames have arrived! Anodized aluminium complete with trim rings which we hope will look really classy! They should be a lot less work also but there will be a tedious bit of fibreglass adjustment required. Most of the bulkheads are now trimmed out but some of the adjoining furniture needs to be… Read More: Port Hull Update … »
There’s so many confined spaces on a boat. Squeezing in to the cockpit stern seats to complete the fibreglass and then flow-coat, accessing the tall cupboards with only one arm fitting through the opening to flow-coat while trying not to paint the rubber hoses and then watching Neville build the gas bottle shelf in the… Read More: Rubber Man! »
Sunday is clean-up day, the cockpit the target. With acetone, a new yellow gunk (can’t remember its name) and even a toothbrush, Amanda washed, scrubbed, re-scrubbed and used her toothbrush to restore the whiteness to our very messy cockpit. I remember when we bought our Seawind noticing a toothbrush with the cleaning implements … I… Read More: Toothbrushes … »
After MUCH research we decided on Raritan toilets. Our first one has arrived and fits perfectly in the two spaces we have. We visited the Sydney Boat Show with a paper template of the two spaces we had hoping to make a final decision. Number one, it had to fit both spaces (we did not… Read More: Our first loo … »
Noticed our last post was dated 28/11/11, just on one month ago. It has been a slow month for boat building as real work has got in the way in December. Our work is always busy in December so totally expected AND we do have to pay for this boat! Still lots of conversations, planning… Read More: Windows and Doors »
You would be forgiven for thinking I am in costume! Unfortunately this is a costume that every fibreglass boat builder wears from time to time. It’s also the one that doesn’t appear in the article telling you what a fabulous experience building your own boat is! Never mind, it was taken just after I trimmed… Read More: Is it Halloween? »
It all started because the motors were here, due to a price agreement 12 months ago. Then a good friend, Tony Borrell, offered to help fit one. How could we refuse? After all, we can always wrap it in gladwrap, and it does help to organize mountings for filters, strainers, exhausts, hot water and so… Read More: We Have A Motor! »
We have purchased an Isotherm 40 litre hot water service with dual heating coils as we intend to heat the water by engine, but also by means of a small Webasto diesel heater which will also power heaters in the main saloon as well as both forward cabins. This will avoid the need to run… Read More: Not in hot water … yet! »
Very exciting …. motors have arrived! 29hp Yanmars, saildrive legs and Gori three bladed props. Now I just have to work out how to fit them! You can go to bigger motors but considering weight, fuel economy and cost I couldn’t really see the point. These should push it near to hull speed anyway and… Read More: Motors have arrived! »
All the big bits of furniture are largely in place now except for the two sections inside each side of the doorway. I am waiting for the doorway to arrive before glassing those two in so I get them in the correct place in relation to opening the doors, as these doors will be opening… Read More: From little things big things grow …. »
Recent fine weather has been ideal for further engine bay work. A floor surround around the engine beds now provides a flat floor and directs any water to the sump under the engine sump where a bilge pump will soon be fitted. We have opted for cable steering and have fitted both rudder quadrants and… Read More: Always something to do…… »
15 days in … What a wild ride! The pace is fast and furious. Tom left for Mackay today as the kit is substantially finished and the fitout begins. Already we have installed fibreglass moulded modules for the forward and rear bathrooms, one of the forward bedrooms and a few other bits and pieces. The… Read More: 15 days … »
Wow! What progress! Only seven days into actual construction and the images make it obvious that the progress has been extraordinary . Tom from Fusion Mackay has supervised the build and with Mike and myself as his eager helpers we have flown through the build to date. The weather has been absolutely ideal for glass… Read More: Day 7 … »
When I signed on to this thing I thought I would be building a boat not a shed! However it does seem to be part of the deal, and with me too scungy to rent a cherry-picker it means lots of high ladder and gantry work. Still we are only a day or so from… Read More: Prep nearly over … second container arriving any day! »
Wow! The moment when the first rack of moulded parts starts to emerge from the container has finally arrived and is actually quite moving, although it’s difficult to concentrate on being moved when you’re busy towing the racks onto a flimsy rack of pallets and chipboard then it decides to jam on a bolt someone… Read More: First Thai Container arrives »
Confirmed, we are kit #63, hopefully leaving Thailand mid November. Gearing up for a January start.
Our latest update from Fusion is that we are looking at our kit being finished November 19. Then we have the freight concern … will it be here by Christmas?! Watch this space! We were originally expecting our Fusion Kit early September, but due to setbacks at the Thailand factory because of the unrest in… Read More: Kit delayed … again! »
I suppose it may appear that all we have to do is wait but there does seem to be a million things to do in the mean time. We are busy accumulating tools of every description as well as consumables such as disposable gloves and ice-cream type containers (would you believe about 800 needed?). We… Read More: Preparation »