The temporary beams are out now, the shower and toilet is glassed, also the storage room behind, the work on the rudder has started, we work on the deck and the painters are fairing the hull outside. Some floorboards we glued in under the bunk, in the shower room and the storage room to fill them under with pour foam I ordered. This week was not easy because we had heavy rain nearly every day for hours.

I poured some two part foam into the bow sections and besides the rudder trunks, closed it with plywood and sealed it with filler and fiberglass at a level about 50cm above the waterline. There will be some space for spare ankers and anker ropes (third picture). I also filled the floorboard level under the bunk, the storage room and the shower and toilet room. The round cap you see in the first picture on the floor is one of the filling holes for the foam. Meanwhile the painters started to cover the outside with glassmat ,first layer, and woven glass ,second layer (second picture). Now is a time when a lot of small things have to be done and nearly no progress is visible compared to the first weeks when the big parts were glued together. We decided to finish as much as possible before decking what is easier and less hot when the wind can flow through the boat. Maybe we will even paint the inside before decking.

This is going to be a very beautiful proa! You are building it much faster than i´m building my models! Very impressive! Please post more pictures! I really enjoy this thread!

Johannes.

Today two month and one day have passed since we started building. During the first month we were almost three people, Him the boatbuilder I know for 17 years now (he built a boat for me then), one worker and me. Now for two weeks there are two painters here who work on the outside, fairing, applying filler and fiberglass and so on.
I made some pictures to show the state now:

First picture: Left side to windward. Seen from the toilet and shower room toward the sleeping cabin (bunk already with primer). Right lower corner a bit of the backrest of the seat, a locker (50 cm), navigation table (80 cm), locker with fridge (the closed square), locker with cooker (80 cm). Left side working on the bulkheads where the cockpit will be glued to, locker (50 cm), locker with sink (80 cm). Behind the doublebunk with locker under (vacuum cleaner inside). Lockers behind the bulkheads not visible.
Pitschi, the cat was here in the house I rent, left from the previous owner. She is very charming and lovely and talks a lot. We love each other so I will keep her.

Second picture: Seen from the other side. In the foreground the lockers in the cabin. The raised floor in front of the shower and toilet is necessary to get enough space between the seats. A folding table will be there.

Third picture: One side of the hull is glassed (one layer mat, one cloth) and smothed with filler (glass bubbles). It will be sanded and faired with filler one or two more times.

Alexander

Some details:
On the first picture you see the toilet and shower room from above. The round beam is the end of the deckhouse.In one of the rounded lockers a sink will be placed. The hole between (about 50 x 60 cm)will be covered with grating and take the shower water that will be pumped out with a small bilge pump. What you see down there is the hull side with the inner keel. Left side of it is the floor with foam under where the toilet will stand on. Left under corner is the storage room behind a bulkhead. Upper right corner is the raised floor between the seats.

In the center of the second picture is the bulkhead on which the cockpit will be fixed on. Two sheets of plywood, 5cm x 5cm frame between. To the left the ladder will be glued on, an opening cut out down to the upper of the two stringer as soon as both bulkheads are finished. To the right side of that bulkhead a locker (50 cm) and the locker with the sink.

Third picture: left side a triangular locker to get enough room to change cloth and move. The bunk and sides are primered, also the bookshelf. A varnished batten will be glued to it. Storage space under the bunks.

We filled nearly all space under the waterline (that is about the floorboards) with foam exept from the water tanks and the waterdrain in the shower room, a space where the batteries will be (under the raised floor between the seats) and a part under the bunk (about 50 cm each of the three). The space beside the rudder trunks and the bow section we filled to about 70 cm above the waterline. I can cut open a lot on a reef and she will still not sink.

I weighed her with a lever arm and actually without deck I came to 870 kg. This method is not precisely but the mainhull is at about or under 900 kg. That is about what I calculated.

Some more pictures for a lazy sunday afternoon:
The fridge is isolated with foam.As I could not find closed cell foam I made a 5 cm frame, laied it on the floor, poured 2 component foam into and covered it with a plastic and plywood. so I got my own foam I could cut. The next step will be to cover it inside with glass.
As you can see, the lockers are slightly bent to follow the edge between floor and hull. So I have a floor about 80 cm wide in the center of the boat and about 60 cm in the cabin.

As the doubled bulkheads are glued and screwed now I could cut the opening to the cockpit. I wanted to wait for the bulkheads because I thought the hull could bend slightly in that region when I cut it before. Now it is easier to climb aboard.

Saturday, end of the week. The “fore-” and “after-” deck are covered with plywood. The fridge is foamed and covered with glass and epoxy. All boards and lockers are made, the last ones awaiting painting. All deckbeams are in and we work on the stringers on the cabin roof. Meanwhile the painters sand the hull, put filler on, sand the hull, put filler on ......
On monday my wife will come for holidays. So we will leave for some relaxed days and I will post the next pictures when we will back. Have a nice time
Alexander

Its looking really good!

Thank you very much for posting all this pictures! Its great to follow this as you build your Proa.

Johannes.

Hello
After my holidays we worked the past week mainly on the deckhouse and the wood trim inside. We are actually only Him and me, the painters had to go for different reasons. Even when there are many people unemployed here, it is not easy to find good reliable staff.
There is not a lot more to say now, so look at the pictures.

And from inside.

Alexander,
looking very good - you area wizard with curved plywood!. The double curved cabin top will be fun!
We can realy start to appreciate the interior space, she looks very comfortable.

Regards
Mark

Hi Mark
Thanks for your comments. She already now feels comfortable with standing headroom and a wide floor. The cabin roof can not be made in double curved plywood, or I don’t know how. I will make it with stripes of plywood, sand it round and glass it.
Cheers Alexander

I too like the cabin roof lines. Thanks for posting all the build pictures - they are very interesting.

In the past week, apart from some minor jobs, we decked the deckhouse. It is done with six panels of 6mm plywood, three on each side. Two of the beams are 1.20m from the center, so we could use nearly the whole length of a panel. We screwed it to the center deck stringer first and worked out to the corners then. That way the plywood bended surprisingly well. All the joints exept along the center deck stringer are scarfed 6cm wide. We unscrewed it then, coated it with epoxy and screwed it on again. The four pieces to the rounded end of the deckhouse are smaller, so easier to fit on. Over the edges we glued fibre glass tape with epoxy and covered the whole deck with glass mat and fibreglass cloth then, all in the same afternoon. Now it needs some filler and sanding. The sides of the deckhouse and the fore and after deck we will glass tomorrow. Then the whole outside can be made ready for painting.
The cutouts you see are for the hatches over the shower/toilet room, the table and the sleeping cabin. The small ones beside the rudder trunk are for mooring ropes and fenders.