Any interest in a new build thread?

[Blue Sunray]

So today the boat was moved from Saxon Wharf to Hythe Marina (2.8nm) , where the testing/commissioning will be carried out. The canvas and window mesh have been fitted.

I'll be down there later in the week to set up some of the nav systems etc, so just this one pic for now...

Very nice indeed, she must have passed us.

 

[Barbican]

Very nice indeed, she must have passed us.

Thank you - Not sure what time she was out there, around midday I think

 

[Barbican]

Well the comisioning process is continuing and the next noticeable difference will be bending on the sails, so ahead of that I thought I would put up a few pictures taken while Sanders (of Lymington) were making them. We spent some time with Peter Sanders talking about what would work best for our cruising, and indulge my prefernces for longevity and had a good look round his loft. These pictures were taken by Chris, so thanks to Chris for taking the time to do it for me.

So the process starts with design work done in computer software of course, here they are working on the Genoa

This next shot is Chris nesting the panels, and adding some more design details

The data from the system is used to drive the cutting machine, which is huge. This has two cutting arches mounted on the table, one with a laser cutter, and the other with a blade, the cloth is held on the bed by vacuum. Here Barry is cutting the panels for the inmast mainsail

This results in a thin pile of panels which are taken to another work area so the panels can be stuck together by Stuart to create the sail shape we all know and love!

After which the sewing starts - Sanders has a huge array of diffrent sewing machines some of which are huge and used for diffrent jobs, however a little further along with the panels complete, here's the batten pockets going on

and some other finishing touches. Here the foreground shows the mainsail clew block, whilst the machine is stiching around the 2:1 leech line area

adding the batten loader pocket

There is a lot of nice details on the finished article, here is a cleat cover on the self tacker

All of the tack "loops" are aligned to match the rigs fittings - Here on the jib

and on the inmast main, you can also see the foot has some different cloth added (Hydranet I think) to discourage it going a pie crusty

And a couple of the ST clew boards open and closed

Finaly it looks like a sail, and heres the ST jib lookin good

So the first time I see tham in the flesh will be when they get to the boat - soon I hope!

 

[doug748]

Excellent, thanks for that.

What cloth did you choose for the two sails? and,

Being a bit nosey here,

Have you got a trip lined up for this season?

 

[Barbican]

Excellent, thanks for that.

What cloth did you choose for the two sails? and,

Being a bit nosey here,

Have you got a trip lined up for this season?

Hi Doug - The main and Jib are cross cut DP Vectron, and the lightwind genoa is TriRadial DP PR344 (Only because this sail is a low aspect sail hence radial cut) - We will be going to the med in April I hope, and will probably stay there for a couple of seasons at least.

PS. I wrote up the rationale for the sail decisions here - Warning - Its a little wordy...
https://wordpress.com/block-editor/page/southerly480.com/292

 

[Skylark]

Another really informative and entertaining post, Mr Barbican. In the last picture, glad to see the ST jib tell-tales flying nicely

 

[Barbican]

Another really informative and entertaining post, Mr Barbican. In the last picture, glad to see the ST jib tell-tales flying nicely

Thanky you - Yes I should get them to glue the tell-tales so the wife thinks I know what Im doing!

 

[Barbican]

Haven't posted much for a few days because it is difficult to find anything "new" to photograph at the moment, but there has been a lot going on with the commissioning process, now the running rigging is largely complete, the ground tackle installed, Raymarine kit now up and running and the Echomax RTE installed. Thrusters, windlass, water/bilge pumps and the electrical systems all tested so good progress has been made. Yesterday the boat left the marina for engine testing/PDI which apparently went well, and today a brief excursion for the compasses to be swung, the AIS track made a nice pattern on Marine Traffic which I would have posted, but I suspect there might be some restriction/copy-write issues.....

In the next couple of days the sails will go on. I will definitely try to be there for that to take a few pictures and talk to Peter Sanders who built the sails and Discovery Yachts commissioning manger Tony Bertram about how they've set up some of the rigging. So will post some of those shortly.

Tomorrow I will start looking through the boat and fiddling around to start my own snag list, and possibly start configuring the nav systems, and the Mastervolt battery monitor the way I like them. A little out of sequence really since the handover hasn't happened yet but still!

 

[Barbican]

Finally a break in the winds and the sails are up - I will post a few more pics of the detail in a few days time but for now heres one showing the the guys from Sanders and Discovery hard at it.

 

[MrB]

I guess it's getting very close to hand-over day, I would not be able to sleep lol.:encouragement:

 

[Barbican]

I guess it's getting very close to hand-over day, I would not be able to sleep lol.:encouragement:

Yes won't be long now - First test sail was today (Thursday)

 

[Barbican]

Finally a break in the winds and the sails are up - I will post a few more pics of the detail in a few days time but for now heres one showing the the guys from Sanders and Discovery hard at it.

Well I knew Peter Sanders and Tony knew each other but I didn't know they went back this far....

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/po...ebook.com/sanderssails/posts/2386128134741130

 

[MrB]

Yes won't be long now - First test sail was today (Thursday)

Was you there for it? How did it go??

 

[Barbican]

Was you there for it? How did it go??

Yes I was there - All went well, this event was for the commissioning team to test running rigging and furling gear but since it was my first chance I was also looking at the alternator(s) output engine temps and the instruments.

Sails set well in the light winds (7 knots max) and the controls were all good, steering felt nice, keel control worked as expected, and the thrusters are very good which is just as well given the marina berth is quite tight!

Bit of a grey day in the Solent but perfect for a first trial of the sails

 

[Blue Sunray]

:encouragement:

 

[MrB]

She's looking great. When she's fully commissioned, I hope you get a chance to get some drone footage of her running. I'm excited for you lol. :encouragement:

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Yes I was there - All went well, this event was for the commissioning team to test running rigging and furling gear but since it was my first chance I was also looking at the alternator(s) output engine temps and the instruments.

Sails set well in the light winds (7 knots max) and the controls were all good, steering felt nice, keel control worked as expected, and the thrusters are very good which is just as well given the marina berth is quite tight!

Bit of a grey day in the Solent but perfect for a first trial of the sails...

Been waiting to see that picture for a while (not quite as excitedly as you perhaps) and it's actually quite evocative as it's just the sails and rigging. They do look to set really well, especially considering they're brand new sails in very little wind - what's the cloth again?

 

[Barbican]

Been waiting to see that picture for a while (not quite as excitedly as you perhaps) and it's actually quite evocative as it's just the sails and rigging. They do look to set really well, especially considering they're brand new sails in very little wind - what's the cloth again?

Hi - Yes it's been a long time coming! Cloth for the main and self tacking jib are both cross cut Dimension Polyant Vectron 100, the outer sail is Dimension Polyant Pro Radial. Discovery would normally use Cross cut Vectron for all three as standard. I changed the Genoa spec to have a lighter sail, and since it is quite low aspect a radial construction seemed appropriate. Our shortlist also included Hydranet and Nautosphere Voyager.

 

[Barbican]

Well the boat is finally ready for handover which will start on Friday with a review of the mechanical and electrical systems. I had hoped to post some details of the commissioning process but it proved difficult for me not to be in the way whilst the work was carried out, hence the lack of posts recently.

I did find a time slot to get on board and fiddle with the Raymarine systems and enter the MMSI number so I am pleased to say she's looking even better than she did at Düsseldorf, she now has her rig of course and some items that were deliberately not fitted before the show like the mainsheet arch, plus a couple of minor modifications to the aft cabin and the fwd heads which will appear also on future boats. Here's a photo of the trays above the lockers in the aft cabin that replace a simple lid, the locker is normally quite small but the lid is large to allow access to either heating or aircon installed below. This is a more practical arrangement.

I'll write up some of the handover process where there is an opportunity to post interesting information.

So today Constance moved from Hythe round to Lymington to be part of the Discovery Spring Showcase event this weekend, so if anyone visits, please say some nice things!

Pleased to say the AIS was working so Marine Traffic sent an alert through

 

[Barbican]

Well the handover is now largely complete and as you would expect the boat is now looking and working as it should. We have just to complete the final sea trial. This period has taken a little longer than I'd hoped but in fairness there has been more to do on this boat compared to others as a result of it going to Dusseldorf and whilst progress is slower once the boat leaves the factory, my own commitments haven’t helped. Hopefully next week we will be moving our kit on board, and will take her for a sea trial when the opportunity arises during the week.

We also have some final decisions to make about where to install a couple of extra mirrors (Very important I’m told by Julie) and other fittings like our Epirb and brackets for emergency torch etc, and this time I’m determined to organise the lazarette properly to avoid everything ending up in a tangled heap at the bottom. Discovery would have done a lot of this for us, but until I start putting stuff on board I’m not sure what will go where…..

We get asked by friends what sort of issues we have had and how big is the snag list. Well inevitably there were issues as the boat left the factory, had 3000 visitors on board, followed by the first runs of the various systems, during my visits I heard about some of these, however by the handover these were already dealt with so my “handover” snag list was small. I think most owners would expect this, but will be aware that once in use other things will become apparent. For example on our last boat the water pump worked perfectly until we did a 15min flush on the watermaker during which the breaker tripped every two minutes, presumably because the pump was working harder than when having a shower or filling the kettle.

What we found during handover was:

• 
  A couple of marks in the woodwork

• 
  Some coloured water in the bilge and a screw. I know we will get more debris over time it will be lurking in dark spaces waiting to appear later.

• 
  TV in the fore-cabin that had been working had stopped working

• 
  Some untidy/unfinished caulking in an awkward spot around the arch, perhaps because mine was “retro fitted” but still

• 
  Three access hatches to the strainers, fuel changeover valves and to the engine space were tight/awkward to remove. (On the last boat we had a couple that were fine in summer, but a devil in the winter when they would swell a little)!

That’s it for now, but the real test will come when we go for a decent shake down in a few weeks time. I will add to this thread as anything new crops up. I may also be able to post a walk-through video that one of the guys is doing and asked me to narrate. Given neither of us have done one before it may not be great but hey......

Now here’s a surprising development
When I started this thread and www.southerly480.com I did so as an independent yotty/customer sharing our experience in the hope some would find it interesting or helpful and being retired I had the time. Recently I was asked to Join Discovery Yachts Group board as an NED, with a brief to represent “the clients view”. I’ve accepted. So I intend to continue warts and all with the thread, but thought it important to mention the change.