Boat in build pics (2013 Fairline Squadron 78)

[benjenbav]

As MapisM says, that is customer's job . I gotta say though, the wiring stnadards these days at Fairline and many others builders is first rate. All modern gear, cables run neatly and protected in sheathing, all labelled, connections neatly done, ducts aall over the boat with pull-through cords (mice?) for adding extra circuits, laminated card with circuit nbames and numbers, etc. I had zero elec faults on Match 1

LOL. I don't think "mousing" conjugates to mice in the context of mousing lines. Mind you, maybe it should.

Perhaps "mouse tails"?

 

[MapisM]

on a boat this small

 

[BartW]

Also it is easy these days to buy a kit of field installable Deutsch connectors (eg eBay). I have a set, €50 or so iirc, and use them for any equipment added to the boat and when replacing short-life equipment such as float switches etc

this is VERY interesting,
was looking for such a solution sinds long,
for many "iffi" connections in BA and Karnic, (bilgepumps, floater switches, etc..)

do you know which type is commonly used in boating?
do you remember the model you have ?
pin size, nr of contacts, ...

 

[Cookee]

I'm alway's wondering if these workers don't suffer from itch ?
they have uncovered skin a lot of times,
don't wear gloves very often,
if only I drill a 3mm hole in GRP I start feeling it

As a boat builder I can tell you that along with the styrene fumes you do become accustomed to it!

 

[BartW]

As a boat builder I can tell you that along with the styrene fumes you do become accustomed to it!

accustomed even to that irritation and red colloration of your skin ?

 

[vas]

accustomed even to that irritation and red colloration of your skin ?

Bart it's probably the other accustomed as immune
True, removing a small patch of grp or even touching the rough bits was enough to have me itching for a couple of hours...

V.

 

[Cookee]

accustomed even to that irritation and red colloration of your skin ?

Just don't notice it at all really - certainly no redness - anywhere

 

[jfm]

this is VERY interesting,
was looking for such a solution sinds long,
for many "iffi" connections in BA and Karnic, (bilgepumps, floater switches, etc..)

do you know which type is commonly used in boating?
do you remember the model you have ?
pin size, nr of contacts, ...

Bart the best thing is buy a set. They come in different pin numbers, ie 2,3,4,6,8 pins. I bought a set with lots, but I got extra 2 and 4 pin connectors. The special crimp tool for the pins is pretty standard. Definitely a good tool for a boat, and all my bilge pump type hardware is wired using these connectors (OEM, and when repaired/replaced etc by me)

So buy a kit like this (check the quality - I just grabbed that url as the first one I saw) then buy individual items to "top up" your collection like this. Just put deutsch connector in the eBay search box

Note: where you insert the cable into the pin, the good quality ones have a tube in the end of the pin, which you squeeze/crimp. Like in my second link above. The low quality ones have a "U section" thin metal pressing on the end of the pin, not a tube, and they are not as good.

 

[rafiki_]

As MapisM says, that is customer's job . I gotta say though, the wiring stnadards these days at Fairline and many others builders is first rate. All modern gear, cables run neatly and protected in sheathing, all labelled, connections neatly done, ducts aall over the boat with pull-through cords (mice?) for adding extra circuits, laminated card with circuit nbames and numbers, etc. I had zero elec faults on Match 1

I guess the price is paid with the man hours required to individually wire/label/draw the electrics? Good to hear that it works in practice though!

 

[MapisM]

As a boat builder I can tell you that along with the styrene fumes you do become accustomed to it!

Beware. Styrene fumes aren't exactly the best thing you can throw at your lungs, regardless of whether you get used to them or not.

 

[jfm]

Here are a couple of updates, on the factory work plus some GRP/dashboard work being done by Essex Boatyards team

First the factory. As a reminder, here is the huge one-piece deck moulding, still in the mould a couple of weeks ago...

And here it is, just craned out today with the mould wheeled out of the way. You can still see the blocks for window and other recesses, that we discussed above. This is one heck of a complex moulding, one piece from the tip of the bow to the aft of the swim platform, and from gunwhale to above the saloon windows, so guaranteeing no leaks around the side deck areas

These two close ups show the custom recess for the extra crew cabin window.

Meanwhile over in Essex Boatyards the GRP specialist shipwright team (who, among other things like building boats, do perfect crash repairs on GRP boats) are modding some Fairline components that I didn't like. First there is some seating port side of flybridge that Fairline make "floating" above the deck, like this (photographed on another boat, not mine)

So Essex have modded this component to create a skirt that takes it down to deck level. This also gives me much bigger lockers

Next, the dashboard. The standard Fairline dash is below. IMHO the ergonomics are perfect in terms of mounting the screens close to you, so you can prod the plotter screens from your seat. But imperfect in terms of having the two nav screens either side of the helm (like, they thought they were designing a car or something, where the driver is always right in front of the wheel). I want to create a nav station with two massive screens and no steering wheel in front of the navigator, plus I want to move the wheel to the boat's centreline, and fit in 3 helm seats instead of the usual 2. So the Essex Boatyards team cut along the red rectangles marked below

Then they swapped the 2 cut out pieces left-to-right, and reglassed it all, to make this (photoshopped)...

Here it is in a CAD drawing, before and after...

By the way, I haven't yet decided the locations for the smaller dash items like VHF and switches, hence the inconsistencies in the above pics. The top horizontal panel items are now non-changeable, as are the 2 big screens, port side little screen and throttles, but not the rest.

The Essex guys also made a wedged shaped bit for the Fusion hifi inside the glove box...

Then they sprayed it all in Awlgrip's Awlcraft Crystal Silver metallic. I'm really going to town on the silver/grey/white caulking thing . The horizontal panel across the top of the dash where the engine gauges go (along the foreground of this pic, cos it's kinda upside down) is being made by the very nice guys at Axon Components in Yorkshire and will be sprayed in gloss charcoal grey. (The dash of the tender will have the same paint job too)

The glove box lid will be in thick dark charcoal grey smoke perspex, with the edge heat formed, sort of curved over. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the dash all assembled

 

[rafiki_]

John, some really interesting mods. As ever, the devil, is in the detail, and there is a lot of detail to ensure your mods work.

The interesting thing for me is the adaptability of the various sub assemblies.

With your colour scheme, how will you ensure consistency, unless all painted by the one operation? Real issue in my world, getting components from different suppliers to match colour and finish.

 

[jfm]

Agreed but I dont have as many "close match" issues as you in the auto world.

The fly dash is on its own as a component, so doesn't need to close-match anything. The tender dash will be painted in the same paint in a different sitting, but it's 50 feet away from the fly helm. The lower helm dash doesn't close match anything except itself and is all spray painted in one sitting

Whites can be tricky. For example, I'll have a white bath with white walls, but will put a strip of black speckly avonite as a separator. The RIB tender and of course the Laser tender are moulded in the same white as the boat hull this time (the last tender was cream, yuk...) and the tender rubber tubes will be cold white, I'm assured, but I'm taking a chance there. The aft deck GRP furniture components are also being made by a GRP firm using Fairline's gelcoat. Upholstery is easy becuase sunbrella fabrics are consistent enough. The tender will have silver grey movida upholstery so it wont match perfectly but not much I can do there becuase cloth upholstery doesn't work in a tender

So, bodgily, it will all hang together I hope/think!

 

[Whopper]

John, if I remember correctly, On Match #1 you had the dash components moulded by Broom? Is this dash design completely different to Match #1?

The modified seat bases are a better idea than the floating ones I think.

An interesting idea for this thread would be some photos comparing the modifications made on Match #1 with Match #2.

What colour Sunbrella are you going for on the seats?

Edit: silver grey movida I take it.


John

 

[benjenbav]

I think the extra crew cabin window is a masterstroke. Will really catch the eye as something a little bit different. Hopefully, also make it even nicer inside.

 

[rafiki_]

Agreed but I dont have as many "close match" issues as you in the auto world.

The fly dash is on its own as a component, so doesn't need to close-match anything. The tender dash will be painted in the same paint in a different sitting, but it's 50 feet away from the fly helm. The lower helm dash doesn't close match anything except itself and is all spray painted in one sitting

Whites can be tricky. For example, I'll have a white bath with white walls, but will put a strip of black speckly avonite as a separator. The RIB tender and of course the Laser tender are moulded in the same white as the boat hull this time (the last tender was cream, yuk...) and the tender rubber tubes will be cold white, I'm assured, but I'm taking a chance there. The aft deck GRP furniture components are also being made by a GRP firm using Fairline's gelcoat. Upholstery is easy becuase sunbrella fabrics are consistent enough. The tender will have silver grey movida upholstery so it wont match perfectly but not much I can do there becuase cloth upholstery doesn't work in a tender

So, bodgily, it will all hang together I hope/think!

Yes you are right about adjacent bits being the biggest problem. All sounds very exciting, and I guess you will have a bIt of trepidation as it all comes together. You don't build prototypes or test vehicles in the custom world of boats

 

[jfm]

John, if I remember correctly, On Match #1 you had the dash components moulded by Broom? Is this dash design completely different to Match #1?

The modified seat bases are a better idea than the floating ones I think.

An interesting idea for this thread would be some photos comparing the modifications made on Match #1 with Match #2.

What colour Sunbrella are you going for on the seats?

Edit: silver grey movida I take it.


John

Hi. I really disliked the original sq78 dash, screens too flat, so went to the trouble of getting the new mould made on the Match1 project. It cost, please sit down, close to £30k so was one hell of an extravagance, but I loved it.

Since Match 1 was built, Fairline themselves have changed the Sq78 dash, from hull #78 onwards, to the one in the pic above with the red cut lines. I like the cross section of this new dash, and only want to swap the left-right positioning of the steering wheel recess, so a simple cut'n'shut did the trick. No new mould needed, phew. 1/10th the expense. The silver paint is just a funking up feature

Flybr seating will be pvc backed cloth - sunbrella grey 3705. Same as Magnum's black sunseeker. I don't want movida, nice though it is, becuase I prefer the feel of cloth to vinyl. Movida in the tender only

 

[jfm]

You don't build prototypes or test vehicles in the custom world of boats

Well, you do in cardboard Rafiki. You should see my place here. Full cardboard prototyping facility here in central London

 

[jfm]

I think the extra crew cabin window is a masterstroke. Will really catch the eye as something a little bit different. Hopefully, also make it even nicer inside.

The main reason is to totally change the feel inside by having the extra window. It's claustrophobic with no window. Of course many sq78 customers spec the boat with an open plan crew space, so then the window in the trnasom door serves the whole area, but I want a walled-off crew cabin distinct from the central corridor and the port side laundry area. Hence I have created the no-window ness of the crew cabin.

But as you say this extra window should look good on the outside too - it will be black, square corners, fritted and bonded, to match the other bonded windows. I went for non opening window due to positioning, and there is plenty of ventilation in the cabin

I'm going to have the other transom window (the one on the centre door, picture below ) changed to a bonded squared cornered job after delivery too. Fairline changed all the other hull windows when they revamped the Sq78 a year ago, but alas not this one, which is a catalogue Lewmar portlight and now looks out of place on the boat imho. It was too much to include this in the customisation spec at the factory for Match2. It's an easy enough retro-mod; some GRP work to remove the corner radii in the door moulding to be done by the fab Essex GRP team, then bond in a custom cut and fritted window made by the same company that makes the other hull windows (Falcon, in midlands UK, very helpful guys there)

 

[rafiki_]

Well, you do in cardboard Rafiki. You should see my place here. Full cardboard prototyping facility here in central London

Have you tried clay, or plasticine ilo cardboard