Boat Build - February 2, 2022 - Gel Coat Spray of the Mold

Build Continues with the Addition of the Gel Coat

Gel Coat

Time to start actually making something!  Here is a diagram that helps explain how the Vision 444 hull is constructed:

Hull Layup - Courtesy of visionyachts.com

We are working from the bottom (outside) up, so the first step is to spray the prepped mod with Gel Coat.  We are going with a grey hull (Kingston Grey to be exact) which will be painted as a final step months from now.  Because of this hull color choice, the Gel Coat will be a grey similar in tone, instead of being a basic white.  That goes on first:

Boat Build - February 1, 2022 - Mold Preparation

 Okay, so it is somewhat delayed from the expected start date,
 but what isn't in this crazy world?!

Hull #11, aka "SV Mira", aka, our boat, aka our Home-To-Be started at the Vision Yachts Factory in Knysna, South Arica!!!!!

Modern fiberglass sailboats are made in a mold, which is kind of like the inverse of the boat-to-be.  Fiberglass layers are build up onto this mold and eventually you get to the desired thickness, everything cures, the mold gets pulled away, and voila, you have a hull!  Okay, you have the very start of a hull that would a) not float and b) not look much like a boat.

Creating the hull in the mold is the first step in a long list of steps.

Main steps of making a Vision 444, mostly in order...

1. Make the hull pieces in molds
2. Pull the pieces from the mold and fair them (sand, sand, sand).
3. Bond the multiple pieces into one actual boat using fiberglass to join the multiple pieces
4. Install bulkheads and furniture pieces and fiberglass them to the hull.
5. More fairing, inside and out.
6. Paint the inside and outside.
7. Add in the big inside bits, like engines, batteries, electronics.
8. Fit windows, hatches, etc.
9. Fit the outside bits, like toerails, lifelines and stanchions, longeron (bow sprit).
10. Install all the electrical wiring using the built-in conduits (at least on our boat).
11. Move the boat outside of the yard and test for water-tightness
12. Laminate cabinets with wood and fabric coverings.
13. Apply the bottom Copper Coat paint
14. But the boat on a trailer and tow it to the marina, taking up two lanes of traffic in the middle of the night.
15. Splash the boat!!
16. Add the mast, boom, standing and running rigging
17. Sea Trials!

We are currently at the beginning of Step 1 and we hope step 17 will be done by early August.

So you have this fancy set of molds (which I believe are also fiberglass) that are used to make hulls.  The first step is to clean them to a mirror like finish, wax them and then apply a water-based release agent, so that when you are done you can pop that baby out!

Mold Preparation

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We have a boat name!

After many, many walks around the block in the evenings, we have decided on a name!

 Sailing Vessel Mira (SV Mira for short)

Here is a link to the YouTube video where we announce the name.

What makes naming a boat so hard is that you can choose from a lot of different types of names.  You can be "funny/punny" and name a boat something like Knot Working, or Never Again 2.  You can name a boat after a concept or a feeling, like Tranquility, Respite or Traveler.  And you can, of course, name your boat using a proper name; traditionally a girl's name, but something simple like Jenny, or as in friends of ours, Greek Goddess.

Given that this boat will be our home, we quickly ruled out funny/punny names.  That just doesn't seem right.

BUT, we got stuck for a while on concept/feeling names and just a traditional girl's name.  We both brainstormed and came up with lists.  We then bounced them off one-another and looked into their meanings.  Names that meant things like "trusting" or "sinky" were quickly eliminated.

So what made us decide on Mira?

Vision 444 - Key West Boat Show

 Key West Boat Show and Additional Information on the Vision Yachts 444

Summary

We had a great trip down to Key West (okay, actually it was the next island up; Stock Island). The Stock Island Marina Village and adjoining Perry Hotel are absolutely beautiful.  If you are in the area and need a place to stay (and have the means!), it is a great resort.  We were fortunate in that we booked it early for the event and got the room at 1/3 the price it was the week leading up to the boat show.  Admittedly, it was Spring Break, so that may be their peak price for the year for all I know.

We had spoken to Tommy and Amy from Sail Away Catamarans a few times before the event and even had a chance to speak with Thomas and Terri, the owners of Kon-Tiki ahead of time too.  What an absolutely great group of people!

Additional Information