I finally got the keys to the new warehouse today. I have taken a 3 year lease and I am hoping that I can finish the boat in that time. I have an option for an additional year if needed but Jo and I are aiming to spend New Years Eve 2009 on the boat on Sydney harbor.

I have measured the shed across and it is 13.7 meters. I figure on it being about 3 times as long as it is deep so about 30 meters. That is enough space to build 3 boats side by side in a squeeze. But more importantly, I have an agreement with the owner that I can remove the roller door and the 2 steel sheet fascia panels either side of it and the open space between the 2 structural beams is 7.1 meters. The maximum beam of my boat will be 7.0 meters so whilst it will be tight (50mm either side) the boat will come out and there is a massive hard stand (concreted flat area) outside where a truck and crane can park to load the boat to take it to the water. There is a wide enough driveway (although it is a little steep it shouldn’t pose any problems) for a truck to get the boat to the road and then the road is wide enough all the way to the water.

I recently met a guy called Dennis (Warren introduced him to me) that is going to have a professional builder build him an 11 meter epoxy and glass over plywood cat in a Malcolm Tennant design and he has been looking for a place to build it. Having seen the space in the new shed we have agreed that he will build his boat along side mine. Dennis is in a wheelchair and cant build the boat himself as much as he would love to. They (Dennis and his builder) anticipate a 9 month (full time) build time so it will be fun to see a cat start and finish (in a fraction of the time!) in the new shed along side mine. It will be very motivating and informative. And of course I will include regular updates on their build. I am also anticipating that having the professional along side for the rest of the year I am sure that it will speed up my build hence the more optimistic launch goal.

So the move will start from tomorrow with some of the smaller things but the hull moves are still planned for the weekend after next (March 17-18), in the meantime the dingy needs to be finished (and also the forebeam).

Today Warren and I only spent about an hour on the boat, we trimmed the lids and sanded the joins round and glassed one hulls duraflex panel and joins. We also cut the pointed bows off and glued on the ply mini bulkheads.

Tomorrow I should get the rest of the external taping done. Then we can sand the glass back to smooth and give it a resin coat.