The final assembly of the first of the FPB 64s is at a fever pitch right now. The head and hull liners are now installed, and the last of the furniture modules is in place.
Deck finish is almost complete.
And basic electronics have now been installed (looking here at a hatch in the salon sole into the basement).
Circa have been lighting off and testing systems. They want to confirm correct operation of as much gear as possible before the boat leaves the shop. Most of this will go smoothly, but there are always going to be a few hitches. For example the Johnson circulating pumps for the air conditioning system for which the vendor shipped the wrong parts (discovered, of course, during testing).
FPB 64 #2 is coming along nicely as you can see above.
While furniture modules are made off the boat, the interior – we are in the forward suite now – is prepped for installation.
Switching now to the third FPB 64, the hull is insulated and systems installation is coming along. The gray PVC plumbing and two large valves are part of the damage control pumping system. The perforated panels are for securing plumbing and wiring.
Finally, a few images on hull shape and construction. We are looking here at the aft quarter of hull number three.
A similar view of hull number four with the framing system exposed.
The bottom plating on hull four gives a feel for the thickness before it is trimmed.
The 12mm (15/32″) plate runs above the waterline. It is ridiculously over strength, but is an efficient form of extra insurance, and gives a warm fuzzy feeling when you think about the risk factors of rocks, logs, and ice.
Posted by Steve Dashew (February 26, 2010)
February 28th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
Operating on the theory of “3”: Is number hull “3” the mature version with all the little variations worked out?
February 28th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Howdy JJ:
Yes, it is the third FPB 64 to which “3” refers. There are, of course, small things we learn during the build cycle that get incorporated in later boats in a series like this. So far, these are all systems layout related. Over the years we have built so many one offs that we are used to putting in the effort to get things right, the first time.
On the first of the FPB 64s there are many systems items which have been refined and/or changed during the normal build cycle. That is just part of the process we expect to go through on a project like this. For example the genset. Its orientation was changed for better access requiring new engine beds. Another example is the inverters which were moved on the first boat.