I had a brief exchange with Jean-Philippe, the builder of the Melanesia featured in the most recent video, and he pointed me towards a photo set of his build and finished boat,
Du Ami. The
photos are on his Facebook page. One might need a Facebook account to view them, I'm not sure.
As you can see, he's done a great job. Highlights include real mylar sailcloth, bamboo spars & poles, and a sensible paint job to minimize brightwork and the associated maintenance headaches.
Note the clean fillets on this frame. Jean-Philippe's handiwork seems to have generally been more competent than my blundering - perhaps he's done this before? Or maybe he's just a really quick learner.
On the left beside the hull here, you can see his ama, which he laminated from store-bought lumber. It's so much straighter than my tree trunk.... I also see that he enclosed his bow and stern with bulkheads to create buoyancy/storage compartments. I'd really like to do that to my Melanesia, but I haven't yet decided if it's worth the extra effort.... It sure looks good, though.
Oh, and the result? I'll let him speak for himself here, describing the shakedown cruise in one of the photo comments:
It sails pretty well we can sail near the wind, we can tack and jybe. We had a peak speed of 5,7 kts with 10 kts of wind (13kts in gusts). Really happy for a first ride.
Anyway, great work, Jean Philippe! I would be thrilled to achieve such a result in my build.
hi rich,
ReplyDeleteneat filleting on your melanesia, love that glossy finish. woohoo!
on this build i noticed the cable ties as against the copper wires in the plans. i'd seen nylon ties used on the wharram amatasi build too ... and their really thick filleting mix.
oh hindsight..