Coming together now!

Not much else I can say except that Bob, Gavin and their team are doing a superb job!

Dark Matter

The Dark Interior, soon to be hidden for ever, showing carbon / Nomex bulkheads in place. Precise detailed work! Very nearly decided on the fit-out and rig. Pics of the bright side soon....

Honey, Honey...

The Nomex bees have be busy on the island! It's the turn of the shiny carbon beetle's next...

Prices

So here's the answer to the question many of you have been asking.

The price of a National 12 built to the DCB design by Composite Craft with a carbon Hull and GRP decks with carbon uni-directional stiffening is £7,100 ex VAT and delivery. The price includes centreboard with trim tab, rudder blade with dihedral foils and rudder stock. The designer's royalty is additional £150.

We are looking at various fit-out options and current indications show a price of £9,750 ex sails. The fit-out is a very personal thing. We will work on a custom fit-out to suit your needs. Call me on 07867 802062 or mail michael.airey1@ntlworld.com

Out she pops!

So this is the result! She weighs in at 21kg and she's very, very stiff, just as she is, with no internal structure. Keep watching!

Vorsprung Durch Technik

This screen shows the temperatures on port and starboard sides and at the centreboard case. It's a bit like monitoring a sleeping baby.

What's cooking!

It's in the oven at 70 degrees for 16 hours. Tomorrow morning is going to be interesting!

Flexible working - Stiff boat

Gavin and Bob have been putting in the hours over the weekend by the look of it. The Nomex core is in. So the inner carbon skin comes next.

Pride on the Clyde – Well Mdina actually

Spent an hour watching “The Men Who Built the Liners” on BBC4 last night They did it with pride and it was a job of grinding hardship. Gavin and Bob at CC have it easy, but they to take enormous pride in their work and they don’t wear Bowlers or Bunnets!

Anyhow, the first layer of pre-preg carbon is complete on "Old Socks" and the skills of the Medina shipwrights are plain to see.

My daughter just reminded me that I used to call her "old socks" when she was little. So now "old socks" is in the mould! The first layer of pre-preg will go in today.

People are still asking about the price of these hulls and we are still not sure. It’s almost like building two boats, as there are two big components, the hull and the deck. Then the two have to be joined and there is a bit of fairing to be done to make sure the boat measures at the sheer line. So the amount of effort involved will become clearer over the next couple of weeks.

We are also working with the major fittings manufacturers to arrive at a sensible fittings list. We will use the very best where it is necessary but compromise on weight and cost in non critical areas. This is taking a bit of time to work through.

CC are using pre-preg cloth to meet strict self-imposed health and safety standards. They believe that the VOC s given off in a wet layup carry an unacceptable level of risk. A pre-preg layup carries none of these risks and the one hit curing process produces a boat which is 30% stiffer.

The first production version of DCB is now being built in the IOW by Composite Craft.

Various fit out options are being examined this week, so final pricing should be available next week.

Composite Craft will be hosting an "Open Afternoon" on a Saturday in November at their workshops (date to be advised). Prospective owners will be welcome. Jo Richards will talk through the thinking behind the design and Composite Craft will explain the build process and the choice of materials.