Distant Shores III Update | Sailing Blog - Technical Hints and Tips - Sailing Television

Distant Shores III Update

It's been a while since I posted an update on the progress of Distant Shores III. Here she is in the factory in Southampton with shipwrights swarming over her :-)
So much has been done since we visited in the beginning of November!!
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We visited back in November before heading off on the catamaran to cross the Atlantic

At that time Discovery were still finishing up the plug for the deck. It's taken a while but here in this photo is nearly complete…

Meanwhile the hull and interior is moving ahead well. Bulkheads are all in and interior modules are being fitted.

Over in the joinery department (woodworking) the last of the interior is being completed. This is the forward cabin V-berth. Pieces like this are completed outside the boat then installed as a whole module and glassed into the hull.

Jump ahead to early December and the deck has been laid up and is being pulled from the mould. In the lower part of the photo you can see the steel frame that keeps the mould perfectly strong and true. It is on rollers to move it around.

The hull layup has been complete for some time and has now been painted with anifouling - in this case we're giving "Copper Coat"… a try.

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First trial fitting of the deck.
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The bulkheads have been put in somewhat tall and must now be cut down to the proper height to be a perfect fit. This process can take a few hours to trim it just so before it can be settled in place permanently.
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Today much more is complete! Hatches and deck hardware, windows and teak decking… but there is still much to do before Distant Shores III is slated to head off to the boat show in Dusseldorf THIS Weekend!
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The boat show in Dusseldorf (January 20-28) this year) is the biggest indoor show in the world and has a huge variety of boats big and small. The venue is located right on the Rhine River so yachts can motor up and "Big Willi" will lift them from the water and its a short ride to the halls to display.
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There are more cruising sailboats here than I've ever seen in one location - including some quite large ones.
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For power yacht enthusiasts there are some truly amazing boats you would never expect to see indoors! (seen here trundling to the building a few days ago)
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It's a great show if you're trying to find your dream boat since more boats are in this one venue and you have days to compare them!
Photos courtesy of Messe Düsseldorf/ctillmann

Here is a short video I made of the Dusseldorf show …
If you're thinking of coming over to check out the show (and see Distant Shores III of course) please let us know!

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