ANCHOR

It seems not all 6kg anchors are 6kg. I bought four anchors and returned three. They were all under weight (5.5, 5.6, 5.6, 5.8). Class build rules call for a 6kg anchor. So I kept the one I liked best, and added a little weight. Now that I am an old hand at casting lead, I poured several small lead ingots and attached them to the anchor to get the correct weight. Probably not necessary, but 6kg is 6kg.

modification

exactly

anchor strapped down and stowed

TRANSPORT/SHIPYARD/LAUNCH

Removing the boat from the shop was pretty easy (once I rented a trailer, borrowed a truck, had my “build buddy” on standby for keel install, and made a shipyard reservation 5 weeks in advance). The boat towed effortlessly down the street and arrived at the shipyard right on time. In under one hour, the boat was lifted off of her cradle, aligned on her keel, the keel was caulked and bolted tight. I asked the shipyard to mix red and yellow anti-foulant paint together and spray it on. At this point, the boat weighed in at 2264 lbs (1026.9kgs). 

On November 23rd, "SUNBEAR" was released into the wild, I mean lowered into the bay. Almost complete, the boat is still missing the mast, outboard/outboard bracket and aft pushpit rails. She is floating very high and almost all required gear was stowed on board at this time including: anchor, rhode, drogue, lines, batteries, electronics, head, holding tank, galley, nav station, potable water tanks, bilge pumps, dock line and fenders. Now safely at her dock, she awaits her mast and final fitting out.

loaded up

strapped down

awaiting the boatyard

keel on, ready to prime and paint

orange anti-foulant??

closeup of thru hull, transducer, keel bolts

ready to launch

towing to her slip

Builder driving the tow boat, brother driving 5.80

safe and sound at her new home port

WEATHER DECK

I taped the water ways off and then coated the entire deck with non skid paint. All the deck hardware was installed before the non skid, to give it a more professional finish.

Keel and Bulb

The keel and lead bulb halves finally came together. I installed styrofoam discs to fill up the bolt and nut holes (for easy removal in the future), then gave the bulb a light fairing. Then I sprayed white epoxy primer over the bulb to seal up the metal and ready it for anti-foulant paint. 

Final picture, Spraying Epoxy

Ready for Epoxy

PAINT JOB AND NAME

My brother-in-law turned my graphics idea into a format that the vinyl cutter company could use to create vinyl stickers. I painted the boat as much as I could, and the vinyl will add the finishing touch.

Meet "SUNBEAR". Why "SUNBEAR"? Well, the sunbear is the smallest of the real bear family, and it is of southeast Asian heritage (which I have some family from). Also my dad's company was called Sunshine Semiconductor and his favorite color was bright yellow (along with most other vibrant colors). The bear insignia is from the California state flag (the boat and I are California natives). Hence, "SUNBEAR" is born.

Concept

Starboard Aft

Starboard Bow

Cockpit

The cockpit was faired, primed, painted gloss white, some areas painted gloss gray, then all the flat surfaces non-skid coated. A stainless steel traveler bridge was installed along with several other pieces of deck gear.

High Build Primer

Final Primer

Gloss White

 

Gloss Gray

First coat of non skid

NO TRANSAT!

Well, shipping woes have taken this years Transat from me. I started the shipping dance three months before I needed to ship. It was a waste of time as companies did not want to deal with “the little guy.” They could not be bothered to email or call me back. One company even gave me a quote for shipping three days PRIOR to the date of the document. It was a mess and it all equals no Portugal for me this year.

On the brighter side, I have nothing but time. I can catch up on the blog, take my time, paint the details, polish the stainless, and finish out the interior. And wait for the mast to arrive, which has now been shipped.