5/5/08

Page 6, Building the 41-Plus DUCK

Engine is now in. This boat has a 4 cyl. Volvo, actually built by Duetz. International Capitalism! Ain’t it grand! Note also that the exhaust appears to be mild steel, not stainless. This is far better because mild steel corrodes evenly. Stainless will show little pin spots, then suddenly fail. All commercial boats use mild steel but many yacht builders haven’t figured this out yet….

Fwd. cabin getting “furred” (old lingo for the wood strips used to hold interior stuff) and insulated.

Stern Cabin almost ready for interior construction. That thing sticking out on the left back is the stairway down to the swim platform.

The 41-Plus has a door in the aft wall of the wheelhouse, and a cockpit. Like the passageway between the cabins, both of these things were first used on “Seaductress,” the Seahorse 44 that David single handed back to the states from China. They were good touches and I’ve used them on most of the new DUCKS. That’s why I say no design comes from a vacuum and all designs are a combination of good ideas from many people.

The hydraulic steering ram is at deck level and easily accessible. The rudder post itself is out in the open and in the advent of complete steering failure, you can hook a tiller or even a big pipe wrench to the rudder post and steer. This sounds silly but I had to do it once. A new boat’s system got air in it and locked up. We avoided sinking a plastic sailboat by inches….! The rudder and prop are on. The rudder has the easy removal system seen on almost all commercial boats and surprisingly few yachts.

On to Building the 41-Plus Duck Page 7