Getting ready to epoxy the first joint. I belt sanded both the laps. The cross section of the lap looks nicer now. Plenty of epoxy was used here, since the endgrain of the wood absorbs most glue when compared to the rest of a plywood sheet. And here, you see a very wide endgrain exposure. The long bar in the upper part of the picture is for keeping a straight edge reference. It is actually our future bow stem. The work is laid onto a plastic sheet so that we do not glue the lap joint stuck to the floor. It has happened that I have glued a bulkead to the floor. The bulkhead did not yield, but the floor did, which I find interesting.
Hi Fellas:
I am an old sailor/boatbuilder/idiot from London, Canada. Although I am 70 I am giving some serious consideration to building a FAFNIR. I would only sail her on Lake Huron, but the build is most of the fun anyway. Would appreciate knowing a bit more about you. I admire what you are doing.
In my shop I am currently rebuilding (almost done) a Glen-L 17 that I built 45 years ago while also working on an Alberg 37 in my yard during the warm weather. I sail an Alberg 30 out of Goderich, Ontario. I bought the 37 for $ 7000 and so far have just over $30,000 invested including new 40 HP engine.
Hi, Peter!
Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time and writing us, we really appreciate hearing from our readers. The Ahlberg looks great, but I’m glad that we’ve started small – less costs involved, but it’s fun nevertheless. Building Fafnir is really a tough nut to crack but we love a challenge. Seems like both me and Uku are infected by the DIY-virus.
We previously built an overpowered robot for a competition a few years back, things like these have great educational value, one can put to test what one has learned. I think one of the biggest lessons we’ve learned on Fafnir thus far is the value of planning and technical drawings, thinking ahead etc.
Lake Huron sounds great, we’ll be sticking to dear old Baltic sea in the beginning, I think.
We’ll keep you posted on our build and would love to hear about yours!
Glad to hear that you plan on building the boat! The Alberg is a giant compared to our Fafnir. We are building on a budget which is so far roughly ten times less than what you have spent on your 37. Since we are only students, the build is a great experience, but also a challenge, because our studies as physicists are very time consuming. At the current rate we are putting about ten hours of work per week into the boat. We hope for great adventure across the Baltic sea on the coming 2012 summer. At the moment we are working on rebuilding the crash bulkhead and fitting the stringers. We need better wood for the stringers, so we are once again on the hunt for materials.