Ikaroa An Ugly Hedgehog Becomes a Partition I’m starting to like the ugly hedgehogs appearing around my workshop. This one is becoming a partition wall, a seat and a navigation cupboard between the main cabin and toilet/shower.
Ikaroa Bulkhead 8 and the Shower Bilge I’ve fitted Bulkhead 8 in both hulls, epoxied the lower stringers and started building up the shower bilge with epoxy, glass bubbles and microspheres. Next up are more partitions, a seat and cupboard bottom, and plenty more cutting.
Ikaroa A Shower Tray in the Starboard Hull I changed plans, finished the first stringer work and fitted a compact shower tray in the starboard hull. Function won over appearance, as usual, with a small bilge pump tucked underneath.
Ikaroa Our Workshop Adopted a Hedgehog Our workshop adopted a hedgehog: a gloriously spiky collection of clamps holding the timber together.
Ikaroa Stringers, Long Tape and a Revised Plan I reached for the 30-metre tape to measure the long stringers, then discovered the week’s carefully arranged plan needed turning upside down. The lower stringer has to go in before I can cut the beam-through bearers, so that is now the job.
Ikaroa Bulkhead 8 and the Hull Sides After a few rough days, I’m back working full time. Bulkheads 8 are cut and epoxied for both hulls, with deck-stringer supports underway and hull sides coming next.
Ikaroa Matching Bulkhead 8 to the Sterns I’m correcting for a badly placed rear bulkhead by matching bulkhead 8 to the sterns that actually exist. It’s not affecting the boat itself, but it is making the job considerably more awkward.
Ikaroa Busting Myths About Amine Blush I’m clearing up a few persistent myths about amine blush, including how to detect it and remove it properly. Water, detergent and a microfibre cloth will do the job—just do it before sanding.
Ikaroa The Workshop Gets Smaller Again My workshop is getting harder to work in as Ikaroa grows. I’m epoxying trays, partitions and ladder parts, with the next big jump still waiting on more seats, shelves, stringers and bulkhead 8.
Ikaroa Making the Mast Knees Identical Mast knees are supposed to be identical. I’ve now corrected that small departure from the instructions—and common sense.
Ikaroa Making Tools for Smooth Epoxy Fillets I’m finally making the filleting tools I should have made months ago, using old plastic buckets, scrap plywood and a saved paintbrush handle. We’ll see whether they produce the smooth, elegant fillets promised by Gougeon’s book.
Ikaroa Full-Size Templates Fit the Hull I templated the full-height plywood piece and was pleasantly shocked by how closely the plans matched the real hull. After some nerve-wracking cutting, the doors matched perfectly and the piece was ready for epoxy.
Ikaroa Mocking Up the Galley Worktops I’m using scrap material to mock up the galley, working out the worktop, sink, induction hob and cupboard dimensions before I cut the lower shelf. After a nasty cold, I’m slowly getting back to work and have also dry-fitted the remaining top stringers and started the collision locker hatch.
Ikaroa Cutting Stringers Without Ruining Everything I’m fitting the stringers, carefully cutting both ends to the right length and angle while building in a few fail-safes. I’m also finding 2mm copper wire much better than cable ties for holding things together.
Ikaroa A Twelve-Metre Stringer, Finally in Place I wrestled a spectacularly bendy 12-metre stringer into place on my own. With the deck line finally appearing, there are only seven more to go.
Ikaroa My Workshop Meets the Upper Hull Stringers I’ve reached the upper-hull stringers, and my supposedly large workshop is suddenly too small. With limited sawhorses and space for only four stringers, I’ll be working on one hull at a time.
Ikaroa Templating the Scary Plywood Partition I’m back to the scary stuff: templating the main cabin partition before committing my limited 12mm plywood. It needs to be right before I can build the shelves and seats around it.
Ikaroa Finding the Right Cabin Table Height I’m fitting bulkhead 5, shelf bearers and intricate mast beam knees, while testing the table position that will double as my office. After a few tries, I’ve found a comfortable place to sit inside the hull.
Ikaroa Fitting the Port Sterns After a few days away, I’m back at the boat and have fitted both sterns. I’m now working through the small jobs I left behind, including fillets, sanding and floors.
Ikaroa Shortening the Port Stern I cut 160mm from the lower port stern so the stringers would land above the butt strap. The laser level and jigsaw guide made a stressful cut come out straight, while the new stern brackets cure in epoxy.
Ikaroa Turning Bulkhead Offcuts Into Butt Straps I’m reusing 9mm plywood cut from the hull bulkheads to make butt straps for the stem, and hunting around the workshop for enough material to do the stern as well.
Ikaroa Two More Bulkheads Standing in Place I’ve got another two bulkheads standing in their own place, with only one big one and a couple of smaller ones left. Bulkhead number 5 is the awkward special case, carrying the mast beam through the middle of the cabin.
Ikaroa The Final Bulkheads Reveal the Boat It is extremely satisfying to fit the final bulkheads and finally see the shape of the boat emerging.
Ikaroa Fitting Bulkheads Without Losing the Plot I wrestled with a bulkhead that refused to stay aligned once the screws went in, then found a slower, more controlled way to squeeze the epoxy joint properly. The next bulkheads went much more smoothly with clamps, timber and a little hard-won experience.
Ikaroa Glassing the Bulkheads Before Fitting Them I kept postponing fitting the bulkheads so I could glass their tops and beam-through parts while everything was still horizontal. I’ve also discovered that little kevlar scissors make clean, precise cuts through glass without pulling the strands.
