Ikaroa Painting the Hull’s Hard-to-Reach Spaces I’m painting the bow and stern lockers by brush and roller, because the Jotun epoxy primer is too thick for my current spray gun. I also finished the bow-cabin fillets and fixed parts of the starboard main-cabin floor.
Ikaroa When the Resin Dosing Pump Quit My resin dosing pump finally gave up after almost 100 litres, so I kept today’s jobs small and postponed most epoxy work. I’m also switching from International to Jotun epoxy paint, including for future spray application.
Ikaroa Starting Again with Hull Fillets I’ve finally started proper work again, beginning with fillets in both bow compartments and tidying the stringer finishes. There’s plenty to do before the new timber arrives, so I’d better get on with it.
Ikaroa The Wrong Hardener, Then Back to Work I received 206 slow hardener instead of the 205 I needed, causing a small delay while the correct epoxy arrived. Now I’m finishing the lower hull and preparing for the next stage.
Tech A Survey for More Spontaneous Journeys I’m asking travellers to help me shape CityExplorer.App, an AI-powered guide for planning impulsive adventures—square that circle, if possible.
Ikaroa Drawing a Straight Line Without Straight Edges I used a self-levelling laser to draw a precise 2-metre reference line across a piece of plywood with no straight edge. It was for the main cabin seats in the port hull.
Ikaroa Fillets, Bunks and Cabin Layout Games The fillets over the floors turned out better than expected, but the resin finally ran out. I glued on the last bunk supports and played with the toilet, shower drainage and holding-tank layout before splitting the starboard moving floor in two.
Ikaroa Honey-Coloured Bunks Shape the Lower Hull I’m finishing the bunks and floors so I can finally see how the lower hull will look. Next I’ll move on to the upper bulkheads, heavier plywood and Douglas fir.
Ikaroa Epoxying Floors While Waiting for Timber I’m slowly epoxying the cut parts and protecting them from moisture while I wait for more timber and resin. The floors will have to wait a little longer.
Ikaroa Fitting Bunks and Locker Floors Aft I cut back the stern bulkhead and started preparing the bunk and locker floors, with the supports landing nicely level. We chose a narrow bunk arrangement for extra locker space, though fitted tanks may mean dismantling it later.
Ikaroa Bunks Bring the Hulls to Life While I wait for the wayward paint, I’ve prepared bunk levels in both hulls through to bulkhead 4, including locker access covers. There’s still epoxy, fillets, knees and paint to do, but this stage is oddly satisfying.
Ikaroa My Spectacular Danboline Thinning Mistake I sprayed almost everything with Danboline mixed with epoxy thinner, having failed to check the tin properly. The results were surprisingly adequate, but I’ve bought myself another day of painting with the proper thinner.
Ikaroa All the Floors for Tiki 38 I’ve got all the floors and hull brackets ready for epoxy. Once they’re done, I can paint underneath and start fitting them before moving higher up the hull.
Ikaroa The Trouble With a 35mm Fillet I made a mess of the first two 35mm radius fillets, using microfibres when I really should have known better. They’ll work, but I’ll always know they’re there—even under the floor.
Ikaroa Glassing the Port Hull Joints I spent the day glassing the joints in a narrow space, getting resin in my hair and probably everywhere else. Two-thirds of the port hull is done, with the rest of both hulls next before the more adventurous construction begins.
Ikaroa Filling the Backbone-Hull Connection I’m filling the last bits of the backbone-hull connection, then sanding, cleaning and glassing the joints with tape. If the weather behaves, I’ll move on to the floor supports and bulkhead fillers.
Ikaroa Sealing Every Square Inch of Hull Before I close off any more spaces, I need to seal every damaged surface, screw hole and bit of bare wood inside the hulls with epoxy. It is one of those jobs that adds several unaccounted-for hours to a Wednesday.
Journal Our App Is in the Press After working on it over the winter, our app has made it into the press. The National covered it as an AI-powered tourist guide.
Tech Our AI Tourist Guide Fits in a Phone Over the winter, we made an AI-powered tourist guide that runs on Apple and Android phones. It may even uncover interesting things in places I thought I already knew.
Journal Our Sister Site Is Getting Ready I’m getting our sister site, courses and extra content ready. 😊
Tech A Chance at Tropicfeel Backpacks We’re planning to use Tropicfeel’s backpacks, so I’m sharing the chance to get a discount or freebie. And yes, it gives us more chance of a freebie too.
Tech Vestas 15 MW Turbine Makes First Power I’m sharing news of Vestas’s 15 MW prototype offshore wind turbine producing its first power.
Tech Learning the Boat’s Electrical Setup I’m in learning mode for now, with the Electrifying Academy launch coming soon. After that, we’ll start talking about our internal setup on the boat.
Tech Diesel Fanatics Cannot Accept Electric Boating I’m on the electric-boat case again, and the diesel fanatics still cannot believe their time is over. Self-sufficient electric boating is worth another round.
Ikaroa My Wrists Are Finally Free My wrists are finally out of casts, although they’re still stiff. We’re staying in Edinburgh over winter, but I’ll be sharing how we plan to completely electrify the Wharram.
