splash !

Rebel on the water and Luigi over the sky:
More pictures and videos in the next few days ... too many emotions in a single day !

Rebel on trailer

Expected Time of Splash ... very very soon :-)

rigging done

New sails under way; same for the outboard engine; if everything goes well, Luigi will splash his F22 Rebel in a month or so; I will be there to take pictures, movies and ... if possible ... test her :-)

Nuove vele in arrivo, idem per il motore fuoribordo; se tutto va come deve, Luigi varerà il suo F22 Rebel in un mese o giù di lì. Io ci sarò per fare foto, film e ... possibilmente ... farci un giro :-)

most mist but must be ... a mast !

After a long period of bad weather, at last I received good news and pics from Luigi:

So now everything is ready for the trailering and the splash day is coming :-)

P.S. Just received from Ian: "It all looks excellent luigi! Let me know how it goes, and be sure to monitor saddles for any distortion. Should be okay however."

Rebel's deck

Luigi made a superb work finishing the floor deck in this way:the floor is covered in synthetic teak, a sort of plastic wood ... you can find more info here (unfortunately the English version seems broken): http://www.alternativeteqk.com/galleria.htm

We wish you all a happy Christmas, if this is the case with your religion, and a happy new year, if your calendar is so engineered, and all the best in any case !

inside Rebel

No posts in a year and then 2 in a row ! Here is how Luigi is arranging his F22 to stay inside:

As soon as the rain stops, we'll see a special kind of finish in the cockpit that still needs a little sanding ... CIAO !

More news from Luigi

Just received these fine pictures from Luigi ! He's almost there :-)

What a workmanship ... way to go, Luigi ! And now the scoop: a thin and long package is coming from Sparcfraft to Luigi doorstep in a couple of months ... guess what's inside ???

ciao !

P.S. my F22 project has been put on hold ... seeking a better logistic and financial situation in the future.

Luigi has painted !

If you stand up in the middle of the cockpit you see this:

Main hull is finished:

Guess what ? A fine gray bow tip !

Here is a scoop: and the rudder is ... an aluminium profile ! Maybe you have seen these profiles before, in racing multihulls. Construction time was very low, Luigi said, just two cuts, eh eh eh.

Remember, this is not my F22, which is still on hold. That's all folks, bye !

Luigi is painting

This year will see more F22 splashes, so it seems time to discuss color schemes. Luigi (in Reggio Emilia, ITALY) and his friend (a pro) recently painted the floats; here is the painting room, for a better dust and temperature control:

The float bow is grey; this cuddy cabin F22 will primarily day sail and race:



Now, how would you paint the main hull ? White only ?
Same grey bow as the floats ?Or ... a "Ferrari racing" red bow ?
Please let us know your ideas in the comments below; this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance ! We wish you a great 2009. 

F-22 euro meeting

After a summer with very few days of rest due to my job (I was in Israel for almost a month, inside a factory in the middle of the desert, and it was HOT) we met with Tor and his beautiful family in vacation from Norway in my town Ravenna; then we reach Luigi in Reggio Emilia:
While they talked a lot about technical questions, I went crazy with the boat, walking on the cockpit, going inside the cuddy cabin, covering my pants with fairing dust while sitting with a fake rudder stick in my hand, playing just like a baby. I'm so far from the point of costruction reached by Luigi that it's hard to think about it, so better just to enjoy the view and the feeling.
Luigi is showing his daggerboard and an aluminium profile good for the rudder:
This is a "pro" tool; fairing is not a pleasure and one needs every possibile help from technology to complete this long and boring step. Then Luigi thinks to bring the hulls to a professional paint shop; in the end what other people see is the finishing of your boat, while you know all the internal; a pro painter will make everyone happy !
While my boat building is so slow and intermittent, thanks to Luigi I know that very soon I will be able to sail a F22, not mine but ... it's ok for now :-)

Then our families had a dinner in my home this evening and we all enjoyed to stay together, to tell stories and to taste local food. We learned a lot about Norway and exchanged experiences. Open minds and curiosity will save the world.

Quasi ZERO vacanze quest'estate (e 23 giorni di deserto in una fabbrica israeliana) e poi ecco che arriva Tor dalla Norvegia con la sua splendida famiglia ! Ieri pomeriggio siamo andati a trovare Luigi a Reggio Emilia in quello che credo sia stato il primo euro meeting di costruttori di F22. Mentre i due discutevano di tecnica, io ho fatto il bambino con la barca, su e giu, dentro e fuori, stringi e lasca ... son talmente indietro con la mia costruzione che ... meglio non pensarci, tanto presto un paio di bordi su un F22 me li faccio, grazie a Luigi. Stasera abbiamo mangiato insieme da noi ed è stato davvero bello, abbiamo parlato di tutto, tranne che di barche ! Menti aperte e curiosità salveranno il mondo.

P.S. found on bateau2.com forum, about SANDING:

BoH wrote:

I have discovered that one of the main uses for epoxy is polishing sandpaper to a nearly smooth surface.

Sounds like your paper's getting clogged, you may need to change it more frequently and not press as hard. Epoxy's not well-behaved like wood. It gets into a vicious cycle of paper-clogging. If you press hard, it generates heat. The heat softens the epoxy which makes it clog the paper. Because the clog reduces the sanding action, you press harder. That generates heat. The heat softens the epoxy...

Sharp paper with light pressure works best. That lets the grit cut the epoxy without excessive heat. When it stops cutting, get a new piece of paper. Paper quality counts, too. The junk they sell at the DYI stores loses its edge too quickly. Check out some of the on-line suppliers. They sell better stuff and it's cheaper to buy it in bulk.

Finally, keep your paper dry. Store it in an airtight container with a dessicant pack. Once I figured out all this stuff for myself, I was able to turn a day-long sanding job into just a couple of hours.

Laszlo