Long time – no hear! You may ask yourself what is going on with the Omega 42 building process? Well, as I am extremely busy right now setting up my own business, I simply haven´t had the time to monitor the progress with ALPHA, but here´s an update what has recently been done. And believe me, there´s a lot going on! First of all, the keel of the boat has been cast! I try to attain pictures to do a full detailed article on this. Secondly, thanks to Walter from Norway, I received a Swedish, Danish and Norwegian language version of the brand new upcoming Omega 42-website we are working on. Stay tuned! But what was going on in the shipyard? Here we go …
Saildrive and engine fitted
As I was writing about last time the base mount for my brand new powerhouse Volvo-Penta D1-30 Diesel engine has been laminated to the boat´s hull. In the last weeks the guys cut through the bottom and first fitted the saildrive.
This is always a kind of delicate operation: Even as a professional boatbuilder you reall do not cut holes in boats frivolously. The guys took exact measurements, checked and double-checked the exact fit before taking the saw and cutting out the large saildrive opening. Also, if this is not exactly in line with the longitudinal axis of the yacht, the boat will have a tendency to steer an offset course, let alone that a disalignment would offset the yacht when sailing.
Of course I trust the master boatbuilders and guys in the yard! After fitting and sealing the saildrive (for which the underside sealing is still to be mounted) had been done, they lowered the D1 engine onto the freshly fitted base. Well, I´d say ALPHA now has a heart! It´s not beating yet as everything from exhaust-system to cooling-cycle and fuel is still due to be fitted, but anyway, seeing the massive green engine finally mounted is a huge step forward.
The full program by Garmin
You may have read my article on choosing the electronic equipment for my yacht a few months ago. Finally, Gotthardt Germany which is the general importer for Garmin products, delivered a big stack of nice packages. It all has finally arrived. I unboxed the precious displays, gauges, sensors and machinery like a child on Christmas eve, you can imagine!
Although everything has arrived, I have still one detail left to decide: The question of chartplotter versus rugged tablet-solution. I really appreciate the advantages of a full-fledged dedicated chart plotter but as the Omega 42 does not have a steering post there is simply no space to mount this. And I don´t want to cut into the cockpit´s GRP! But which tablet to use? Orca seems to be a nice solution. Or just a plain iPad with a waterproof rugged casing, running the Garmin app and Navionics? Your feedback is welcome …
Talking autopilots
I´ve made a decision though regarding the autopilot. As I will be sailing predominantly single handed and I plan to spend a lot of time aboard sailing in the coming years, the capability of self-steering of the boat is a central issue for me. Installing a windvane isnßt an option. The recommended tiller-pilot „light“ autopilot-system won´t do the trick as well. I fear it will be too weak.
Normally the construction of the Omega 42, originally done by legendary Swedish designer Peter Norlin did not provide for any installation of an autopilot. I wanted a thorough, strong, under-deck mounted autopilot which can be enganged and disengaged by push-button and has the strength to even steer the boat safely in heavy seas and under much wind pressure. We discussed the constructional changes necessary to fit such a machine.
In principle this means that the rudder trunk which on my boat is bomb proof laminated to the last aft bulkhead in the stern section of the yacht, is to be cut open a bit to weld the arm onto. This arm will be the lever pulled and pushed by the Garmin autopilot to go directly onto the ruder blade below. Shipyard´s boss Heiner showed me the approximate mounting position of the Garmin Reactor 40 autopilot.
This is one of the most important fittings of the yacht for me personally: As much as I love steering by hand, there is simply no way to sit a the helm for hours or even through the night. Other than this, I kept the electronics of ALPHA at a bare minimum: Wind and water sensors, a multifunctional display screen (the wonderful Garmin GNX 120!) and a control screen for the nav-station to enter the service menues. That´s basically it. No wireless stuff, no unnecessary zeroes and ones flying around …!
Lightweight and beautiful: Bamboo aboard
At the same time the shopyard´s carpenter and cabinetmaker started to work on the boat´s galley. A very cool thing! We are trying to build the lightest Omega 42 ever made. Well, in the end her weight will hover around 7 tons, for sure, but the motto is: „Lighter in the hull, more mass to the keel!“. She will be a rocket. In this (and also to save money) we have been planning a plain, simple but nice and – lightweight – interior. No heavy wooden parts!
This can best be seen in the galley, where the works started to custom fit the worktop and galley. We decided agains heavy Corian or other classic materials but instead go for extremely light Bamboo. I have a lot of Bamboo-furniture at home in my flat so I instantly like it. It also adds a kind of „exotic“ touch to the otherwise very classic yacht – and it is a perfect harmony to the already finished floor boards of the boat.
We discussed the shape of the worktop utilizing cardboard gauges. Due to a much easier fitting of the sink and in compliance with CE- and fire prevention-rules I decided to have the two stove alcohol-burner shifted from the usual location facing the ship´s side to the classic sink´s location. And vice versa. This seems a bit awkward at first, but makes things much easier. You will understand once you see it fitted.
For the classic look: Taking deck measurements
Talking floor boards, I´ve had the pleasure of the company of Christian Schmüth. He runs a small handcraft business for custom made boat decks. I commissioned a lot of Teak and Sapele rubrails via him and also did some very nice Teak gratings for my clients with him. For ALPHA, Christian had already made the floor boards and he will also do the fake Teak-deck for the yacht.
He brought his Prodim ProLiner machine to take the first rough measurements of the Omega deck. This is a very long boat with very thin surface: A challange for him as the usual clients own big sailboats and powerboats with wider decks. For the Omega 42 I decided to have the coamings, the side decks and foredeck and also the cockpit fitted with his fake Teak that looks awesome.
In order to come up with a calculation and also do the first electronic sketches of the style of the „battens“ of the deck, he had to take the measurements. Unformtunately it was a cold, rainy noon and the work wasn´t really fun to do, but he pulled it off and took a couple of hundred measureing points which will later be put together to form the exact digital copy of ALPHA´s deck.
Together with Heiner we discussed the design. You may have read my piece about the deck a few months ago where I emphasized a rather modern approach with straight, non-bent battens. The vote turned out 2 to 1 against me as both, Christian and Heiner urged me to stick with a classic design: Battens will follow the curvature of the hull. There will also be a classic embrasure and – of course – the „fish“ or central „bone“. Well, I look forward to receiving his first suggestions. And the price calculation …
So, as you can see, there is busy activity „on all fronts“ with progress here and there. I hope that my personal stress level will come down in the coming autumn months so that I will have more time focussing on the Omega´s progress. For now, everything is fine and we are well withing schedule to have the yacht finished and in the water by summer 2025.
Connected articles you might find interesting:
All work-in-progress articles from the start till now
Why all the fuzz about the Omega 42?