Construction

You can see our running posts (blog-style) about the current boat under construction at our Facebook page.  

A direct link the the building photo gallery is here (you don't have to join Facebook to see it).   

How do you build a great boat?  You start with a great design, you build with the best materials, you add great components, and you build it like every boat is going to be your own.  

Want to know more?  Read about the development of the Marinaut 220 in our History section.  

 We're proud of the way that the Marinaut is designed and assembled and we want to share that with you.  This may be more technical information   than some folks are used to but we think it's important.      

In a boat (as with a house) quality really starts in places you don't really see.  Our goal was to end up with a high-quality light strong hull, a hull   that could take the rigors of use for years and years and hold up well.  To that end our hull is hand laid (as opposed to using a "chopper gun") using   vinylester resin which is much more water resistant than polyester resin and results in a stronger longer lasting boat.  We also use all foam coring   material and no wood in the structure of the boat (the only wood is the cabinets and trim work inside the cabin).  This is a more expensive way of   building a hull but it results in a lighter and stronger boat.  

Even the cabin sides and cabin front have light coring (6mm Soric) to add strength and   stiffness.  Every choice has been made with the idea in mind that we want the biggest bang for the buck; nothing has been added just for the sake   of a talking point but no choice has been made on the basis of lower cost alone.      

Shown to the right is the "floor" (sole) of the boat.  It's a one-piece molding that goes all   the way from the bow of the boat to the stern (in the photo it's inside the hull which is  covered with plastic sheeting).  That way we know there aren't going to be any issues with   seams that may allow water intrusion.      In the photo the depression (at the bottom of the photo) is at the stern for the bilge pump   collection area (sump).  The large flat area ahead of that is the cockpit deck, you can see   that slopes down toward the stern (to keep water shedding that direction) and that it's flat   (which makes it more comfortable to stand on and better for deck chairs, coolers, and   such).  

At the forward end of the cockpit deck is the low sill that the lower edge of the   rear bulkhead abuts.  Just ahead of that are the flat risers for the interior cabinetry   (dinette area to port and galley/helm area to starboard).  The taller risers ahead of that   are for the v-berth area.   The confusing photo to the left is actually rather important; it's taken from the   inside of the hull looking outward to the hull side.  The orangish band across the   center of the photo is covering the line where the hull and the deck/cabin comes   together.  If you look closely in the center of the orange band you can see the   actual line; it's very straight and has no gaps so the interface between the two   pieces is very tight.  That interface line is then glassed over to turn the hull and   the deck/cabin into a one piece unit.      It's the quality of the fit and the strength given by fiberglassing the two sections   together that is being pointed out here.      

When you want to end up with a one-piece hull (the upper and lower sections  glassed together) that's strong and perfectly aligned this is how we do it.  Once   the hull and deck/cabin pieces are 'glassed and ready to go together the   deck/cabin mold is fitted onto the top of the hull mold so that they can be   permanently glassed together.        Those molds are built for the ages too, they're stoutly reinforced so there is no   deflection of the pieces inside and so they'll stay in great shape for years.      On the Marinaut the rub rail is just that, it's not part of what's holding the two   halves of the boat together or covering up a mechanically fastened joint.  You   can see in this photo just how close the fit is between the blue hull and the   white deck section is, and how smooth it is.