Palingenius in 1537 said that “One drop doesn't hollow out marble, neither at once in one day is Rome built”. Astute observation. He must have liked tinkering in boats.
Those many patient readers who have followed the Orange Roughy project must have wondered what transpired with this project. A combination of me changing the design of the project and project builder Penguin Composites picking up some massive contracts have combined to stretch out the project longer than anyone would have predicted.
Irrespective of all that, the fibreglass work on the Orange Roughy is now finished and the next stage is about to begin – the fitting of everything that makes a boat a fishing boat.
The work of Darryn Burr at Penguin Composites is exceptional as was his dedication to the project, and shows the strength in dealing with expert companies like Penguin Composites on projects such as this.
The April issue will feature the engine fit up, the wiring and other work and the first on-water test.
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The gunwales presented the greatest difficulty – these needed to be made from scratch using 25mm Klegecell (a foam material sandwiched between two fibreglass skins), then painstakingly fitted, glassed and then sanded back. Darryn Burr is probably the most
Darryn Burr applying filler (or ‘bog’) to the sides and gunwales to ensure a smooth and strong finish. As we didn’t have the benefit of a moulded top to fit to the hull, this all has to be done by eye and hand – a very testing and often tedious job.
The front part surrounding the anchor well and bow section required the most amount of ‘free-styling’ with the glass work. The anchor will be accessed via a hatch. Between the mount for the electric engine and the centre console is a section of 25mm condu
Sanding the gunwales is a simple job at first glance, but the reality is entirely different. It takes a very skilled operator to produce such a great job as Darryn Burr has done here.
Ta Dah – the paint job looks awesome straight off the gun. The paint is Jotun two pack paint and Darryn applied eight separate coats to get the right level of gloss and coverage.
At home in the shed and now ready for the fit up. This shows the huge amount of room in the front casting section and the height of the sides which will help make it a very family friendly fishing platform.
At 2.3m wide in the beam, the Orange Roughy was plenty of room to move around in. The console is 650mm wide and yet there is still masses of room to move from stern to bow.
