White Christmas For Our Dehlya

White Christmas For Our Dehlya
White Christmas For Our Dehlya

Video: White Christmas For Our Dehlya

Video: White Christmas For Our Dehlya
Video: Our Dream White Christmas in Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland | Santa Claus Village 2024, March
Anonim

What felt like an eternity ago, to be precise at the beginning of this year, which is now rapidly coming to an end, we had already described the condition of our refit candidate with a medical term. It is still valid, at least for a few days, even now: Despite all the efforts and far more than a thousand man-hours, the Dehly is still in the stage of initial deterioration.

No light shines from the cabin ceiling, no lacquer surface reflects the light. And the sides of the hull look from the inside as if the boat had been rammed by a harbor tug the day before yesterday, hastily laminated and filled. Worse still: The boat builders from Jade Yachting also removed everything that was not firmly glued and removed it from the hall. Strictly speaking, one can - once again - speak of an at best half-finished comprehensive insurance that is on Havermonikenstrasse.

Smoothed. Hull and inner shell
Smoothed. Hull and inner shell

Smoothed: The transitions had to be leveled on the ceiling cladding, unevenness and joints on the fuselage. The stringer is covered with a strip

So what happened? And how, for heaven's sake, is it going to look chic until the next, the most splendid appearance to date at boot Düsseldorf?

Very simple, say Hendrik Kohrs, Christian Fahl, Max Engelke and SaschEden. From now on she could only get better and prettier. And that the bottom is far out, even if it may not be easy to believe.

These are the construction sites that the four from Wilhelmshaven have already completely or largely closed:

  • On deck they drilled the holes for the genoa rails. The rails are not bolted through, as usual, because then we would have had to close holes in the inner shell. Instead, the resourceful boat builders glue in special composite sockets into which they can cut threads, similar to laminated aluminum plates. Advantage: There can be no contact corrosion. Lars Bolle shows how this works, and also otherwise the latest status of Dehlya, in YACHT 3-2019 - the magazine that appears in mid-January, shortly before boot.
  • In the cabin, the Jade boys have fitted a panel at the front, previously tapered end of the bunk. This makes the boat appear wider and tidier and should also be illuminated from above via LED bar, i.e. accentuated, which also emphasizes the depth of the interior in the dark. Sounds a bit confused, but experienced top designers have assured us that it is. Let us surprise ourselves!
  • So far, the gap that yawned between the lateral ends of the ceiling panel and the fuselage walls was a medium nightmare. It was once covered by Schapps, which we no longer wanted for several reasons (perceived depth of space, visual calm - that kind of thing). Originally the plan was to cover the gap including the hull wall with canvas lashed upwards. But apparently the plan was too bold, because we haven't found a sailmaker who is passionate about it. Instead, we will cover the outer skin differently. We'll keep that to ourselves for another two or three weeks. In any case, the guys from Jade had to close the gap between the inner shell and the hull. This is now done by a precisely cut and milled piece of wood with concealed LED strips in the groove. They also blend the stringer that extends into the foredeck with a strip to stretch the lines and refract the surfaces. But now it's good with the stylist's speak, word of honor!
  • And then there were other grooves that interfered: Those in which the wing bulkheads were previously glued were filled with West System epoxy thickened with micro balloons, as were the transitions between the bench and the fuselage, which are now also connected by laminate.
  • As we write this, the boat builders are already gluing in ducts for the entire electrical installation and pulling cables. Unfortunately, it turned out that the duct provided by the shipyard for the mast cabling is blocked in the inner shell of the ceiling. So hole in, cable in, overlaminating, filling, sanding, filling again, sanding again - and on it goes. The usual "it-can't-be-true-madness" of a total refit. Motto: Something is jimmer.
  • The dismantled fixtures (ergo we would then have to speak of "extensions") meanwhile wait outside the Dehlyauf grinding, filler and paint. Thanks to the suction system and the increased work surface, this is far easier to do by hand in the paint shop than on two and a half square meters below deck, and in a stooped position. In addition, foremen, journeymen and pencils do not kneel in the way all the time, which would otherwise inevitably be the case with a 25-foot cruiser.

So it is fair to say that a lot has happened in the past few weeks. But we're not finished or even almost finished. All of this will follow until the premiere at boot Düsseldorf:

  • The manual controls for our keel hydraulics must be installed.
  • The bilge areas also need a topcoat, locker lockers and anchor lockers.
  • The furniture modules need color - mostly very light, which is why Christmas will be dehly white for ours, regardless of the weather.
  • The instruments need the right cutouts on and below deck.
  • The cables need order, power and distribution bars.
  • The lamps and light strips must be in the right places.
  • The fuselage walls need a new dress (also in white).
  • And there are definitely still seven or eight not so small details that we have just missed or - worse still - that no one has thought of.

Fortunately, Hendrik and Christian will also work on the Dehly between the holidays if necessary. At least they promised. Because one thing is certain: from January 19, 10 a.m., it will be Showtime in Düsseldorf. Our lady has to shine again inside and out!

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