Mads- I've had extensive experience leak testing. The fastest, cheapest, easiest way to find the exterior spots where the water is getting in, is to seal up the cabin as best you can. Cover the entrance, or a portlight, with a piece of cardboard box. Duct tape it down, tight, and cut a hole in the middle just large enough to put the exhaust hose of a shopvac or leafblower into the hole. Now turn that on and give it 4-5 minutes. It will pressurize the interior of the boat. If you take a bucket of soapy water and pour it on the hatches and deck fittings, they will blow bubbles where the air is leaking out. And that's where your water is leaking in. BE VERY CAREFUL, THIS WILL MAKE THE DECK VERY SLIPPERY. So starting at the bows and working your way aft is the best way to go. Bubble testing is the poor man's way of doing smoke testing. It can't hurt the boat, and you'll be amazed by where the bubbles come out. Sometimes under "solidly bedded" deck fittings. If you have a scrub brush, this is also a good time to clean the soapy decks.
@CorwynGC biggest issue would be the deck-hull joint on some poorly built boats. The hull itself is already pretty air-tight by design. The deck as well, to a lesser extent. Port lights and hatches are always the leaky bits.
@@svbarryduckworth628 A boat made be airtight. THAT BOAT has huge cracks, open holes below the water line (e.g the one he siphoned the bilge out with), etc.
I have a pair of AirPods that can do the same, open control panel on an iPhone during a call and you can select mic settings (standard is standard) and change to voice isolation. I can use this while using a jackhammer or a lawnmower and talk in the phone. And the person I’m talking to ain’t hearing it.
I am a farmer, and we use those "combiner doohickeys" semi-regularly to make temporary shelters, particularly shade structures. The biggest one we built was a tent for my sister's wedding. I don't remember how big that was at this point. The search term you will want to use is "canopy fitting" and it comes in various sizes, including the size pipe it takes. Bigger pipes are obviously stronger. Usually the canopy fittings are more expensive than the poles/pipe, but shipping the pipe is really expensive. Make sure that you have a local source for the pipe in the lengths and diameters you need, and then buy your canopy fittings to fit. They come with eyebolts that are intended to be used as thumb screws. Get rid of them. Buy actual bolts, and torque the heck out of the bolt. The fittings are really sloppy, so that the pipe fits relatively easily, and that you don't need a perfect building site, or perfect cuts on your pipe. But because they are sloppy, unless you really tighten the hardware, it doesn't work very well. You want to loosely assemble everything, then crank it down, unless you are planning on taking the thing down the next day. If you choose to keep the eyebolts, use a screwdriver through the eye to give you enough leverage to actually tighten the bolt. Even if you take the tarp or whatever covering you use off your structure, you still want to have the structure itself anchored down. Typically we use 55 gallon drums filled with water, or auger ground anchors. Because you are considering a tent that needs to be a specific size, I strongly suggest that you measure out exactly how big you need the tent to be, where the poles will have to go, etc., draw out a plan, and then order the pieces you will need to make sure that you are getting everything you need, and that the things you need both exist, and will ship to you, or can be bought locally. For example, if you need a 30ft beam, you are unlikely to be able to buy one. So you need a plan for connecting pieces together, and when you start building, you need to have all the connectors you need. The fastest tool I know of for cutting the pipe is a reciprocating saw or angle grinder. You will need help. Taller people are better help. If you can, build the roof structure first, so you aren't a million miles in the air, and then lift it a pole at a time, starting at one corner and moving across to the opposite corner. Then once it's assembled, you can shuffle it over the boat. You may not have room to do that inside the yard you are in. If you can't do the whole thing and raise it, try to make "frames" that just have horizontal pieces that connect them together, kinda like timber framing. You can then lift each frame into place, and install the horizontal pieces to connect frames together. The top ridge beam is the most difficult of the horizontal pieces to install. I know Tally Ho built a huge tent, but I have no idea how much it cost, and what the price difference might be between that, and using canopy fittings. Also, for a covering, you can usually get used billboard tarps relatively inexpensively. They are really thick flexible plastic, and would otherwise be thrown away. One side has the ad, and the other is usually black. If you have the black side to the sky, it gets really hot under it. Depending on what it's made of, you can sometime glue them together to make a bigger tarp.
Hey Mads, I'm working in event industry and build roofs in your size requirements. A company building something like you mention is called layher. They have all you need. We developed a roof out of event truss and a strech plastic. This is super expensive, but using regular plastic foils should work aswell if you don't need to win a beauty contest. I think cheapest yould be a wood structure
Some people will say it is beyond repair but i have fixed 3 yachts up to 35 ft and i think it is easier and cheaper to repair a damaged boat than build from scratch. You have the skills and the right attitude to do it. I am excited to see you fix this cat as i know you can do it. It will make a great video
Thank you so much :) I know many people start big boat projects and never finish them. There is no guarantee life won't get in the way, but anyone with patience and a tiny bit of luck can do it. I've always said it's a marathon - not a race :)
If you go with one of those chain link fence rail tents be sure to anchor it down real good, those "swirly winds" you mentioned often take advantage of the Bernoulli's principle to turn almost anything into a wing (i.e., it'll fly away). As insurance you might want to take the cover off the tent if one of those swirly wind" things is headed your way. :-)
A lot of marinas down here use those tarp covered carports on caster wheels for shade. They’re nice cause you can move them around as the sun shifts. Widest I can find is 20’ but you should be able to massage that to fit
Now that Leo is done building Tally Ho, I’m glad to have found another boat building channel without a lot of drama! Your editing is great and I enjoy your narration style! Hopefully the last details will get sorted out soon and you can really dive into the project.
Contact Vevor and ask them to send an inflatable Auto spray booth.(Cost $1300) The size is big enough to cover 2/3 of the boat a one time. The only modification necessary would be to cut back the booth floor. Can be pressurized to pump AC into the unit and gasses out. Most importantly is can be quickly deflated before a wind storm. Lights can be added to allow work during the evenings should you to need to push through and complete a project. Once the refit is done you could re-sell the booth.
Hi Mads - I have made a cover to repair cars and a large garden cover using lengths of 75mm poly-pipe as ribs to create an arc by anchoring each end of the pipe on a star dropper hammered into the ground. Then, run a timber or aluminium ridge support along the top of the arc and screw the timber or aluminium strips into the poly pipe. Cover it with plastic tarps or shade cloth which can be screwed into the poly pipe or tied down to the ground. It's easy to roll away the cover in event of a storm, and remarkably sturdy in moderate winds. I'll try to find a picture. Cheers, Grant - Adelaide South Australia
I meant to say the poly pipe is the black irrigation pipe, so it is a bit flexible to form a curve easily. I used 50 mm and found it quite effective. Anyway, I hope this helps. Cheers, Grant
Mads, thanks for all your DIY video's and happy to see you found a new project to entertain yourself and us viewers. Are you familiar with the Duracel Project (also on youtube)? Matt build a cover over his boat using wooden planks. It doesn't sound perhaps not very strong but the way he did it is light and still strong and curved. In your desire to make the cover removable it's perhaps an option to hang a coveran hang it under the construction somehow clammed between wooden planks instead of laying the cover over the stands. Of course you will need to tweak the bending to come with a 22foot wide construction. BTW. by showing the rain forecast for that day you revealed your location. It took me at least less than 5 minutes to find the address and see your boat on google maps. Don't worry I'm based in The Netherlands working on my own boat although not so extensive like you, I won't show up on your doorstep ;-) Jan-Willem
It is beyond repair for anybody else but YOU. You can and will do it. I have no doubt that it'll be better than it was when it came out of the factory.
Cheapest way to cover, 2 x 3 or 4s with thick vapour barrier, one truck load, easy, cheap customizable, remember a staple gun and red vapour tape. I created a covered cut station to make cabinets, been up for a whole year so far, just pitch it correctly to prevent water pooling
I think the structure you’re thinking of is a tunnel greenhouse maybe. You can get those from a greenhouse wholesaler/retailer they hold up very well to high winds. I’m not sure they make them as wide as your boat though that could be a problem. Here’s a crazy thought. How about one of those tents they use for catering parties or weddings maybe you could rent it. It’s awesome to have you in the states when you buy things they’ll make more sense. Good luck.
Mads, I've been watching your channel for a long time, since you started work on Athena. I'll admit that I went from watching you religiously every Sunday, to missing a lot of episodes once Athena hit the water. It's hard to sit at a desk all day and watch other people living their best life. The episodes I did see were great, I'm glad to see you taking on another project. To all the haters saying that this boat can't be salvaged, they must not be paying attention to what you've done before. You've got this! You might be the only person who could salvage her. Keep hanging in there, looking forward to see her launched.
I currently have my 40 ft. Saiboat in my backyard in Orllando. I have it covered with a 40 ft x 20 ft. White heavy duty tarp. I have 3/8" galvanized cable between 3" water pipes concreted into the ground. They are guy wired to eyebolts concreted into the ground. The cable is covered with 2" pvc pipe to protect the tarp. Under the tarp every 6 ft. or so, I have transverse 18 ft. 1" pvc pipe "bows" attached to the bottom of the pvc pipe covered cable. This holds the tarp up high enough to walk and work under. The tarp has eyelits every few feet with ropes going down beside the boat to ground anchors that screw into the ground. The pvc "bows" are tied to the lifelines. I also protected the tarp from abrasion from the lifelies with pvc pipe. The tarp is a little worse for wear, but after over the ten years I have been refurbing my storm damaged boat, it is still completely waterproof. It has survived near hurricane force gusts with no eyelits torn out yet. I woulld send you a picture if you like. Pat (40 ft. Offshore 40, "Immanuel")
Found d your videos a few weeks ago and I’m thoroughly enjoying your clear communication style, upbeat attitude and earnest efforts to involve viewers for their input/advice. Kind regards, C
These last couple of videos are brilliant. They're exciting and you seem infectiously enthusiastic about the work to be done. In fact, i don't think you've looked this happy since splashing Athena.
0:18 I was one of those non-believers but now after watching couple of videos I see that you are really handy guy and you're working very efficiently. But still it will be a ton of work so good luck.
Mads I was starting to worry that your channel might end up being a sailing channel, but with this project, I know I'll have at least 2 years of Oh Glorious Sanding & building projects. You can & will do this as you my friend have the right attitude and skill set to pull it off. Of course, with Ava beside you, I know the project will be a huge success. Take care and good luck. I look forward to your weekly videos. Cheers
In America, a tent with walls is usually considered a building and regulated by fire codes. In that crowded marina, that might be a problem. A CANOPY, a covering with open sides, is usually not regulated. So you might want to check with the yard, and a local fire marshal, before investing in a tent. With hurricane season, consider making it easy to remove from the frame, and anchoring the frame rigidly. Good luck!
a pop-up that's long enough to span the boat's width would be a good suggestion. secure the frame to the deck and remove the canopy if one of those 'swirly wind' storms....that was too funny....I will forever refer to hurricanes that way, thank you Mads...and I've lived in FL most of my life.
You may get a small piece of the Cat 1 hurricane to the North. Aug, Sept, and Nov are the problem storm months. Nov & Dec are the nice months for tourists.
Container shelter 12 x 8mtrs will sort the protection can be anchored with posts concreted into the ground and crazily removed at end.Can be removed for a Massive forecasted storm and anchored down to the boat itself.Cgeap insurance and durable.Mine has survived 6 years and still perfectly dry .Good privacy and should be OK for regulations.Ross
Oh yes. This is going to be my highlight of the weeks to follow this project. I have been here sense the Obelix and finally you fix a bigger boat that is going to fit in size until the grave, not to big and not to small. I LOVE IT!
The people who are saying it’s beyond repair are the people who have to pay others to fix their stuff. The boat I’m working on getting a Catalina 36 that is in really poor shape, but I have the skills to make it a fine ship again, so that’s what I plan to do.
Mads - we live in a slightly similar climate - strong recommendation (if you don't want your yacht to be a greenhouse - growing mould as it currently is in the aft cabins) a couple of serious de humidifiers. What we found with one yacht that needed repair was water in the bigle or in the atmosphere would evaporate during the day and then condense again as the boat cooled at night - ultimately there was a cycle of keeping the mould growing in the constant humidity. two running for 18 hrs a day - literally pulls 100's of litres of water out of the boat and internals.
Glad to hear your great news this week! For the cover, you might want to try event rental businesses, they have those big white tents for outdoor weddings and such. They sell them off when they get older, and you may be able to snag one from them cheaply 🤞
Mads, as O-glorious sanding is Sail Life tradition, I think this boat being a catamaran needs to be named "Oh Glorious Sandy Cat" or "Sandy Cat" for short.
What about taping a strip of blue roll to the inside of the hull all the way around? The next time it rains, you will see wet streaks directly under where the leaks are. You could also set up squares of blue roll underneath all the deck/cabin top penetrations, such as hatches and deck fittings. Maybe elevated off the sole a bit with a cardboard box so you don't get a false positive from water running around on the sole or in the bilges?
Mads I'm looking forward to you turning this lump of coal catamaran into the diamond that you did with Athena I watched every episode during the construction of that beautiful yatch.
Hi, we building a Narrowboat in the UK and have a family member who used to build tri and catamarans in South Africa…he built a big tunnel out of steel bar and welded it and concrete it in the ground the. Used a very strong stretch fabric over the top for a cover to build yachts
roof idea Mads just do what they do in Denmark for house projects...scaffolding. Get the type that doesn't have premade sides and then it could be just one leg "wide" and would fit beside your neighboring boat.
Scaffolding would be the most effective method to cover the boat! Get a builder/ contractor to build the frame with scaffolding then cover it with a large white tarpaulin.
Greetings, I have that Guerrilla Tape and works great on my leaking sun roof (in West Coast Florida). It lasts me 5 months. Nikki and Jason are awesome. I have been following them since day one when they bought their first cat. I am praying that all is 👍👍👍. Happy Sailing ⛵
I'm actually surprised at myself for being excited about a catamaran. This should be an interesting and fun project to slowly watch come together. I'm glad our own somewhat extensive refit is over and we have been out cruising for a few years. I don't think I have it me to do that all over again. I put too much of myself into the boat we have now. Mads is pretty special to go right back at it again so soon. I'm glad I only have to watch.
I don't have a specific model for you since I don't have exact dimensions but look into the agricultural sector specifically "hoop houses" lots of kits in tons of sizes. They are built to be semi permanent to permanent and can generally be assembled by one or two guys. They are very common for grain/hay/equipment/livestock storage. They also have a very robust second hand market
I don't know how feasible it would be but you have that twisted mass of aluminum that used to be a mast maybe you could use it somehow to build yourself a boat-mounted tent/canopy? Someone mentioned building codes and I do recall that Acorn to Arabella had issues with the fire marshal during their build with their boat house/tent type structure.
awesome channel! Awesome project...keep going! I also like your video-capture techniques....love seeing the whole cat from a few steps away from the hull
I would look up a Stimson Shed design for building an inexpensive temporary cover. It goes together with lightweight cheap wood and shrink wrap. Won't really address your desire to take the cover off but it may be a viable option. Good luck!
Mate, here in Australia we tend to get tents about 40' X 20' that attach to a couple of 40 ft containers. I you don't have the space (or money) for them you can build a temporary wall to attach the tent to. Cost of the tent will be between US$1000 and US$1500. Sell the tent when you have finished
Maybe you should start looking for a 20ft container you can buy or rent to place on the property, for storage of tools materials and interior. Would be great to see this hull empty and clean.
It would be a good idea but this yard is very, very small (I count 22 boats jammed in chock-a-block on site) A container that size would take up the room that another boat would. The yard would probably charge him another $350/month to have it taking up the space they could be renting for another boat owner. I think a Self-Storage locker that size would be cheaper than $350/month although it would not be as convenient being on site.
Don't worry about the opinions of couch "experts", I've been following your channel for almost five years now and have no doubts about your skills in repairing fiberglass, wood and other marine stuff. There are always idiots who have done nothing in their lives but think they are experts in every field, just do what you do and repair this beautiful boat. As for the canopy - I don't know how it is in the US, but in our area we often use arched structures
@@CaptRR You sir have a gift for understatement. It was a design fault. The bulkhead was just to thin to support the stress routinely put on it across the bridge deck and by the rigging. Lagoon has since come up with a retrofit to reinforce that bulkhead in older cats.
Sailing Magic Carpet built a shelter over their boat. Reach out to them, or check in their videos for a full build. Seems easy enough. I'm super excited about this boat build. Congrats on ad sense! Keep 'em coming!
@havardhovdet9217 this is Florida. The rules and regulations compared to Candidia are basically non-existent. The only rules Mads needs to worry about are whatever the yard sets on its property. He needs to talk to the guy in charge and get his OK on any temporary structure and from there on out he's golden.
My current boat was / is coast guard documented. After being notified that they needed a release of lean and then providing it, I was told that my case was back at the bottom of the waitlist. It took another 3 weeks after that. My total wait was about 3-4 months.
Aside from alligators, please be very careful with coral snakes. They do exist in FL. I am happy your monetization problem got fixed. Nothing like finding great people willing to help. Good luck w/ the new huge project.
Mads, after watching your videos for quite some time, I believe that you are more interested in the DIY part of sailing rather than the actual sailing itself, kind of “ Enjoying the journey rather that the destination” In any event, I like obviously many others am looking forward to thr repair/rebuild/refit. Held og lykke..
Got a good laugh when I saw the name of the boat 😁..... I do hope that you will get an answer soon and for ua as well when we can enjoy your O glorious sanding again :)
I remember the lovely workshop you had access to and Athena in private space just outside too - I don't remember Athena having to be used as a storage facility while you worked on her either.
The Antares is a beautiful boat and your project is a nice find. As for the individuals who tell you the boat is beyond repair....Well, my response would be, "Nothing is beyond repair. It is simply a matter of dedicating time and money. If you manage to find your balls and your brains you can accomplish anything. For those incapable of finding one or both of these the boat is likely beyond repair." You and the misses are to nice to say things so bluntly, but I am not. The Antares came out of the factory a beautiful boat and I have full confidence you and the misses will make it a beautiful boat again. Happy sanding.
Tyvek + heat bond + clothes iron. Lightweight, extremely durable, can easily be form built to structure shape.... making it easy to remove and replace plus reusable for future projects as boat is in water and little things need done on the hard. Major plus is that being white, it cuts back radiant heat in a huge way. Just put pool noodle (pipe insulation) over joints and bends
I think you have the skill, patience, willing to learn and dedication to fix any boat up in the world. You are an inspirational man and I can not wait to see the progress. Lions do not care about the opinions of sheep!
We have used the "canopy" option to cover work or storage areas quite often. In the California desert during construction projects. There are actually companies that sell them on a lot of pre configured sizes. One thing we would do is have 5 gallon buckets filled with sand to tie down each leg. And when there were going to be high winds we had a system devised to bring down the top fast and tie it down. We had ropes at each leg on one side, long enough to go over the top to the other side. When the wind was going to be real strong we pulled from the other side so those ropes were over the top and the canopy could be flaked on the other side. That way when the wind was over we just had to use the ropes to pull the canopy back up Good luck
Cathedral arch construction for like greenhouses and things like that work extremely well for both houses. I have a plastic on it or canvas and it’s dry and holes in the heat when you need it or the coolness when you need it.
Would love to hear about your research in catamarans and which make/models were on your short list when you found this one (design and build quality etc). Looks like a great project for you!
@@LongWalkerActual The worst kind of ju-ju imaginable. I know of a guy who bought a practically new boat, and the only thing he did to it was peel the old name off the transom, and put a new name on it. Had some weather in the marina a few months later, and Neptune reclaimed the boat. Do a proper naming ceremony, pay Neptune all the homage to which he is due, and keep up the traditions of the sea.
In my own head this boat is called Cathena until they come up with something better. A proper marine un-naming and re-naming pair of bookend ceremonies is a fun time for everyone involved.
Hubbs vlog managed to pick up a Cat in the hurricane Beryl hit island .. It was on land but a 30ft x5x5 alluminium diesel tank had landed on the front deck and had to be removed having squashed and got trapped by the front bow seat and rails. The tank was not light 🫣 . There were loads of boats flipped and toppled. Some interesting larger boats around you in that yard.. that look like they've been there for a few years..🧙🏻♂️👍🏼
I built one of those tent-like buildings a while back. It was for extra work and storage space during a growth period at the company I work for (Timberbuilt, inc.). It was about 40 ft. X 100 ft half of a cylinder. It was anchored with cables attached to a huge mass of concrete in the ground at each corner. It was easy to construct. The only difficulty was where the sections of pipe slide together. Some of the tubes needed some grinding. We erected it with a forklift. We framed the back end wall with lumber and covered that with the same tent material. The front was open. The kit came with everything except lumber and concrete. It was very nice until a big snowstorm made it collapse. The snow slides off and pushes in in the sides crushing it like a tin can. You shouldn’t have to worry about that where you are though. It was much cooler inside it on sunny days and the lighting was bright white- could be good for filming, but I know nothing about that. I recommend you get one!
Leo rebuilding Tally Ho in Sequim, starting by building the prototypical frame shed engineered to satisfy the building inspector and done on a reasonable budget. It had to hold up to the high winds and storms. Many other channels have copied this design successfully.
My favorite method to find leaks is using white board water soluble markers. Draw in areas you suspect leaks and come back later after rain and you will see where water traveled over lines you drew.
The trampoline ramp of doom seems to have a new, longer extended walkway version on the new hybrid Antares 44s. Might be fun to make the extended edition if you can get the dimensions. Looks like it allows for another front stay further forward for more sails up.
Northern Tool carries a product called 'Garage in a box' that might work as a partial shelter solution but it's only 24' long so you'd need 2 of them to cover entire boat. Tractor Supply company also has some heavy-duty tarps that would keep rain out but no frame.
Great to see some optimism, Mads. You're like a roadrunner vaiting to be set free 😂 Btw: knowing your talents, i would make a dome from foam and glass. U shaped sections. Or smaller L-shaped sections put together. If you make an 'adapter' along the side - or a scaffold holding it, you vil basically make an isolated 'osteklokke' ("cheesebell?!) To keep the heat out. I have a normal tent here in Denmark and it is freaking hot in the summer. So thinking of you in the Florida heat, things will only get worse. Considering how much time must be spend under the dome, an AC would be preferable. By isolating it, this will be easier to cool down. When you are finished, i am certain that others will buy the dome. Especially if you make it in your usual quality.
Maybe you can find a Patron with an enclosed building that has light, conditioned air, water, power, and storage space that would let you use it for a year or so. That would be ideal. Looking forward to the repairs on this vessel.
Mads - please take care to protect your scalp mate. As a bald Aussie living with a merciless sun, your skin will get destroyed by UV if you're not careful. Think of it like uncoated expoxy resin - except when it starts to fail in years to come you can't just grind it back and replace it. (Sorry - I know I'm/we aren't your parents) Wonderful news on the Adsense issue! 😀
Mads- I've had extensive experience leak testing. The fastest, cheapest, easiest way to find the exterior spots where the water is getting in, is to seal up the cabin as best you can. Cover the entrance, or a portlight, with a piece of cardboard box. Duct tape it down, tight, and cut a hole in the middle just large enough to put the exhaust hose of a shopvac or leafblower into the hole.
Now turn that on and give it 4-5 minutes. It will pressurize the interior of the boat. If you take a bucket of soapy water and pour it on the hatches and deck fittings, they will blow bubbles where the air is leaking out. And that's where your water is leaking in.
BE VERY CAREFUL, THIS WILL MAKE THE DECK VERY SLIPPERY. So starting at the bows and working your way aft is the best way to go.
Bubble testing is the poor man's way of doing smoke testing. It can't hurt the boat, and you'll be amazed by where the bubbles come out. Sometimes under "solidly bedded" deck fittings.
If you have a scrub brush, this is also a good time to clean the soapy decks.
That is such a cool tip.
I thought of injecting a tiny amount of refrigerant, then prescribing and using a AC leak detector...but yours is better and not so wind dependant!
I suspect it would take a LOT of work to make that boat airtight...
@CorwynGC biggest issue would be the deck-hull joint on some poorly built boats. The hull itself is already pretty air-tight by design. The deck as well, to a lesser extent. Port lights and hatches are always the leaky bits.
@@svbarryduckworth628 A boat made be airtight. THAT BOAT has huge cracks, open holes below the water line (e.g the one he siphoned the bilge out with), etc.
that “voice isolation” is impressive!
It really is! I don't know what I'd do without it :)
Does that mic come with a matching pair of headphones?
Is the voice isolation a feature of the Rode mics? I could really use that solution!
Erin, from TH-cam Sailing Northern Brees
@@SailLife Yeah, what brand mic is that? Every channel needs to use that, background noise is one of my biggest issues with channels.
I have a pair of AirPods that can do the same, open control panel on an iPhone during a call and you can select mic settings (standard is standard) and change to voice isolation. I can use this while using a jackhammer or a lawnmower and talk in the phone. And the person I’m talking to ain’t hearing it.
I am a farmer, and we use those "combiner doohickeys" semi-regularly to make temporary shelters, particularly shade structures. The biggest one we built was a tent for my sister's wedding. I don't remember how big that was at this point. The search term you will want to use is "canopy fitting" and it comes in various sizes, including the size pipe it takes. Bigger pipes are obviously stronger. Usually the canopy fittings are more expensive than the poles/pipe, but shipping the pipe is really expensive. Make sure that you have a local source for the pipe in the lengths and diameters you need, and then buy your canopy fittings to fit.
They come with eyebolts that are intended to be used as thumb screws. Get rid of them. Buy actual bolts, and torque the heck out of the bolt. The fittings are really sloppy, so that the pipe fits relatively easily, and that you don't need a perfect building site, or perfect cuts on your pipe. But because they are sloppy, unless you really tighten the hardware, it doesn't work very well. You want to loosely assemble everything, then crank it down, unless you are planning on taking the thing down the next day. If you choose to keep the eyebolts, use a screwdriver through the eye to give you enough leverage to actually tighten the bolt.
Even if you take the tarp or whatever covering you use off your structure, you still want to have the structure itself anchored down. Typically we use 55 gallon drums filled with water, or auger ground anchors.
Because you are considering a tent that needs to be a specific size, I strongly suggest that you measure out exactly how big you need the tent to be, where the poles will have to go, etc., draw out a plan, and then order the pieces you will need to make sure that you are getting everything you need, and that the things you need both exist, and will ship to you, or can be bought locally. For example, if you need a 30ft beam, you are unlikely to be able to buy one. So you need a plan for connecting pieces together, and when you start building, you need to have all the connectors you need.
The fastest tool I know of for cutting the pipe is a reciprocating saw or angle grinder.
You will need help. Taller people are better help. If you can, build the roof structure first, so you aren't a million miles in the air, and then lift it a pole at a time, starting at one corner and moving across to the opposite corner. Then once it's assembled, you can shuffle it over the boat. You may not have room to do that inside the yard you are in. If you can't do the whole thing and raise it, try to make "frames" that just have horizontal pieces that connect them together, kinda like timber framing. You can then lift each frame into place, and install the horizontal pieces to connect frames together. The top ridge beam is the most difficult of the horizontal pieces to install.
I know Tally Ho built a huge tent, but I have no idea how much it cost, and what the price difference might be between that, and using canopy fittings.
Also, for a covering, you can usually get used billboard tarps relatively inexpensively. They are really thick flexible plastic, and would otherwise be thrown away. One side has the ad, and the other is usually black. If you have the black side to the sky, it gets really hot under it. Depending on what it's made of, you can sometime glue them together to make a bigger tarp.
Hey Mads,
I'm working in event industry and build roofs in your size requirements.
A company building something like you mention is called layher. They have all you need.
We developed a roof out of event truss and a strech plastic. This is super expensive, but using regular plastic foils should work aswell if you don't need to win a beauty contest. I think cheapest yould be a wood structure
Some people will say it is beyond repair but i have fixed 3 yachts up to 35 ft and i think it is easier and cheaper to repair a damaged boat than build from scratch.
You have the skills and the right attitude to do it.
I am excited to see you fix this cat as i know you can do it.
It will make a great video
Thank you so much :) I know many people start big boat projects and never finish them. There is no guarantee life won't get in the way, but anyone with patience and a tiny bit of luck can do it. I've always said it's a marathon - not a race :)
If you go with one of those chain link fence rail tents be sure to anchor it down real good, those "swirly winds" you mentioned often take advantage of the Bernoulli's principle to turn almost anything into a wing (i.e., it'll fly away). As insurance you might want to take the cover off the tent if one of those swirly wind" things is headed your way. :-)
A lot of marinas down here use those tarp covered carports on caster wheels for shade. They’re nice cause you can move them around as the sun shifts. Widest I can find is 20’ but you should be able to massage that to fit
If you have the time look at The Duracell Project episode 131. "Building a Bow Shed for our BIG BOAT in our Backyard". Makes a tall boat cover .
Now that Leo is done building Tally Ho, I’m glad to have found another boat building channel without a lot of drama! Your editing is great and I enjoy your narration style! Hopefully the last details will get sorted out soon and you can really dive into the project.
Likewise I’m Looking for another wooden boat channel too! Tally Ho, Yaba, Acorn to Arabella and a couple others are completed and sailing!
Contact Vevor and ask them to send an inflatable Auto spray booth.(Cost $1300) The size is big enough to cover 2/3 of the boat a one time. The only modification necessary would be to cut back the booth floor. Can be pressurized to pump AC into the unit and gasses out. Most importantly is can be quickly deflated before a wind storm. Lights can be added to allow work during the evenings should you to need to push through and complete a project. Once the refit is done you could re-sell the booth.
Hi Mads - I have made a cover to repair cars and a large garden cover using lengths of 75mm poly-pipe as ribs to create an arc by anchoring each end of the pipe on a star dropper hammered into the ground. Then, run a timber or aluminium ridge support along the top of the arc and screw the timber or aluminium strips into the poly pipe.
Cover it with plastic tarps or shade cloth which can be screwed into the poly pipe or tied down to the ground.
It's easy to roll away the cover in event of a storm, and remarkably sturdy in moderate winds. I'll try to find a picture.
Cheers, Grant - Adelaide South Australia
I meant to say the poly pipe is the black irrigation pipe, so it is a bit flexible to form a curve easily. I used 50 mm and found it quite effective.
Anyway, I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Grant
Mads, thanks for all your DIY video's and happy to see you found a new project to entertain yourself and us viewers. Are you familiar with the Duracel Project (also on youtube)? Matt build a cover over his boat using wooden planks. It doesn't sound perhaps not very strong but the way he did it is light and still strong and curved. In your desire to make the cover removable it's perhaps an option to hang a coveran hang it under the construction somehow clammed between wooden planks instead of laying the cover over the stands. Of course you will need to tweak the bending to come with a 22foot wide construction.
BTW. by showing the rain forecast for that day you revealed your location. It took me at least less than 5 minutes to find the address and see your boat on google maps. Don't worry I'm based in The Netherlands working on my own boat although not so extensive like you, I won't show up on your doorstep ;-)
Jan-Willem
It is beyond repair for anybody else but YOU. You can and will do it. I have no doubt that it'll be better than it was when it came out of the factory.
This is very kind. Thank you for the encouragement :)
Swirly Winds seems a befitting name for this boat.
Brilliant
@@benjaminback5172 Love it. Added to the list!
@@AvaSailLife _Swirly Winds_ has my vote!
Cheapest way to cover, 2 x 3 or 4s with thick vapour barrier, one truck load, easy, cheap customizable, remember a staple gun and red vapour tape. I created a covered cut station to make cabinets, been up for a whole year so far, just pitch it correctly to prevent water pooling
I think the structure you’re thinking of is a tunnel greenhouse maybe. You can get those from a greenhouse wholesaler/retailer they hold up very well to high winds. I’m not sure they make them as wide as your boat though that could be a problem. Here’s a crazy thought. How about one of those tents they use for catering parties or weddings maybe you could rent it. It’s awesome to have you in the states when you buy things they’ll make more sense. Good luck.
FL and hurricanes, any cover would blow away, you should get enough water/storm today to test any leak!!🤣🤣
Good name for the boat “Not a Big Deal”.
Mads, I've been watching your channel for a long time, since you started work on Athena. I'll admit that I went from watching you religiously every Sunday, to missing a lot of episodes once Athena hit the water. It's hard to sit at a desk all day and watch other people living their best life. The episodes I did see were great, I'm glad to see you taking on another project. To all the haters saying that this boat can't be salvaged, they must not be paying attention to what you've done before. You've got this! You might be the only person who could salvage her. Keep hanging in there, looking forward to see her launched.
no doubt mads can do this, and this time also in a financially sensible way. if you got mads skills fix up a boat that is worth it
I currently have my 40 ft. Saiboat in my backyard in Orllando. I have it covered with a 40 ft x 20 ft. White heavy duty tarp. I have 3/8" galvanized cable between 3" water pipes concreted into the ground. They are guy wired to eyebolts concreted into the ground. The cable is covered with 2" pvc pipe to protect the tarp. Under the tarp every 6 ft. or so, I have transverse 18 ft. 1" pvc pipe "bows" attached to the bottom of the pvc pipe covered cable. This holds the tarp up high enough to walk and work under. The tarp has eyelits every few feet with ropes going down beside the boat to ground anchors that screw into the ground. The pvc "bows" are tied to the lifelines. I also protected the tarp from abrasion from the lifelies with pvc pipe. The tarp is a little worse for wear, but after over the ten years I have been refurbing my storm damaged boat, it is still completely waterproof. It has survived near hurricane force gusts with no eyelits torn out yet. I woulld send you a picture if you like.
Pat (40 ft. Offshore 40, "Immanuel")
Green house tape, UV stable.
I’m so glad you were able to get the ad sense revenue sorted.
Us too 👍 such a relief 😊
Found d your videos a few weeks ago and I’m thoroughly enjoying your clear communication style, upbeat attitude and earnest efforts to involve viewers for their input/advice. Kind regards, C
These last couple of videos are brilliant. They're exciting and you seem infectiously enthusiastic about the work to be done. In fact, i don't think you've looked this happy since splashing Athena.
DIY is his happy place :)
0:18 I was one of those non-believers but now after watching couple of videos I see that you are really handy guy and you're working very efficiently. But still it will be a ton of work so good luck.
Mads I was starting to worry that your channel might end up being a sailing channel, but with this project, I know I'll have at least 2 years of Oh Glorious Sanding & building projects. You can & will do this as you my friend have the right attitude and skill set to pull it off. Of course, with Ava beside you, I know the project will be a huge success. Take care and good luck. I look forward to your weekly videos. Cheers
I am so happy to hear that your AdSense account has been sorted out. I am looking forward to more DIY fun.
What a relief :) Thank you for watching!
In America, a tent with walls is usually considered a building and regulated by fire codes. In that crowded marina, that might be a problem. A CANOPY, a covering with open sides, is usually not regulated.
So you might want to check with the yard, and a local fire marshal, before investing in a tent. With hurricane season, consider making it easy to remove from the frame, and anchoring the frame rigidly. Good luck!
Excellent suggestion!
a pop-up that's long enough to span the boat's width would be a good suggestion. secure the frame to the deck and remove the canopy if one of those 'swirly wind' storms....that was too funny....I will forever refer to hurricanes that way, thank you Mads...and I've lived in FL most of my life.
You may get a small piece of the Cat 1 hurricane to the North. Aug, Sept, and Nov are the problem storm months. Nov & Dec are the nice months for tourists.
There's always one
Container shelter 12 x 8mtrs will sort the protection can be anchored with posts concreted into the ground and crazily removed at end.Can be removed for a Massive forecasted storm and anchored down to the boat itself.Cgeap insurance and durable.Mine has survived 6 years and still perfectly dry .Good privacy and should be OK for regulations.Ross
For a covering I know you can get old billboard covering. It’s really tough and come in quite large pieces.
Oh yes. This is going to be my highlight of the weeks to follow this project. I have been here sense the Obelix and finally you fix a bigger boat that is going to fit in size until the grave, not to big and not to small. I LOVE IT!
The people who are saying it’s beyond repair are the people who have to pay others to fix their stuff. The boat I’m working on getting a Catalina 36 that is in really poor shape, but I have the skills to make it a fine ship again, so that’s what I plan to do.
I prefer the second definition of tram ramps!
Mads - we live in a slightly similar climate - strong recommendation (if you don't want your yacht to be a greenhouse - growing mould as it currently is in the aft cabins) a couple of serious de humidifiers. What we found with one yacht that needed repair was water in the bigle or in the atmosphere would evaporate during the day and then condense again as the boat cooled at night - ultimately there was a cycle of keeping the mould growing in the constant humidity. two running for 18 hrs a day - literally pulls 100's of litres of water out of the boat and internals.
Glad to hear your great news this week! For the cover, you might want to try event rental businesses, they have those big white tents for outdoor weddings and such. They sell them off when they get older, and you may be able to snag one from them cheaply 🤞
I have seen ones that are over 60ft wide!
High brow humor, love it!!!!
Mads, as O-glorious sanding is Sail Life tradition, I think this boat being a catamaran needs to be named "Oh Glorious Sandy Cat" or "Sandy Cat" for short.
While you are fixing the delamination of the tramp ramp doors, you could add some foam core to the inside to stiffen them.
Debby coming, rain soon. Enjoy your leak hunt ;-)
What about taping a strip of blue roll to the inside of the hull all the way around? The next time it rains, you will see wet streaks directly under where the leaks are. You could also set up squares of blue roll underneath all the deck/cabin top penetrations, such as hatches and deck fittings. Maybe elevated off the sole a bit with a cardboard box so you don't get a false positive from water running around on the sole or in the bilges?
I appreciate your humor, this has become my new look forward to channel.
Cheers
Thank you so much! 🙂
Mads I'm looking forward to you turning this lump of coal catamaran into the diamond that you did with Athena I watched every episode during the construction of that beautiful yatch.
Hi, we building a Narrowboat in the UK and have a family member who used to build tri and catamarans in South Africa…he built a big tunnel out of steel bar and welded it and concrete it in the ground the. Used a very strong stretch fabric over the top for a cover to build yachts
Oh glorious sanding coming soon. Yes!
Yeah, can't wait for the real good news....
Grab your sanding mask! 💪
roof idea
Mads just do what they do in Denmark for house projects...scaffolding. Get the type that doesn't have premade sides and then it could be just one leg "wide" and would fit beside your neighboring boat.
in my catamaran's manual, the tramp ramp is called a catwalk :)
Hehe 😝
Scaffolding would be the most effective method to cover the boat!
Get a builder/ contractor to build the frame with scaffolding then cover it with a large white tarpaulin.
Greetings, I have that Guerrilla Tape and works great on my leaking sun roof (in West Coast Florida). It lasts me 5 months. Nikki and Jason are awesome. I have been following them since day one when they bought their first cat. I am praying that all is 👍👍👍. Happy Sailing ⛵
I'm not gonna lie, I'm excited about this project.
We are a little excited too 😜
I'm actually surprised at myself for being excited about a catamaran. This should be an interesting and fun project to slowly watch come together.
I'm glad our own somewhat extensive refit is over and we have been out cruising for a few years. I don't think I have it me to do that all over again. I put too much of myself into the boat we have now. Mads is pretty special to go right back at it again so soon. I'm glad I only have to watch.
I don't have a specific model for you since I don't have exact dimensions but look into the agricultural sector specifically "hoop houses" lots of kits in tons of sizes. They are built to be semi permanent to permanent and can generally be assembled by one or two guys. They are very common for grain/hay/equipment/livestock storage. They also have a very robust second hand market
I don't know how feasible it would be but you have that twisted mass of aluminum that used to be a mast maybe you could use it somehow to build yourself a boat-mounted tent/canopy? Someone mentioned building codes and I do recall that Acorn to Arabella had issues with the fire marshal during their build with their boat house/tent type structure.
awesome channel! Awesome project...keep going!
I also like your video-capture techniques....love seeing the whole cat from a few steps away from the hull
Mads back where he loves to be... on a boat... on the hard work.
His happy place 😊
I would look up a Stimson Shed design for building an inexpensive temporary cover. It goes together with lightweight cheap wood and shrink wrap. Won't really address your desire to take the cover off but it may be a viable option. Good luck!
Mate, here in Australia we tend to get tents about 40' X 20' that attach to a couple of 40 ft containers. I you don't have the space (or money) for them you can build a temporary wall to attach the tent to. Cost of the tent will be between US$1000 and US$1500. Sell the tent when you have finished
We are so back!
I for one am so hyped for another somewhat extensive refit and I'm absolutely certain that Mads can get this boat back on the water.
Maybe you should start looking for a 20ft container you can buy or rent to place on the property, for storage of tools materials and interior. Would be great to see this hull empty and clean.
It would be a good idea but this yard is very, very small (I count 22 boats jammed in chock-a-block on site) A container that size would take up the room that another boat would. The yard would probably charge him another $350/month to have it taking up the space they could be renting for another boat owner. I think a Self-Storage locker that size would be cheaper than $350/month although it would not be as convenient being on site.
Don't worry about the opinions of couch "experts", I've been following your channel for almost five years now and have no doubts about your skills in repairing fiberglass, wood and other marine stuff. There are always idiots who have done nothing in their lives but think they are experts in every field, just do what you do and repair this beautiful boat. As for the canopy - I don't know how it is in the US, but in our area we often use arched structures
Make sure the yard / government approve your tent - Most counties in florida have restrictions on temporary structures -
Nothing is beyond repair, it boils down to the amount of time, money and labor is more than what the boat is worth to you.
Those who said this catamaran was to damaged to repair have obviously not seen the TH-cam channel Sailing Parlay Revival 😂
Didn't he also have one of his boats have a major structural failure?
@@CaptRR Yeah. The same kind of damage every big Lagoon seems to suffer from.
@@CaptRRThe main bulkhead broke in two.
@@patraic5241 that seems... Problematic
@@CaptRR You sir have a gift for understatement. It was a design fault. The bulkhead was just to thin to support the stress routinely put on it across the bridge deck and by the rigging. Lagoon has since come up with a retrofit to reinforce that bulkhead in older cats.
I live in this town mads but I wont tell where you are
Sailing Magic Carpet built a shelter over their boat. Reach out to them, or check in their videos for a full build. Seems easy enough. I'm super excited about this boat build. Congrats on ad sense! Keep 'em coming!
There's also Project Duracell.. an arched roof might be easier to work on the boat inderneath
Thanks you for the suggestion :) we will check theirs out!
They are in Canada... (different rules and regulations).
@@AvaSailLife good luck Mrs. Mads! 😁
@havardhovdet9217 this is Florida. The rules and regulations compared to Candidia are basically non-existent. The only rules Mads needs to worry about are whatever the yard sets on its property. He needs to talk to the guy in charge and get his OK on any temporary structure and from there on out he's golden.
I love the galley with that wood and stainless countertop.
My current boat was / is coast guard documented. After being notified that they needed a release of lean and then providing it, I was told that my case was back at the bottom of the waitlist. It took another 3 weeks after that. My total wait was about 3-4 months.
Aside from alligators, please be very careful with coral snakes. They do exist in FL. I am happy your monetization problem got fixed. Nothing like finding great people willing to help. Good luck w/ the new huge project.
Mads, after watching your videos for quite some time, I believe that you are more interested in the DIY part of sailing rather than the actual sailing itself, kind of “ Enjoying the journey rather that the destination”
In any event, I like obviously many others am looking forward to thr repair/rebuild/refit.
Held og lykke..
Got a good laugh when I saw the name of the boat 😁..... I do hope that you will get an answer soon and for ua as well when we can enjoy your O glorious sanding again :)
I remember the lovely workshop you had access to and Athena in private space just outside too - I don't remember Athena having to be used as a storage facility while you worked on her either.
Oh glorious leak detection. No cover will be ok in a hurricane! Must be able to take it down quickly
"...no bitey, bitey!" Love it!
Longeron is the term for your Tramp Ramp.
The Antares is a beautiful boat and your project is a nice find. As for the individuals who tell you the boat is beyond repair....Well, my response would be, "Nothing is beyond repair. It is simply a matter of dedicating time and money. If you manage to find your balls and your brains you can accomplish anything. For those incapable of finding one or both of these the boat is likely beyond repair." You and the misses are to nice to say things so bluntly, but I am not. The Antares came out of the factory a beautiful boat and I have full confidence you and the misses will make it a beautiful boat again. Happy sanding.
Tyvek + heat bond + clothes iron. Lightweight, extremely durable, can easily be form built to structure shape.... making it easy to remove and replace plus reusable for future projects as boat is in water and little things need done on the hard. Major plus is that being white, it cuts back radiant heat in a huge way. Just put pool noodle (pipe insulation) over joints and bends
Mads, I hope you keep the name. My grandfather’s Casey Cutter was called Carefree. It’s a great name.
Matt from the Duracell Project made a pretty cool tent for his boat, it has quite a clever design to make a large rounded shape with simple materials.
I think you have the skill, patience, willing to learn and dedication to fix any boat up in the world. You are an inspirational man and I can not wait to see the progress. Lions do not care about the opinions of sheep!
I love your work mate 👍
We have used the "canopy" option to cover work or storage areas quite often. In the California desert during construction projects. There are actually companies that sell them on a lot of pre configured sizes. One thing we would do is have 5 gallon buckets filled with sand to tie down each leg. And when there were going to be high winds we had a system devised to bring down the top fast and tie it down. We had ropes at each leg on one side, long enough to go over the top to the other side. When the wind was going to be real strong we pulled from the other side so those ropes were over the top and the canopy could be flaked on the other side. That way when the wind was over we just had to use the ropes to pull the canopy back up
Good luck
4x4 fence post dug into the ground gives your canopy a very rigid structure, and you can level the structure raising each fence post as needed.
Cathedral arch construction for like greenhouses and things like that work extremely well for both houses. I have a plastic on it or canvas and it’s dry and holes in the heat when you need it or the coolness when you need it.
I'm really looking forward to you clearing out the trash in and around the boat.
Would love to hear about your research in catamarans and which make/models were on your short list when you found this one (design and build quality etc). Looks like a great project for you!
Can hardly wait for 2 more years of
"Oh, glorious sanding," Mads
Hope it kicks off soon mate
As a desktop Engineer, all I can say is go for it!
Athena II is going to be such a beautiful beast when she's finished.
I kinda hope they go in a new direction with a name for this boat.
@@scottdunlop7442
Really.
As I understand it, NOT properly renaming a boat is BAD sailors luck..
That would be Bethena, then.
@@LongWalkerActual The worst kind of ju-ju imaginable. I know of a guy who bought a practically new boat, and the only thing he did to it was peel the old name off the transom, and put a new name on it. Had some weather in the marina a few months later, and Neptune reclaimed the boat. Do a proper naming ceremony, pay Neptune all the homage to which he is due, and keep up the traditions of the sea.
In my own head this boat is called Cathena until they come up with something better.
A proper marine un-naming and re-naming pair of bookend ceremonies is a fun time for everyone involved.
Hubbs vlog managed to pick up a Cat in the hurricane Beryl hit island ..
It was on land but a 30ft x5x5 alluminium diesel tank had landed on the front deck and had to be removed having squashed and got trapped by the front bow seat and rails. The tank was not light 🫣 . There were loads of boats flipped and toppled.
Some interesting larger boats around you in that yard.. that look like they've been there for a few years..🧙🏻♂️👍🏼
I built one of those tent-like buildings a while back. It was for extra work and storage space during a growth period at the company I work for (Timberbuilt, inc.). It was about 40 ft. X 100 ft half of a cylinder.
It was anchored with cables attached to a huge mass of concrete in the ground at each corner. It was easy to construct.
The only difficulty was where the sections of pipe slide together. Some of the tubes needed some grinding. We erected it with a forklift. We framed the back end wall with lumber and covered that with the same tent material. The front was open. The kit came with everything except lumber and concrete. It was very nice until a big snowstorm made it collapse. The snow slides off and pushes in in the sides crushing it like a tin can. You shouldn’t have to worry about that where you are though. It was much cooler inside it on sunny days and the lighting was bright white- could be good for filming, but I know nothing about that. I recommend you get one!
It looks like there will be plenty room for all the mini-Mads😊
Do you think they would come out holding a sander?
Hopefully the old Mad will be back with the same humor and showing us all his mistakes 😊. Say hi yo Jökul
Leo rebuilding Tally Ho in Sequim, starting by building the prototypical frame shed engineered to satisfy the building inspector and done on a reasonable budget. It had to hold up to the high winds and storms. Many other channels have copied this design successfully.
Under the heading " Careful what you wish for" Florida got plenty of rain yesterday. I'm currently bailing out my house.
Really looking forward to the rebuild. Good luck !
My favorite method to find leaks is using white board water soluble markers. Draw in areas you suspect leaks and come back later after rain and you will see where water traveled over lines you drew.
I used to be able to set my watch by the 3 pm thunderstorms that would roll thru in cape canaveral in the summer.
Cool, nice to see you solve boat renovating problems and build. Good luck!.
The trampoline ramp of doom seems to have a new, longer extended walkway version on the new hybrid Antares 44s. Might be fun to make the extended edition if you can get the dimensions. Looks like it allows for another front stay further forward for more sails up.
Northern Tool carries a product called 'Garage in a box' that might work as a partial shelter solution but it's only 24' long so you'd need 2 of them to cover entire boat. Tractor Supply company also has some heavy-duty tarps that would keep rain out but no frame.
Great to see some optimism, Mads. You're like a roadrunner vaiting to be set free 😂 Btw: knowing your talents, i would make a dome from foam and glass. U shaped sections. Or smaller L-shaped sections put together. If you make an 'adapter' along the side - or a scaffold holding it, you vil basically make an isolated 'osteklokke' ("cheesebell?!) To keep the heat out. I have a normal tent here in Denmark and it is freaking hot in the summer. So thinking of you in the Florida heat, things will only get worse. Considering how much time must be spend under the dome, an AC would be preferable. By isolating it, this will be easier to cool down. When you are finished, i am certain that others will buy the dome. Especially if you make it in your usual quality.
Close your eyes and imagine Fossie Bear narrating this. Genius!
Maybe you can find a Patron with an enclosed building that has light, conditioned air, water, power, and storage space that would let you use it for a year or so. That would be ideal. Looking forward to the repairs on this vessel.
Mads - please take care to protect your scalp mate. As a bald Aussie living with a merciless sun, your skin will get destroyed by UV if you're not careful. Think of it like uncoated expoxy resin - except when it starts to fail in years to come you can't just grind it back and replace it. (Sorry - I know I'm/we aren't your parents)
Wonderful news on the Adsense issue! 😀