Shaping the outboard inside pad and keel band reinforcements

Making and shaping the internal after of the outboard pad  

Making and shaping the bilge keel reinforcement wooden battens 

Making and shaping the centre keel reinforcement and then holding them down into position  

finally got Little Mai in the workshop and now ready to fit her out.

Finally got the mould with the dinghy in the workshop ready to make a start on fitting her out 

First dry fitting the stern seat before make the transom pad for the outboard and then glass in the seat 

Dry fitting the bow seat, however before  the glass in this bow seat in, there is the  fitting of the bow eye bolt 

Let the fun begin 

Mai-Star II from empty shell to sailing and then on to a major refit

Starting to get back to work on Mai-Star II after a long break from been able to work on her

Working on making a new forehatch

Another job to sort out the top of the transom 

Sort out the coamings around the cockpit sides

Make a gas bottle locker to keep the gas bottle from moving round the cockpit while at sea

The varnish work on the inside of the cabin as stood well after been left for a long period of time 

The broken deck beam that needs replacing before the new deck can go back on a job with top priority 

The mast step that needed replacing at the same time as the deck beams

A new rib needed to be made and steamed into place as one of the jobs over the winter

A lot of painting and varnishing to be done over the winter months as well both on the inside and outside. 

It as been a busy year at J-Star Boat Services and with more new projects for the new year in the pipeline

At the beginning of  the year it was time to decommission the works dinghy and start its overhaul and restoration which as been on going for much of the year as other projects have come and gone.

One of the projects was to make a small catamaran as a test bed for a new power unit that the client was testing out. 

Then came the ribbing out of our new class of dinghy

As roof rack for a client's kayak so that the kayak did not get damaged while being transported  

 The ongoing restoration of this old gaffer

Mould making for a new dinghy which the company purchased earlier in the year and hopes to bring to the market next year/ 

The conversion of an old ship's/ oil rig lifeboat into a liveaboard cruiser for its owner

and finally a bit of car restoration work before getting back to some more boats in the run up to Christmas

Another busy day in the workshop

continuing with the new forehatch, now the ends are cut back to finish off the planning of the ends so that the rebate can be cut into the top edge of the base part of the hatch and the upper part can be made to fit the base.

The first of the mouldings for little mai dinghy class have been released from the moulds and the moulds have been cleaned and polished ready for the next set of mouldings to be made for the next dinghy out of the hull mould/

Once the new mouldings are made then it will be time to start moulding the next hull out of the mould.

In the workshop while the weather is against us working outside.

Today was one of those days where it was not possible to work outside as the weather was wet and windy. So it was a day for getting a few jobs done around the workshop. Mainly get on with the new dinghy seat moulds and make up the first two grp seats to fit in the new dinghy which we are fitting out at the moment.

The final bit of construction of the seats was done today, namely the backing pads for the seats to stop them from being to flexible. Once they are flowcoated on the back faces and before they are fitted to the dinghy.

Once this is done then the seats can be glassed into position and the rest of the fitting out can continue.

Then it will be time to make up the middle thwart and make the gunwales and rubbing skates and then make a set of floorboards and oars. also fill in the keel channel so that a keelband can be fitted along the outside of the keel as well as the bilge keels.

The new fore hatch for Mai-Star II is coming along as well with the surplus glue being removed and the hatch being sanded and made ready to have the rebate cut on the top edge of the hatch so that the upper part of the hatch can be made and the top of the hatch can be made to look like a laid deck and a skylight fitted in the centre of the give the forward end of the yacht a bit of light.

So it as been a busy day with a few of the inside jobs being ticked off the list.

Now back to work on Mai-Star II with work on the Hull and deck and the new forehatch.

Now back to work on Mai-Star II with an inspection of the hull to see what is needed to be done first

The hull is in reasonable condition  just will need a good sanding before the painting can continue over the next few months

The bottom looks in good condition apart from a few gaps where the planks have dried out over the summer months.

The gaps in the planks will swell up with the winter damp condition and a little help from a hose pipe spraying  water over the planks on the inside 

The new forehatch being glued together, then it will be ready for the next stage cutting the rebate around the top to fit the upper section of the hatch.

The new apprentice hard at work, getting to grips with the company's work dinghy restoration.

The new apprentice scraping down the inside of the bow locker to get rid of any loose paint  

Then the young apprentice started on sorting out the man part of the dinghy by scraping the loose paint off this part of the dinghy

The bottom of the bow locker with all the loose paint cleared away

The using an air line to make sure there was no loose paint left behind

Having polished the new moulds, making a start on making the seats for the Little Mai dinghy

Coating the bow seat mould with release wax ready to coat with the first of three coats of White gelcoat

Doing the same with the stern seat mould, release waxing it ready for the next stage

The bow seat mould, now got its first coat of gelcoat on 

The same having been done to the stern seat mould.

It the morning do the same again, apply the second and third coats of white gelcoat. Before starting to hand laying up the the first of three layers of matting.

Making the plugs and then the moulds for the seats for the New Little Mai Class dinghy

Having made the plugs for the stern and bow seats, the coated the plugs with epoxy and rubbed them down and polished them

Then coated them with a mould release wax before coating them with the first of three coats of black gel coat

The three coats of black gel coat applied to both plugs  

After the plugs were coated in four layers of matting, the reinforcement plywood was fixed to the  plugs 

Then a further couple of layers of matting put over the top of the plugs