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