Sailboat Refit: Making Bulkheads for Duracell!

Matt and Janni, of The Duracell Project, are one step closer this week to turning their legendary racing boat into a comfortable live-aboard cruising home.  In today’s Video of the Week, we get a peek into Duracell’s interior! Using a lot of High Performance Epoxy, Matt builds and fits the bulkheads that make the forward stateroom.  

If you are not caught up with this sailing couple’s latest project,  let us give you a little refresher!  Matt Steverson is refitting and restoring the legendary race boat, Duracell.  Duracell is an Open 60 Sailboat that was built by legendary American sailor, Mike Plant.  Mike Plant sailed and beat the American record for solo circumnavigation in the first Vendee Globe in 1989.  This is one of the world’s toughest sailing races, known as the Everest of the Seas.  After Duracell was involved in a crash, the former owner put up a post online to find a new owner who would be fit to take on this project.  Two years after replying to the online forum post from Duracell’s previous owner, Matt and Janni were gifted this racing boat and now have the honor to turn it into a comfortable cruising home.

To kick off this weeks project, Matt begins by gluing two pieces of foam board with thickened epoxy that will make the bulkhead.  Once they are glued together, Matt begins the lamination process.  He is using two layers of  1708 Biaxial Cloth on each side, wetting it out with our High Performance EpoxyOnce both sides are laminated, Matt seals it up with his vacuum bag for curing.  While this can be a tedious and repetitive process through this refit, it is actually an enjoyable task for Matt because he can finally see something come to fruition that he has been dreaming about for a few years now.  He repeats the same process again to build the portside bulkhead that will make the stateroom inside Duracell.  And, once the bulkheads are cured, and the interior room is prepped, we get to enjoy seeing a little taste of what Duracell’s living space will look like as Matt fits them into place to make the stateroom space. 

What do you think of Duracell’s transformation so far?  Let Matt and Janni know below! And, be sure to like the video, and subscribe to The Duracell Project channel to follow along their refit journey.  Each week they get closer to turning their dreams into reality! Thanks for watching! 

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