Curruira 42 trawler hull n° 1 turning over party

Early this January I had the opportunity to take part in a barbecue to toast the turning upside of the first Curruira 42 built by Flab Boatyard, from Campinas, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was necessary on that occasion to complete a round the world trip just to be there to participate in the event. In May 2007 I had traveled to Perth, Western Australia, where our office is presently established. My route was by way of Santiago, Auckland and Sidney. This time I flew to Dubay and São Paulo, and now I have warranted the right to stick an X in my cockpit, despite the discomfort of the tiresome twenty-one hours trip and the eleven hours jet-lag. But in the end it was worth all the effort.

Clients and friends – Fernando (Curruíra 46 “Rainha Janota”); Roberta e Nico (Curruíra 42 “Argenores”); Luis Gouveia; Joaquim (Southern Voyager 28); Rubens (Multichine 23 “Vida Dura”); Diana e Daniel (Samoa 34 “Zait”); Flávio; Roberto (Diamond 6.0 “Matisse”)

Arriving in the boatyard was a very rewarding sensation. Instead of entering in a dusty and noisy plant in an industrial suburb of any large city, I was in a rural area nearby Campinas, with many trees and pastures with cows and horses. The sheds where the boats are built are open-walled and surrounded by tall trees, by no means disturbing the landscape. I was also quite impressed with the neatness of the place, a condition seldom found in other custom building workshops. Presently Flab Boatyards have five boats of different lengths, all of them from Roberto Barros Yacht Design office under construction, and soon they will start to build a 46 foot trawler also designed by our studio.

I arrived a few days before the date scheduled for the event and took the opportunity for promoting technical meetings with Flavio Rodrigues, the director of the company, about many details in the construction of the Curruira 42, and closer to the day of the party, I had the chance to do the same with the various other clients who were invited for the party. What impressed me most when I first glanced at the upside-down hull of the Curruira 42 was her huge size.(It's amazing how misleading it is to watch a drawing in the monitor and seeing the actual boat in  three dimensions.) Considering her generous beam, it is unquestionable that she is a huge trawler for her length, the very dream of many potential owners. In spite of being in an upside-down position yet, and its empty interior, the structural bulkheads already installed gave a good idea of how she is going to be when completed: the fore compartment with the sleeping accommodations, the central bilge area where the engine room and fuel tanks will be installed, and the after quarters with its steering gear installation.

The standard of finishing of the outside of the hull is worth the warmest compliment. The Ply-glass construction method (marine plywood sheathed with a thick layer of fiberglass) is a building technique that makes the most durable boats a boatyard is able to construct, but the fairing and smoothing of the fibreglass external surface requires a skilled job not to show hollows or bumps on the outside. In the case of the Curruira 42 the finishing was perfect and the chines did not show the slightest inflection.
The evening before the turning-over party all guests were invited for dinner, an opportunity for testing the heart conditions of some of the participants, especially Flavio's and Nico Araujo's, the builder and the happy owner.

Early in the next day the whole preparation was performed: tables and chairs were laid in place, the barbecue grill heated and the background music equipment tested, while the unquestionable star of the show, the Curruira 42, remained static in its building grid. But the time had come for the grand finale.

Effusive congratulations, acknowledgments, ironic speeches, all of these were loudly heard in the next few moments. Suddenly an out of the script ‘happy birthday to you' was rendered, since in spite of nobody having been warned, it was Flavio's anniversary.
Next every member of the boatyard team, under the command of their Maestro, took their positions in the carefully planned turning over operation scheme. As a chicken on a skewer, the trawler had two sticks fixed, one ahead of her stem and the other on the transom, both aligned with the fore and aft centre of gravity axis. If it wasn't for friction, the weight of a butterfly landing on one of the topsides would suffice to turn the heavy trawler upside, so the whole operation didn't take a long time to be accomplished. An absolute silence reigned when the boat started to turn, and a murmur could be heard when the deck reached the vertical. Then very quickly the Curruira 42 was already standing in its upside position. At this time people started to clap hands, but they halted, since the operation wasn't over yet. The boat still needed to be lowered in her cradle. This was done in slow motion and only then the whole public began to cheer the achievement.

Surrounded by the other guests who congratulated him, Nico let a few tears roll down  his face and soon a ladder was installed for him to climb aboard, followed by Flavio and all the others. Then the party was established inside the hull and for the second time that day a ‘happy birthday to you' was rendered.

Nico was already dreaming with his boat completed, cruising the tropical waters of Bahia, one of the most beautiful cruising grounds the world over. But this is another story that we want to report the soonest possible.
People were called back to the shed's floor where two cakes with lighted candles awaited guests and the boatyard staff: One for Nico's Curruira and the other for Flavio's birthday.

The Curruira ready to the turning over	The party in the boatyard	The turning over begins	45 degrees	80 degrees.	90 degrees, deck
90 degrees, hull	Almost there...	The turning over is finished	Gong down to the cradle.	End of the Show	Nico Araújo celebrating the completion of the hull construction
Deck	Flávio, Nico and Luis inside the Curruíra	End of the party, the boat is ready for the next step of the construction	Future dreams

Curruira 42 Agenores Part II

And finally Agenores, the Curruira 42 trawler we so anxiously waited for seeing her in operation, performed its inaugural test. The maiden voyage was basically a delivery trip from Ubatuba, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she was launched, to Marau, a tourist place located some six-hundred miles north, in the Brazilian State of Bahia. The first leg of the trip, which we are reporting in this article, was the 140 miles stretch from Ubatuba to Rio de Janeiro.

Nico Araujo, the owner, invited Agenores builder, Flavio Antonio Rodrigues, www.flab.com.br, to take part as crew, bringing his two sons, Ivan and Raul with him. Nico’s two sons, Felipe and Nicolau, and Ricardo, a professional sailor, completed the crew. So, just in her first time out, Agenores was fully occupied, actually overbooked, since the layout chosen by our client was the two double-berth cabins optional arrangement.

Agenores flared bows deflect the waves keeping the foredeck dry

The crossing took twenty-two hours, part of them navigated under very tough conditions, with winds blowing just on the nose. That was when the crew discovered how she behaves.
A fierce storm had hit the southeast Brazilian coast right on the day intended for the departure, which obliged the crew to delay the start of the trip in two days. The tempest was so severe that caused giant waves breaking in Guanabara (Rio de Janeiro) bay entrance, in a place normally as calm as a pond, used by the Optmist Class kids as racing course. The breakers were so gigantic that surfers run quickly to the spot to profit from the huge tubes they were forming. This happening was never seen before and was in all TV news that evening.

During this same week was scheduled to start the Rio de Janeiro Boat Show, taking place in Marina da Gloria, inside Guanabara Bay. The storm hit the marina basin with such destructive violence that the event had to be postponed for two days, such were the damages suffered by its piers.

This was the picture in the eve of Agenores departure, but waiting one more day to leave was sufficient to let storm abate. It was a good occasion for the trawler to point her stem to the seas and, under the sharp eyes of her cautious crew, prove how seaworthy she was.

Flavio sent us a briefing of the performance during the passage which left us from B & G Yacht Design delighted, since the data obtained by him closely matched with the theoretic curve of performance obtained by our VPP program.

It must be reminded that the Curruira 42 is a displacement hull of low fuel consumption (thirteen litres per hour at cruising speed average) and extra-long range.

Agenores is equipped with a Mercedes 366 model 180hp diesel engine.

The data Flavio informed us about Agenores performance is listed below:

At 1500 revs in light winds the speed reached 6.5 knots. In stronger headwinds the speed fell to 5.7 knots.
In similar conditions at 2000 revs the speeds were 7.8 knots and 7.1 knots respectively.

At 2800 revs, far below the 3300 maximum revs, the speeds were 9.4 knots and 8.7 knots, closely matching with the theoretical speed/power curve for the Curruira 42.

Flavio Rodrigues considered the behaviour of the hull as being above his spectation under the conditions experienced during the crossing. According to his observations the hull passes through waves smoothly, with minimal yawing and little rolling, since rudder control and stability are very good. The nice video Flavio’s son, Ivan, produced during the trip is worth watching, especially if you consider that the scenery of Rio de Janeiro’s approaches is one of the most beautiful in the world.

Curruira 42 Agenores. Part I

It is amazing how trawler yachts are becoming each time more popular during these last few years. It seems like lots of people are discovering together the pleasures of owning a small cruising ship, like in general trawlers use to look like, available to be dwelled in a peaceful and comfortable way, and being capable of taking you anywhere.

We from B & G Yacht Design did not ignore this trend. Soon we were very attentive about this tendency and started surveying the motor yachts market with great interest, and in no time had a small collection of trawler designs in our list of stock plans.

The Curruira 42 is our largest trawler yet, and the inauguration of its first unit is a great achievement for us.

Curruira Agenores side view

When developing a new design we invariably make an evaluation of the profile of the public for that type of boat. In the case of mid-sized trawlers we were confident that the most praised aptitudes of this sort of craft is its relatively low cost if compared to planing motor yachts, its longer range of operation, and also for the easiness of being crewed by persons of all ages. For us the unequivocal fact about displacement motor yachts is that our office is constantly receiving enquiries about them from the part of middle class people interested in owning an affordable yacht.

Curruíra 42 Agenores seen from aft

Taking into account this demand we decided to design the Curruira 42. Forty-two foot  can still be considered a relatively small boat if compared to the mega-yachts so easily purchased a short time ago by bonus rewarded CEO’s before the recent economic slump. However, as conscience increases that you don’t need to have more than you can afford to be happy, we are quite assured that this compulsion for possessing the largest and most expensive one will begin to change, and there will be a consistent demand for more affordable, mid-sized trawlers, as far as they are comfortable to live in, are seaworthy and posses a good-looking style.

As soon as the plans were concluded we made our first sale. Our client, Nico Araujo, a retired doctor from Rio de Janeiro, wanted a boat to stay aboard for long periods, intending to cruise along the northeast coast of Brazil, making the bay of Camamu his home-port, since he has a beach house in that tropical paradise.

A friend, Flávio and Nico wearing blue tee-shirt

About that time Flab Boatyard, www.flab.com.br , from Campinas, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, was starting its activities, having built a sailboat from our design employing the same method specified for the Curruira 42, the so-called plywood/epoxy building method. For that qualification we recommended the builder to our client, and that appointment was very successful, as you can witness below:

The Curruira 42 Agenores, first boat of the class to be completed, was finally delivered and been transported from Campinas to Ubatuba, in the State of Sao Paulo, by Flab Boatyards (Flavio Antônio Rodrigues) to our client Nico Araujo.

No doubt Agenores is a very well-built yacht.

There are few boat builders who may boast having such a sophisticated level of finishing as Flavio imprints to his constructions, some of the details in his work, for our client’s delight, being authentic works of art. To build a little ship in wood framing sheathed with marine-ply, then encapsulated with fiberglass saturated in epoxy resin, is a job for few to accomplish with such a high level of quality, only possible to be achieved by a very skilled staff.

The hull being sheathed with marine plywood

The plywood/epoxy “ply-glass” building method begins with the construction of transversal wooden framing joined by chine clamps and stringers. Next the whole structure is sheathed with marine-ply and then covered with a thick layer of fiberglass lamination saturated in epoxy resin. The process, in spite of being very simple to be accomplished, is a bit tiresome, since it requires sanding the outside surface of the glass lamination, but the final quality of the hull is so good that makes it one of the best building methods available for one-off construction. The resulting hull is relatively light, very strong and immensely durable.

The Curruira 42 interior arrangement consists of a saloon at deck level where the navigation station, the galley and the social area of the boat are placed. The sleeping accommodations are installed in the fore compartment at a lower level. We designed two different layouts for the fore compartment to be chosen by each owner according to personal preference. The first option with three cabins, two heads, arrangement, is intended to fit the profile of larger families, while the other arrangement is intended for a couple, with the possibility of hosting guests for short periods. The second option contemplates an owner’s cabin of king size dimensions and a smaller cabin for eventual guests, being this layout our client’s choice.

Owner’s cabin

The Agenores’ pilot-house internal layout was a decision made by the boatyard and did not follow the plans. In general, however, the boat is superbly well finished and otherwise built according to the plans

Pilot station seen from the galley

A compartment which exceeds in building standards aboard Agenores is her engine room. Flavio is a passionate for antique cars restorations, so his skill in installing systems with fancy details is already in his DNA, no doubt the engine room deserving a careful inspection from anyone who happens to visit the boat. Nico had a positive contribution in allowing that compartment to look clean and spacious when decided for the installation of one engine only, leaving plenty of room for other equipments, while preserving the design full tankage.

Engine room

There were two special occasions for commemoration during the construction: the hull turning over party, (read the story in Curruira 42 Club section), sponsored by Flab Boatyards, and again in March 2010, the delivery party.

A model airplane with camera filmed the trawler leaving the building shed making exciting aerial views. The lorry had to cross a vicinal road before reaching the highway, generating some degree of adrenaline. However from then on the trip to Ubatuba was eventless, and finally Agenores is laying in a local marina yard awaiting the great day when she will be launched. The part two of this article covers this event.

Curruira 42 trawler hull n° 1 turning over party

Early this January I had the opportunity to take part in a barbecue to toast the turning upside of the first Curruira 42 built by Flab Boatyard, from Campinas, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was necessary on that occasion to complete a round the world trip just to be there to participate in the event. In May 2007 I had traveled to Perth, Western Australia, where our office is presently established. My route was by way of Santiago, Auckland and Sidney. This time I flew to Dubay and São Paulo, and now I have warranted the right to stick an X in my cockpit, despite the discomfort of the tiresome twenty-one hours trip and the eleven hours jet-lag. But in the end it was worth all the effort.

Clients and friends – Fernando (Curruíra 46 “Rainha Janota”); Roberta e Nico (Curruíra 42 “Argenores”); Luis Gouveia; Joaquim (Southern Voyager 28); Rubens (Multichine 23 “Vida Dura”); Diana e Daniel (Samoa 34 “Zait”); Flávio; Roberto (Diamond 6.0 “Matisse”)

Arriving in the boatyard was a very rewarding sensation. Instead of entering in a dusty and noisy plant in an industrial suburb of any large city, I was in a rural area nearby Campinas, with many trees and pastures with cows and horses. The sheds where the boats are built are open-walled and surrounded by tall trees, by no means disturbing the landscape. I was also quite impressed with the neatness of the place, a condition seldom found in other custom building workshops. Presently Flab Boatyards have five boats of different lengths, all of them from Roberto Barros Yacht Design office under construction, and soon they will start to build a 46 foot trawler also designed by our studio.

I arrived a few days before the date scheduled for the event and took the opportunity for promoting technical meetings with Flavio Rodrigues, the director of the company, about many details in the construction of the Curruira 42, and closer to the day of the party, I had the chance to do the same with the various other clients who were invited for the party. What impressed me most when I first glanced at the upside-down hull of the Curruira 42 was her huge size.(It’s amazing how misleading it is to watch a drawing in the monitor and seeing the actual boat in  three dimensions.) Considering her generous beam, it is unquestionable that she is a huge trawler for her length, the very dream of many potential owners. In spite of being in an upside-down position yet, and its empty interior, the structural bulkheads already installed gave a good idea of how she is going to be when completed: the fore compartment with the sleeping accommodations, the central bilge area where the engine room and fuel tanks will be installed, and the after quarters with its steering gear installation.

The standard of finishing of the outside of the hull is worth the warmest compliment. The Ply-glass construction method (marine plywood sheathed with a thick layer of fiberglass) is a building technique that makes the most durable boats a boatyard is able to construct, but the fairing and smoothing of the fibreglass external surface requires a skilled job not to show hollows or bumps on the outside. In the case of the Curruira 42 the finishing was perfect and the chines did not show the slightest inflection.
The evening before the turning-over party all guests were invited for dinner, an opportunity for testing the heart conditions of some of the participants, especially Flavio’s and Nico Araujo’s, the builder and the happy owner.

Early in the next day the whole preparation was performed: tables and chairs were laid in place, the barbecue grill heated and the background music equipment tested, while the unquestionable star of the show, the Curruira 42, remained static in its building grid. But the time had come for the grand finale.

Effusive congratulations, acknowledgments, ironic speeches, all of these were loudly heard in the next few moments. Suddenly an out of the script ‘happy birthday to you’ was rendered, since in spite of nobody having been warned, it was Flavio’s anniversary.
Next every member of the boatyard team, under the command of their Maestro, took their positions in the carefully planned turning over operation scheme. As a chicken on a skewer, the trawler had two sticks fixed, one ahead of her stem and the other on the transom, both aligned with the fore and aft centre of gravity axis. If it wasn’t for friction, the weight of a butterfly landing on one of the topsides would suffice to turn the heavy trawler upside, so the whole operation didn’t take a long time to be accomplished. An absolute silence reigned when the boat started to turn, and a murmur could be heard when the deck reached the vertical. Then very quickly the Curruira 42 was already standing in its upside position. At this time people started to clap hands, but they halted, since the operation wasn’t over yet. The boat still needed to be lowered in her cradle. This was done in slow motion and only then the whole public began to cheer the achievement.

Surrounded by the other guests who congratulated him, Nico let a few tears roll down  his face and soon a ladder was installed for him to climb aboard, followed by Flavio and all the others. Then the party was established inside the hull and for the second time that day a ‘happy birthday to you’ was rendered.

Nico was already dreaming with his boat completed, cruising the tropical waters of Bahia, one of the most beautiful cruising grounds the world over. But this is another story that we want to report the soonest possible.
People were called back to the shed’s floor where two cakes with lighted candles awaited guests and the boatyard staff: One for Nico’s Curruira and the other for Flavio’s birthday.

The Curruira ready to the turning over	The party in the boatyard	The turning over begins	45 degrees	80 degrees.	90 degrees, deck
90 degrees, hull	Almost there...	The turning over is finished	Gong down to the cradle.	End of the Show	Nico Araújo celebrating the completion of the hull construction
Deck	Flávio, Nico and Luis inside the Curruíra	End of the party, the boat is ready for the next step of the construction	Future dreams