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SAMOA
28
Club
Samoa 28 Sirius first "flight"
Daniel D'Angelo, the Argentinean geologist who built a Samoa 28 totally unassisted, in his home garden in Buenos Aires, Argentina, already removed the boat from his lawn, employing a crane for the purpose. Next the boat will be conducted to a professional boatyard to have the fin-keel and rudder installed, and the final coat of polyurethane paint applied. Daniel published in his site, http://ar.geocities.com/velerosirius/ this thrilling operation in a You Tube video.
Daniel wrote this note about the experience:
The great day of removing my beloved Sirius from my garden finally has come. As it has been routine these last days, Murphy was there, bringing with him all his implacable laws. The freighter, who has been hired to transport the boat to the boatyard, didn't come at the appointed time, and as the crane didn't fail to come, we had to improvise, leaving the boat on the public sidewalk for a while.
For good chance I could count on the assistance of my neighbor "Chavo" and his sons, who already gave me a hand when the hull had been turned upside. Since that day they hadn't visited the workshop, so they where quite pleased to participate in this important achievement.
The operation was successfully accomplished, with no mishaps, what is good omen for Sirius first steps in the outside world. Finally we left for the time being the hull resting on two bearers laid on the sidewalk.
Praying not to be disturbed by the municipal authorities, we covered the whole boat with a tarpaulin, and my neighbor Alejandro and I went to sleep aboard, being rewarded with a 2° negative Celsius for that first night.
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Sirius is a good example of amateur construction. Competing with dozens of other builders in various countries, some of them professionals, it is him who will tell us the first news about a Samoa 28 sailing. We intend to publish a cover story in our site as soon as he informs us about this impressive achievement.
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Samoa 28 Sirius |
Last but not least, it is nearly concluded the construction of our first boat built in Korea. She is a Multichine 45 built in steel by Mr T. J. Park. He is at the moment giving the last coats of finishing to his handsome yacht. He didn't tell us yet how he will call her, but for the time being, for us she will be "The Korean MC45 Star"
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The Korean MC45 Star |
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| Samoa 28 in a sledge ride towards completion
 The Samoa 28 class is becoming one of our most international designs. We already have builders in nine different countries, some of them in the last stages of construction.. In a little more than one year we got an expressive number of supporters. We already have builders in Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Italy, Spain, U.S.A, Switzerland, Sweden and Uruguay and received orders for study plans from about the same number of other countries.
The most advanced construction is the boat being built in Buenos Aires by Daniel D'Angelo. He opened a site http://ar.geocities.com/velerosirius relating the various stages of the construction process, and this motivated many other potential builders, who saw in Daniel effort an incentive to follow his steps. Daniel, a geologist by trade, had no previous experience in boat building, and the good result he is obtaining is a convincing factor for others to build the boat.
Various other constructions are not far behind the Argentinean. One of them is the boat built by Bernardo Sampaio in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. His boat is already turned upside and the bulkheads are being installed at the moment (see photos below).
The Samoa 28 has every chance to become our international best seller. Even though the MC23 and MC28 models are being built in a larger number of countries yet, considering that this design is so new, it will be no surprise if soon the Samoa 28 becomes our champion of sales. o.
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First Samoa 28 not far from launching in Buenos Aires.
We received two new photos of Sirius, the Samoa 28 being built by Daniel D'Angelo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, showing his boat with the superstructure already installed, and ready to receive the fiberglass sheathing. Daniel intends to conclude Sirius construction in the next few months, and for that purpose he is already ordering the engine, spars and other equipments. Internally the boat still requires some finishing work; however Daniel intends to conclude the last details of the internal joinery within the next weeks.
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Meanwhile, there is already another Samoa 28 turned upside. This is being built in Ubatuba, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Bernardo Sampaio, his owner, sent us two captions showing the interior of his hull being prepared for the inside fiberglass sheathing.
The one year old Samoa 28 class has already proved that its method of construction is easy to accomplish, and is absolutely within the reach of the inexperienced amateur builder. We intend to follow closely the construction of these two boats and will keep you, the visitors of our site, informed with the latest news about these two boats, and we hope that the other Samoa 28 builders will soon follow the steps of these two pioneers, so that in 2007 the class starts its career as one of the most versatile cruiser- racer designs for amateur construction.
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About the Samoa 28
This article is simultaneously published in our site and in www. amateurboatbuilding.com
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We designed the Samoa 28 to be the most complete ocean sail boat of her size among the stock plans for amateur construction. We wanted a fast and comfortable cruising boat with a performance compatible with racing designs, and at the same time capable of sailing in a round the world trip, having a small family for crew, or single-handed, if wished. When in harbour or anchored, she had to be as comfortable as a small cottage, with at least the minimum amenities expected to be found in a live-aboard yacht.
The Samoa 28 stock plan is just beginning its career as one of the most promising twenty-eight footers in the market. There are already more than twenty boats being built in six different countries, all that happening in a little more than one year since its introduction. Meanwhile the popularity of the design never ceased to be expanding, what makes us be sure that very soon it will become a very popular class.
We invite you to follow us in a tour of the construction method and feature details of the Samoa 28:
The construction begins with the production of moulds which will give the shape of the hull. Their full size patterns are supplied with the plans in the form of printed paper or digital information, as required.
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After positioning the moulds over a building base, wooden or foam strips are lightly nailed to the moulds, until the whole hull is planked. Next the outside surface of the hull is sheathed with a fibreglass lamination. Then the boat is turned upside, and after removing the moulds, another fibreglass lamination is applied internally. The internal structure and furniture are then built.
Finally deck and cabin trunk are built with plywood over structural beams, and a layer of fibreglass is then laid over, overlapping the topsides, encapsulating the whole superstructure.
The plans contain a building manual which covers in detail all phases of the construction; engine, electrical and plumbing installation, as well as information concerning deck fittings, keel and rudder attachments.
The Samoa 28 differs from other similar designs regarding how the internal bottom structure is specified. The difference consists in the way the structural floors are attached. The spaces between them are filled with polyurethane foam, except for two wells, port and starboard, where two automatic bilge pumps will be later installed Then a layer of fibreglass is applied on this flat surface, going down these two bilge wells, this way providing an unique, clean looking, internal flat bottom where the installation of bulkheads is tremendously facilitated. This method of construction also ensures an incomparable stiffness to the hull's bottom, a welcome feature, especially when cruising, if the boat ever hits the ground.
The Samoa 28 is a sturdy and light boat. She is equally adequate for cruising or racing. Depending on the preference, the owner may opt for a special racing keel, with more draught and with a lower centre of gravity. The rudder and the sail plan, however, remain the same.
What makes the Samoa 28 suitable to live aboard and to accomplish long distance blue water cruising is the balance of the internal arrangement, where all of her compartments are equally comfortable and functional. The idea of incorporating the forward double berth with the dinette area without partitions is the best option in a 28 footer, giving an unequalled impression of amplitude to the boat's main living area. The galley and the heads occupy the beamier portion of the interior, enabling those very important compartments to have plenty of room, for the crew's comfort when the boat is used more intensely. The after cabin is ample and airy, besides being provided with a hall with adequate headroom, with its sofa and locker. The engine compartment fits nicely under the companionway hatch, its cover serving as a step for accessing the cabin.
We opted for a long and comfortable cockpit with tiller steering, but there is no restriction for the installation of wheel steering, if this is the owner's preference.
There are already various Samoas 28 with their hulls already concluded, but probably the first to be sailing will be the one built by Daniel D'Angelo, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Daniel has the interior already concluded and is presently finishing his deck and cabin trunk. We expect to see the first Samoa 28 already sailing during next year, and this almost for certain will happen in the River Plate.
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A SUCCESSFUL TURNING OVER OF THE HULL OF A SAMOA 28
We received this e-mail from our first client to turn upside a Samoa 28 hull.
Yesterday "Sirius" hull was successfully turned upside. The moulds were removed and two wooden beams were fixed to the sheer clamps to reinforce the topsides, preventing the hull from suffering any damage during the process.
I am attaching some captions of the turning over to show how successful was the operation. The boat didn't suffer any deformation, which was a great relief, since it looked like that without the remaining structure still to be installed, she was much more fragile than she actually is.
Today I began the inside sanding and on Sunday I expect to have the internal lamination concluded.
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WHICH WILL BE THE FIRST SAMOA 28 TO BE CONCLUDED?
After the very good news we received from Buenos Aires, Argentina, when Daniel D`Ângelo informed us about the conclusion of his Samoa 28 hull, we received another good one from Ubatuba, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Our client Bernardo de Oliveira Sampaio also has just finished plastering his Samoa 28 hull and is ready for turning his boat upside.
As both hulls are faired to a high degree of finishing, we can only be thankful to these two pioneers, taking into account that, in spite of this class being so young, it has already builders in five different countries.
Daniel is going to turn his hull upside on Tuesday, july 31.
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SAMOA 28 CLASS NEWS
We received very good news from Buenos Aires. Daniel D'Ángelo, an Argentinean geologist who works aboard an oil rig, is building during his free time a Samoa 28 in the garden of his residence. Up to now Daniel is ahead of all other builders of the class. He already concluded the hull's outside lamination and sanded the surface to perfection. In July he intends to turn his boat upside and for that matter he is already inviting his friends for a barbecue. Since we have already seventeen builders of this class in five different countries, it is quite a challenge to see which boat will be the first to be launched. We bet that Daniel will be the winner. Our compliments, Daniel.
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SAMOA 28 FIRST HULL ALMOST COMPLETED.
The Argentine geologist and amateur boat builder Daniel D' Angelo is completing the hull of his Samoa 28. He is constructing his boat in Buenos Aires and if he maintains the same pace, he will probably be sailing this year.
See photo below.
 
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| The reasons for building the SAMOA 28
Recently we have seen in internet some advertisements of larger boats (26 to 28 range) for stitch and glue construction. These boats have either V bottom or double chine hulls. We understand the great
psychological effect of seeing the hull you expect to build taking shape in the very beginning of the work.
Undoubtedly this is great, but unless you intend to build a planing boat, a single or double chine hull is quite unsatisfactory concerning appearance and hydrodynamics.
When we decided to develop the Samoa 28, our option was for a round bilge hull which would provide much better water lines with only a little more time of construction, if compared with the stitch and
glue method, before the builder can visualize the shape of the hull he is going to produce. As a matter of fact, after the hulls are assembled, being chine hull or round bilge, the sequence of work is very similar and will take about the same time to be done, but if you opted for round bilge, you will end up with a much better yacht.
The Samoa 28 is an ocean sailing boat designed for custom or amateur construction, specified to be built by the strip-planking sandwich method of construction. The idea we had in mind was to offer to the
sailing community a yacht of composite construction that could be built without requiring expensive plugs and moulds.
Primarily the construction of the Samoa 28 is specified to use wooden or PVC foam strips as core material. The furniture is made of marine plywood with wooden reinforcements. Optionally foam or honeycomb sandwich panels may substitute plywood, even though this represents an increase in labour and cost. Deck, cabin trunk and cockpit are specified for the ply-glass method of construction, which means sheathing the deck with plywood and then applying a fibreglass lamination over it..
To build an ocean sail boat of sound construction, comfortable enough to take a family on an extended cruise or to successfully race on a club regatta, isn't a task to be taken lightly. However, for the really enthusiastic amateur boat builder there is no better reward than seeing his work resulting in a high quality product.
In the case of the Samoa 28, once the hull is planked with the core material, it's sheathed with two layers of unidirectional cloth, an operation easily accomplished by anyone who already became familiar
with glass lamination or even to those unacquainted with the process.
From then on the completion of the work is just a matter of keeping the same determination as spent insofar. We believe there are no shortcuts in the way of obtaining a first class yacht starting from scratch with a set of plans for amateur construction. For that matter we use to advise not to let the
illusion of producing the first part of the job in a fortnight. Reaching this stage doesn't necessarily mean that you will be sailing just a few days after.
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| THE SAMOA 28 BEING BUILT IN BUENOS AIRES HAS HER HULL INSIDE LAMINATION COMPLETED.
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| SAMOA 28, OUR PRESENT BEST-SELLER
Since this stock plan was introduced it didn't stop growing continuously in sales, at a pace that left us absolutely surprised. Even though the plans are less than one year old we already have builders in five different countries, a result obtained in such a short span as we never experienced with our other stock plans yet. We believe that when we produce a new design that makes us wish to build one of these boats for ourselves, the result is always positive, since we have been confirming along all those years that we are involved with yacht design, that other sailors discover they feel the same way about the possibility of owning a boat from this design themselves.
To help in illustrating the excellent results obtained in the lay-out of this surprising design we invite you to visit the following gallery of 3D rendered images of the Samoa 28.
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| ANOTHER SAMOA 28 WITH THE STRIP CORE ALREADY FINISHED
This time was the turn of Bernardo de Oliveira Sampaio, a resident in São José dos Campos, State of São Paulo, Brazil, to conclude the strip-planking of his hull core. We are very impressed with the quality of his work. Laying the unidirectional cloth over the strips is a quick task to be accomplished, so we hope soon his hull will be turned upside. It seems that we are going to witness an authentic international race for the first Samoa 28 to be concluded. Besides the various builders in the initial stages of construction in Brazil, we have already one builder in Argentina, Daniel D'Angelo with his hull also planked, and a new member of the building group in Chile, Hector Diaz Cortes. With so much enthusiasm in such a short time, this class is already becoming as hot as Mexican pepper.
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| SAMOA 28 FIRST HULL ALMOST COMPLETED.
The Argentine geologist and amateur boat builder Daniel D' Angelo is completing the hull of his Samoa 28. He is constructing his boat in Buenos Aires and if he maintains the same pace, he will probably be sailing this year.
See photo below.
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