It took some time to get everything up and running at the new site, so it wasn't until August 2005 that I finally got round to laying out the steel for the boat. Because the yard is so uneven, I bought a dozen railway sleepers to make a platform that could be levelled.
The 10mm thick base plates were then laid out on the sleepers. These weigh about half a ton each and it was quite a job making sure they were level and butted up against each other. Although I had done a welding course and had built a few projects over the years, I was a bit worried about actually doing welds that were good enough to go underwater. I felt confident enough to write the name I've chosen for the boat using the welding electrode on one of the base plates. I had a first attempt at joining two sheets and ended up grinding most of it out again. I asked a Polish friend, Robert, who is an expert welder, to give me a few tips. He came and spent a day in September 2005 and taught me lots of techniques and told me 'Practise, practise, practise!' Unfortunately this was my busiest time of year so not much was done until after Christmas. I suppose, if I admit it, I was still worried about welding underwater joins. But in January I started in earnest.
The 10mm thick base plates were then laid out on the sleepers. These weigh about half a ton each and it was quite a job making sure they were level and butted up against each other. Although I had done a welding course and had built a few projects over the years, I was a bit worried about actually doing welds that were good enough to go underwater. I felt confident enough to write the name I've chosen for 
the boat using the welding electrode on one of the base plates. I had a first attempt at joining two sheets and ended up grinding most of it out again. I asked a Polish friend, Robert, who is an expert welder, to give me a few tips. He came and spent a day in September 2005 and taught me lots of techniques and told me 'Practise, practise, practise!' Unfortunately this was my busiest time of year so not much was done until after Christmas. I suppose, if I admit it, I was still worried about welding underwater joins. But in January I started in earnest. 
