Brianq53

Hi, Slow progress I know but pleased to report Brio is nearing completion, today was the first time I had the keel assembly bolted in, the sun was shining so I thought it would be a good time to see if she floated. As you can see the conditions were not exactly challenging as the horse drinker was the only water available but it served the purpose beautifully, and it kind of fits with the agricultural assembly of my boats. Pleased to report she floated to her lines first time out (with a little guesstimated ballast for the rig and fittings). Mast and spars are now complete, I have started on the sails and have fingers crossed for a first sail in June. Just the boring bit left, rubbing down and painting...rubbing down and painting.... Brian

Hi, For those interested I attach some pictures of progress of Romanza no 4 'Brio'. Not the prettiest hull I think you will agree but a dramatic shape never the less. She has been rubbed down and the first filler coat applied so a fair bit of work yet to get get to the final finish. As you can see she has the keel box and all internals installed, the mast box, radio pot & deck are also finished. The plans do not give any details of the keel section so I have gone for a slim keel built from cedar strips and skinned in eglass, this may affect the displacement but if it proves to be a problem I shall have to build another keel with increased volume. I am a little worried that I have built her too light, the stripped hull weighs just 1.3 kg, may be OK but I have gone too far to go back now. The picture also shows the ballast which I cast and shaped today. I cut a timber mould and cast a 30mm thick billet after heating scrap lead in an old biscuit tin with charcoal on an old BBQ (Health & Safety rules apply here). I then cut additional contours from lead sheet and bonded them to the billet with body filler and and shaped the ballast using more body filler. It was simple to shape using a jack plane, rasp and orbital sander. Not quite finished but all in all it took about five hours to complete. I have drawn up the top suit of sails based on the details given in the plans and plan to make them build the rig and over the next few weeks. Cheers Brian

All, Romanza No4 formally exists, (number GBR 1090 - Name 'Brio') herewith some pictures of her fresh off the plug. It was a bit of a grunt as the hull stuck in one tiny place but it finally came away clean. I used 1 layer of 200g eglass and a final layer of 200g carbon. Weight straight off the plug is a tad under 700g but I have to fill and polish the hull and intend to reinforce with carbon tape so my guess is the hull will be 900-1000g on completion. Thoughts turning to decklayout etc. Really enjoyed the Peter's measurement blog, it will be interesting to see if any of these new models turn out just as Mr Bantock intended. Brian

Hi, Latest progress on Romanza no 4 (now officially GBR1090 courtesy of the official registrar). Final finishing and polishing to complete, Carbon shell will be cast this weekend temperatures permitting. Brian

Mike, Thanks for your note, if you get a moment can you give us the info regarding getting any new boat measured, boat number allocation etc. How is the problem of not being able to have sails made until the boat is measured usually addressed etc. Many Thanks Brian

Hi, Romanza No4 now has a fully planked plug with final finishing planned for this weekend. I plan to cast the carbon shell the following weekend all being well. I am aiming for the Bourneville meet in March all being well, hoping to swell the 6m ranks. Any other Romanzas planning a first outing? Brian

Following in the footsteps of the intrepid Romanza builders Blog, I attach a picture of my humble efforts. I have spent the last few days cutting shadows, setting them up and part planking the plug. I chose to use ripped down softwood for the planking with hardwood inwales. On reflection this was probably a mistake as the the shape of the Romanza is pretty extreme in places and I just couldn't force the planks into the right shape. I shall have to block out the bow and stern bustles and sand them into the correct shape. Note to self...use Balsa next time!! Will upload further pictures as the work progresses. On another tack, I built the Adrian Brewer 'Force 6' (6m) some years ago, it has been languishing in the loft gathering dust. I dug it out to compare it to the Romanza. As can be seen from the picture they are remarkably similar, with the key stats, LWL, Draft, displacement and sail area being almost the same. I never developed my Force 6 for racing, Has anyone any experience of the boat, is it competitive? Ah well - back to my freezing workshop, roll on spring.

Hi, I Have been so inspired by the Romanza building blog (well done the Peters) that I have also decided to build one this winter. The plans have duly arrived from Sails etc and the shadows are half made. Currently lacking in spare time so progress is likely to be slow I'm afraid. Spring 2015 is my current target. Not sure of all the assembly details yet but current thoughts are that I shall build a cedar planked plug and cast a carbon shell over the plug. I will post progress and pictures along the way, and of course will welcome any comments. For a starter, anyone know the weight and spec of carbon cloth appropriate for a 6? Brian