Building a Structural Box Beam for Paikea’s Hull There’s a section of hull in the aft cabin that used to lean on a bit of luck. Years ago someone built a partial bulkhead in there for an ensuite that no longer exists, and it never actually ran down to the floor. It’s an easy mistake […]
Building a Structural Box Beam for Paikea’s Hull Read More »
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October 2025 Update Read More »
Finishing the Stanchion Sockets: Load Paths, Peel Ply, and the Vacuum Bagging Process The last of the starboard side stanchion sockets went in during a genuinely hot stretch — air temperature around 32°C, laminating inside the hull with a portable air conditioner running flat out just to make the space workable. Not the most comfortable
Finishing the Stanchion Sockets: Load Paths, Peel Ply, and the Vacuum Bagging Process Read More »
From Scrap Foam to Flying: Oliver’s Custom Carbon Pump Foil Board Four days of pump foiling on a kiteboard was enough to identify the exact problem: too long, and the bow kept slamming into the water on every pump stroke. The commercial fix would have cost around €900. Oliver’s fix cost a pile of scrap
From Scrap Foam to Flying: Building a Custom Pump Foil Board Read More »
Composite vs. Wooden Doors: Why Fit-for-Purpose Beats “Best” Material There’s a persistent myth in boatbuilding that materials rank on a single ladder — Kevlar above carbon, carbon above wood, fibreglass somewhere in between — as though one material is simply better than another in every situation. It isn’t true, and Paikea’s doors are a genuinely
Engineering Lighter, Smarter: Why We’re Replacing Paikea’s Wooden Doors with Composites Read More »
Building a Lightweight Composite Door: A Complex-Geometry Lamination Story We work on high-end race boats and large performance multihulls, and that work takes us all over the world. When we’re not on a client’s boat, this is home — sailing, exploring, and steadily upgrading our Catana 42. Being composite professionals means a lot of what
Engineering a Lightweight Door: The Value of 350 Grams Read More »
