It's about time for another update on the Starwind 860 power trimaran project.

Katy calls it a "boat embryo" now. Several key assemblies- the outrigger struts and the strut-to-crossbeam junction blocks- are complete. Almost all of the custom machining is done. There's a steering wheel (a proper ship's wheel, of course- could it possibly be otherwise?) and the helm shaft assembly is finished except for a bit of thread cutting.

The next step will be the crossbeam centre junction blocks, in which those large metal pins will be embedded. They could be followed by bulkheads, the actual crossbeams, or any of a number of small fiddly bits. The construction of the hulls will wait until the last possible moment, once as many subassemblies as possible have been built; this approach minimizes the time and cost of renting a build shed large enough for the entire boat.

We're now 60 hours into the construction project. Needless to say, we'll have to pick up the pace a bit, which should be quite a bit easier now that other, unrelated matters have stabilized.

A few more construction photos

Planing the strut blocks down to the correct shape:

Fitting the sleeve bearings for the strut pins:

Gluing the assembly together with good ol' West 105/205 epoxy: