Almost a year has passed since the last update.
Work has progressed well on Libertaire, not too far behind schedule. After the last interior arc welds, the boat was sandblasted in September 2025, before the end of the good season, and repainted with 45 kg of Jotamastic 87 Aluminium, using airless.
Then we had to reinstall all the original Goiot portholes after cleaning them to waterproof the deck before the Norman winter, reassemble new roof and hull portholes in polycarbonate, weld the interior structure's stainless steel angle brackets onto the main brackets, using TIG. (No question of damaging the beautiful paint job from now on...)
Then we made a door for the dog-house, with stainless steel angle brackets for the structure and epoxy plywood.
Once the boat was properly waterproofed, we started the woodwork in November. First the interior steering station and companionway, to make access inside easier. Then the main bulkheads, the aft cabins, the forward cabins, and finally the square toilet and galley.
Quick to list but a bit more time-consuming to do on weekends and days off...
Then we built a stainless steel sink from 2 mm sheet metal, welded with TIG, with an adjacent drying rack for dishes at sea, and dry-fitted the stove and refrigerator for final adjustments.
The next step will be to dismantle everything... To coat all the interior fittings, made from exterior plywood, with epoxy resin, and paint the visible areas. Perfect timing, as the weather is starting to improve in Normandy, making conditions ideal for epoxy resin!
Once all the transverse bulkheads are reattached to the hull, it will be time to insulate with sprayed polyurethane foam before reinstalling the longitudinal paneling and fittings. But that’s the next step...
