Leaks are inevitable on an old boat, and deck vents are a common cause. Over time the sealant simply breaks down, there’s play in the vent and water finds its…
Project Boat blog
Maximus Boat Survey Part 1 – hull and decks
Thinking of having a boat survey? If so, take a look at this video of marine surveyor Ben Sutcliffe-Davies as he performs a pre-purchase survey on Maximus, a Maxi 84.…
Remember the Sailor vintage marine radio?
Wow! Take a look at this lovely vintage marine radio onboard Maximus, the PBO Project Boat. Marine surveyor Ben Sutcliffe-Davies does a double-take when he sees the RT144 radio, which…
How the diesel engine works – take a look at Maximus’s Volvo saildrive
Checking the diesel engine after a long lay-up is an essential task before launching any boat, says marine surveyor Ben Sutcliffe-Davies. “The last thing you want to be doing is…
Storing your boat ashore? Make sure it’s level: Maximus survey tip
“When boats are stored ashore it’s really important to make sure they’re stored fairly level,” says Ben Sutcliffe-Davies. “Here in the cockpit you’ve ended up with a fantastic compost.” Article…
Antifouling – when is it time to scrape back? Maximus survey begins…
When is it time to strip back antifouling? The PBO Project Boat survey is underway, and in this video marine surveyor Ben Sutcliffe-Davies looks at Maximus’s hull and explains which…
PBO project boat – the Secret 20 kit – is back in build
Like many boat projects Harvey, the PBO Secret 20, has been the victim of circumstance. This unique, classic-style performance weekender that arrived as a flat-pack kit and took shape in…
16. Fairing the curves
Casting a critical eye over the project boat’s lines, David Pugh and Ben Meakins set to work filling and fairing to make the hull smooth
3. Fitting the frames, fitting cockpit seats and foredeck beam
The previous article in this series (Part 2: Birth of a boat – truing stem and stern) saw the keel set up with stem and sternpost – and not much…
Hatches fitted
Before the stringers, deck beams and hull sides go on was a good opportunity to add hatches to our Secret 20 build. These will allow access to the bilges -and…
Fillets galore
Once all the frames had been installed on the keel (see our last update), it was time to break out the laser level again and go around, truing up the…
3. Sailing a Secret 20
We took a trip to Brightlingsea to sail a Secret 20 while ours was in transit
Great progress on PBO’s new project boat!
PBO's Secret 20 kit-boat starts to look boat-shaped in short order
1. Sharing our Secret!
After approximately 11,232NM at sea, our new project boat was craned off a container ship and transferred to a freight-forwarding warehouse in a rainy, grey Southampton Docks. Quite a change…
2. The designer writes…
My ancestors were all sailors, and apparently my first words were ‘da-da’ and ‘boat’. I lived on the East Coast and as a boy sailed the Blackwater, the Crouch and…