Multichine 26C 2008

Made in Australia

Our office is operating from Perth, Western Australia, since May 2007. In 2006, when we still worked in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, we developed the plans for amateur construction of the Multichine 26C, the smallest cruising sail boat from our line of stock plans that we consider being capable of performing any kind of long distance cruise, even a round the world trip, if wished. This project when introduced stirred great enthusiasm among cruising yachtsmen, and presently there are dozens of MC26C being built in many different countries.

We reckon that the great interest for the plans was due to the unique spaciousness of her interior. In these times of short money and skyrocketing prices of production boats, it is not difficult to understand the appeal of home construction, especially if the boat in question inspires a high degree of confidence and is suitable for living aboard for long stretches, besides being intended for blue-water sailing.

As a rule of thumb the amateur builder obtains great pleasure from the construction of his dream boat. In the early stages of the construction he is already dreaming of the pleasures his future yacht will offer him, and this probably is why most boats built by do-it-yourself enthusiasts are in average superior in general quality and durability to the series produced equivalents, and the Multichine 26C is no exception. The best home-built boats seldom are for sale. For their owners, just the thought of selling them is a sacrilege, like intending to sell a member of the family.

Now that the first units of the class are getting close to being completed, we decided to introduce a revised version of the 26C plans, this time our work coming from Australia. The changes from the original plans are few but they nevertheless will make the MC26C even more functional. We changed the angle of the wall with the heads door, which at first wasn’t parallel to the centre line. Doing so, we made the shower box a much more comfortable area, improving the maximum headroom from 1.82m to 1.85m and increasing the standing area of the grated shower sump floor.

The best way to provide running hot water to the MC 26C shower is to install a water heater under the navigation table as close as possible to the head wall, using the engine’s fresh water cooling system to heat the bath water. To have aboard hot shower facility working as nicely as the one we have in our home bathrooms is a fancy really appreciated by the whole crew, especially children during those chilly winter days. The hot water can easily be extended to the heads vanity basin and to the galley sink, but even though the MC26C has large fresh water tank capacity, we always recommend moderation in water consumption aboard. For those who consider water heater installation too expensive for the boat’s budget, we suggest a simple solution to substitute this expensive gear: the installation of a two-tail 12.5mm flanged fitting on the heads coach-roof. An inexpensive sun-shower attached to the boom is linked to the upper tail piece, and the shower hose with an in-line ball valve is attached to the ceiling side of the flanged fitting. This costs peanuts and when the weather is overcast, it is just as easy to heat water on the stove and fill the sun-shower. Of course in a twenty-six foot sail boat a hot bath inside the heads is not practical when underway, but then there is the transom platform, and besides, the sun-shower hangs on anything, like the backstay for instance.

This change required an enlargement of the navigation table wall, extending it from the navigation table front face to the head door wall in its new position. This small corner thus created is the right place to install a cabin heater, something so prized in colder climates, and for which no provision had been made in the former version of the design.

A description of the MC 26C layout should begin with the after cabin. The amazing volume of this compartment with its residential-sized double berth and the exclusive sofa at the cabin’s hall is hard to be matched by other twenty-six footers. We already pointed out how spacious the head became after the change in its layout, but it’s worth mentioning that abaft the toilet compartment there is a huge stowing space with easy access from the boat interior. The L-shaped galley with sink, fridge or ice- box and two burners stove with oven is quite handy for those intending to live aboard. The saloon, navigation table and second double berth crown the interior arrangement, balancing all compartments with the same level of functionality. For that matter we are confident that this is why the MC26C design fascinated so many sailors at the first hour. Now with the new improvements we expect a new flow of enthusiasm among potential amateur builders and cruising sailors.

The MC26C is a lucky design indeed. The approval of our builders of their boats’ interior layout and other aspects of the plans surprised us. One of them is preparing his boat for a round the world trip around the Austral Ocean by way of the three capes, which demonstrates his confidence in the project. We are ready to give him our most eloquent support, since we developed the plans having in mind people like him, who can’t afford purchasing the expensive models intended for ultimate adventures available in the market.

The reason for the MC26C being easy to build and, when completed, being of such high quality, resides in the method of construction specified for the plans. Contrary to most other multi-chine stock plans available for plywood construction, instead of stitching the hull’s outside panels and then installing partitions and furniture, we specify building the transverse bulkheads which will provide the hull shape and structure at the work-bench. We consider a good solution the stitch and glue boat building method for smaller crafts, but above a certain size like the MC26C, adopting the so-called ply-glass building method brings innumerous advantages.

To start the construction, no matter if you are a layman or an expert in wood work, it is always advisable to employ the workshop bench, where it is much easier to obtain a smooth finish than when doing the same job in a much more awkward position in the interior of the boat. During this stage, either the amateur or the professional have the chance to hone their skills and bring the part being built to the highest level of finishing. However the most striking advantage of building the transverse structure first, and only then planking the hull, is the huge saving in cost of epoxy resin. Wood cleats are incomparably cheaper than epoxy resin and the amount of epoxy necessary to fillet the whole structure to the interior and to join the panels at chines is absolutely disgusting.

In the case of the MC 26C, twelve bulkheads or semi-bulkheads are prefabricated in the work-bench, as well as a cold moulded stem piece, built on top of a lamination table. As those parts, one by one, are being concluded, the builder feels a gratifying sensation of accomplishment and pride, and from then on this feeling will be ever increasing.

Those pre-fabricated structural components are not difficult to make. The process consists basically in bonding cleats to plywood panels, employing in most cases butt joints. Full size patterns for the construction of these bulkheads are provided with the plans. Once those pre-fabricated components are concluded, they are assembled over a building base, which in the technical jargon is called strongback, or building grid. Then the sheer and chine clamps, as well as longitudinal stringers are fixed in their notches, already opened when the bulkheads were fabricated, removing the slightest chance of misalignment during this operation. The next steps in the construction are sheathing the structure with plywood and then encapsulating the whole hull with a thick layer of fibreglass. At this point of the construction it is already evident that the whole complex is extremely sturdy, and it is this sense of robustness that arises the immense feeling of confidence in the builder’s mind.

When the hull is turned upright, the remaining of the work is intuitive, since all the transverse walls and furniture components are already in place, because they were already made at the work-bench. Then the work proceeds linearly until the interior is completed and the superstructure is attached to the structural members. Once more the whole outside surface is encapsulated with fiberglass, this time overlapping in about 50mm the hull’s fiberglass sheathing, this way generating an incredibly strong monoblock structure. At this point of the construction the builder is assured that his work has been successful, and from then on all else in the construction will be a lesser challenge.

Once the sanding and fairing is concluded and a finishing coat of paint is applied all over the boat’s external surface, fittings, keel and rudder are installed and the launching party may be scheduled.

The MC 26C is fitted with a transom-hung rudder and tiller steering. This is the most reliable and cost saving solution. It was in our plans to provide an affordable and easy to build cruising sail boat, and providing the boat with tiller steering were in our original plans. Other appealing characteristics of the project are its long and unobstructed cockpit, good internal natural ventilation, a leak-proof mast-step on coach-roof and an ample anchor rode compartment.

With moderate draught, high vanishing angle of positive stability and good all around performance, the MC 26C is the boat we designed to bring new people to the fascinating world of amateur boat building followed by ambitious cruising plans.

To know more about our stock plans for amateur construction visit our site: www.yachtdesign.com.br
Roberto Barros
Perth Australia, March 2008
Rendered images: www.ideebr.com
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