Classic Yacht TVvideo

EP09 Positioning laminated floors and frames, summer recap #3: Building the schooner Malabar IV

14 December 2025 · 19 min · 8K views · Cornwall

What this video covers

Emily Harris installs the final laminated floor on the schooner Malabar IV, a critical structural component positioned directly below the main mast step.0:19 The floor's long arms are designed to transfer ballast keel loads into the frames and distribute rigging strain up to the deck and chain plates.0:30 Harris beds the floor with bitumen mastic, uses cotton caulking grommets under the bolt washers to seal the bolt holes against water ingress, and torques the bolts down before the paired frames are lifted into place.3:19 The frames at this mast-step section are 3 inches thick rather than the standard 2¾ inches, reflecting the concentrated rigging and heeling loads at that station.4:56 Harris explains why floor arm lengths are deliberately staggered — to avoid a continuous stress line at the frame-to-keel transition, analogous to staggering courses in brickwork.11:33 Being a two-masted schooner, Malabar IV requires the same structural reinforcement repeated at the foremast position.4:45 Volunteer crew member Sam, a joinery student, completes his final day chiseling the rabbet before departing; French volunteer Remy has returned for a second stint.9:35 Harris also notes she is now ready to actively seek a buyer for the completed vessel.8:49

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