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A Wicked FPB 97 Exterior Update
We’ve been so busy on the details end of FPB 97-1 – a project like this has a tendency to take all your bandwidth - that we have been remiss in keeping SetSailors up to date on the design. Better...
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Wicked Update – A Bow For All Seas
We’ve been at this a long time, seen more yachts under construction than we can remember..looked at untold thousands of photographs of same and nothing has ever come close to the image above received...
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FPB 97 – Code Name “Wicked”– Updated
Able to withstand extreme conditions, with self-righting capability, it has the toughest structure ever offered in a series-built yacht.”-Boat International Slicing through the barriers of what can...
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Wicked Progress In Whangarei
Todd and Mark are visiting FPB 97-1 in New Zealand this week and are sending back some great photos which we thought you might enjoy seeing. This first series are taken inside the forepeak. That is...
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FPB Update: 97-1 Progress (Posted by Todd)
One takeaway from this latest trip to New Zealand was the overall pace and quality of progress that Circa Marine is managing with the FPB 97 program. Kudos thus far to project manager John Richards...
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Wicked Scale – Or, The Old And The New
Even after all the hours spent working with the Wicked FPB 97 to date, we were not prepared for the scale impact when viewing 97-1 in person. Helping us adjust to this new sense of reality were some...
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A Wicked Belting – Or What To Use When You Want To Rub Someone The Wrong Way
We have learned over the years how to rub the world the wrong way and get away with it. This manifests itself in many ways. In the case of the Wicked FPB 97 it takes the form of this massive...
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Wicked Stabilizer Bosses and Other Details
The FPB 97 has enormous stabilizer mechanisms, sized for support when aground and hitting things, the loads for which are far more than hydrostatic loads. The over strength mechanism, however, is of...
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Let The Plating Begin
It is that time when the real fun begins, the execution of which separates men from boys, and where the wheeling is now in earnest. We speak of plating time. Now that the hull framing in nearly...
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FPB 97 – Plating Progress
Circa is at the stage where visual progress will accelerate, and it will become easier to get a sense of scale for the Wicked FPB 97. Bottom plating is in place and topside plating has begun. That...
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FPB 97-1 Plated Up
FPB 97-1 is well along now, with the main framing and plating of the hull almost complete. We spend some of our weight budget on extra heavy topside and bottom plates because these gives higher...
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Report From New Zealand: 10th FPB 64 Begins – FPB 97 Masts Are Up
Here is a sight guaranteed to please… FPB 64-10 has begun its journey (right) while FPB 97-1 has its mast structure well under way. Ten years ago when we began work on the FPB 83 Wind Horse, the...
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Wicked Weld Testing: Using X-Ray Images To Verify Welds On The FPB 97
A standard part of every hull construction sequence is a series of X-Ray checks, the location of which is dictated by the owner’s surveyor. Circa have just completed this process on FPB 97-1 and we...
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Let There Be Light, Skegging, & Other Wicked Subjects
A prison ship? No, just a few bars on the hull window inserts to make sure this FPB 97 stays wickedly fair. The window frames are a combination of robust engineering and simple construction, so their...
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Wicked FPB 97 Tops Out
This is a wickedly cool series of photos, one which has given us a decided buzz. Astute observers will no doubt notice that a large structure has been lifted into the air. This is like a reality TV...
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FPB Update – Progress On All Fronts
This week we bring you an update on FPB 97-1 and FPB 64s eight, nine and ten. Starting with 97-1 where metal work is rapidly coming to an end. You will note the temporary stiffeners shown previously...
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Progress On All Fronts In New Zealand – And Getting Comfortable in the Wicked...
Although the furniture represents a small part of the total weight of the boat, we want it to be as light as practical, as you see here with the carcass for the FPB 97 great room settee. The base...
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FPB Progress In Spite of the America’s Cup
A quick update on FPB progress in New Zealand, where the Circa team have been hard at work in spite of the America’s Cup excitement.. The Matrix deck sub assembly is almost ready for a weight check....
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FPB Construction Update
Words don’t work here. The photo is capable of speaking for itself. And a year from now we will be showing you photos of the Wicked FPB 97 in its element. We cannot wait to see Ivor Wilkins’ shots...
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FPB 78 – The Strongest Cruising Yacht Hull Ever Built? And Other FPB Progress...
Bottom plate this thick is heavy, very difficult to fabricate, and costly in the extreme. It is two times or more the Loyds Special Service rule requirements. Does it make sense? The weight is low, so...
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