Preview: Building Boat Interiors Upside Down

Brion Rieff’s ingenuity blows me away.

Brion is a neighbor and one of our OffCenterHarbor.com Guides. He’s always trying out new ways of doing things. One of his latest is installing interiors before his hulls are turned rightside up. Here are a few photos to illustrate the process. I never fail to pick up new and worthwhile ideas from each visit to his shop.

Annie Upside Down
Brion began doing things this way in 2004 with the 26′ sloop Annie, a replica of N.G. Herreshoff’s Alerion. After he lifts the planked-up hull off its building jig, he raises it to a convenient working height. This turns out to be a three-point support (at the stem and each aft quarter) system using standard 55-gallon dums. The ceiling (sometimes called the sheathing) goes in first, followed by the platform support beams, the settees and the bulkhead (after I took this photo).

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10 Responses So Far to “Building Boat Interiors Upside Down

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    R. Paul Smith says:

    I like the benefits of upside down assembly. I do see two issues however. I would need to have upside down bifocals made (I already wear them upside occasionally for such work) and I would need many more shoulder rubs. And, I second all comments on the quintessential relaxation of the sailing video. Thanks!

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    George Johnson says:

    I can’t get enough of these Beautiful Boats!! …
    True sailing…. I can smell the water!
    Geo. Johnson

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    Nathanael Bray says:

    Such a simple idea! N.G. would roll over in his… uh… pun has been lost mid-thought, but he’d be impressed I would imagine!

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    Greg Reszutek says:

    Perfect video to de-stress; as if I am sailing with them on those beautiful boats.

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    Doug Wood says:

    You should put this Alerion 26 video on the ‘videos’ page. It’s great to see these boats underway.