BUILDING CIGANKA

We designed this ship, so it is the first of its kind. Then through a lot of hard work, focus, commitment, money and time, we built Ciganka by ourselves. You can see what she looks like now AND you can see how it all began!

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Sailing in the Bahamas with Scout Troop 119 Yea, we're relaxed! Notice the round hatches that we designed. Enjoy a panoramic view inside the pilothouse out of the wind, rain, or intense sun. Ain't it great? We cook on our 6 burner stainless steel Vulcan restaurant grade stove and oven. Hope you like to eat delicious food! Sweet dreams in your cozy cabin
Ciganka Sailing From the Deck The Pilothouse The Galley The Sea Turtle Cabin
Come inside and get comfortable sitting around our handcrafted wooden table. Let's tell some good stories! Thomas saddled the full length of the work site with railroad track on which a gantry crane rolled. On the gantry crane was a 2 ton hoist which Thomas used to pick up the steel and hold it in place. You can see the steel frames are sitting on railroad track. This is called the strong back on which the hull will be built. Thomas had to make sure the strong back was perfectly level the entire length and width of the boat so the hull would be symmetrical. We cut the steel into sections and placed them over the frame. Then we tack welded them so they stay in place. Now each piece had to be welded on the inside and outside. Then we had to grind each seam to a smooth finish. Talk about an upper body workout!
The Main Salon Starting the steel framing Taking shape Putting the "skin" over the "skeleton" The last peice of steel going into place on the side of the keel.
We brought in 2 large travel cranes to lift up the hull and set her back down on the keel. Now we can start building the deck. What a site to see! Wonderful neighbors allowed us to go in their woods and timber trees to be used for our interior woodwork. Each log was cut to the specific width we wanted. Then we stacked the lumber and air dried it for several years. When we were ready to begin the interior, we planed each piece so we had a nice smooth finish. We used 65 tons of sand the blast the inside and outside steel down to clean metal. Then many coats of Epoxy paint was sprayed on to protect the steel. This was an immense project to do ourselves. But we did it! For 3 years we collected lead You are looking from the forward portion of the boat to the stern after its been painted.
Flip the hull over and set her on the keel. Mr. Bonner and his traveling band saw. Sandblast and Paint Melting lead for the ballast Inside Ciganka before the interior was built
We built the pilothouse out of fiberglass with a form core center. This keeps the structure light and no rust! You can see my kitty cat Deli inspecting our work. Her first haul out since being launch. You can see the size of her in comparision to the 2 men standing at the bow. What a beauty! We designed and built our round hatches. Our anchor system has two 250 lb. CQRs with 1 Ton of chain attached to each anchor. And a huge windless to pick it all up! Pleany of deck space for you to hang out with us!    
Building the Pilothouse Ciganka hauled out Pilothuse and deck completed