First Volunteer Working Bee
The work site flooring is officially underway
To floor or not to floor — an ongoing debate. In the end, we decided to take the plunge and opt in to building a full scale work site flooring in which to build the boat upon. This decision was not taken lightly; you may recall that just before Remy’s accident we had already started planning out a lofting floor rather than a full scale terrace.
Well, we changed our minds, influenced by previous flooding incidents in the warehouse along with the attraction of a consistently level floor to minimize constant adjustments during the build. The early floor plan layout was scrapped. Remy called up our advisor Pascal Petit, I rallied a team of volunteers, a working bee was planned, materials ordered and delivered, and then I really began biting my nails the night before the official DAY ONE of the Floating Stories Lab Wharram Narai Mk IV Boat Build project. It really now has begun!
Joining me and Pascal at the back of La Refabrique — our dedicated build site at Cap Solidarité in Plozovet, Brittany — were Andrew, Domi and Cedric, with everyone enthused to work together in transforming the space and playing a hand in creating our community vessel.
Domi and Cedric began cutting spacer wood with a hand saw, whilst Pascal, Andrew and I planned out the framing and began to level with supports. Pascal, who is currently completing his 62nd or 63rd boat build (he can’t remember exactly how many he’s built), is quite particular about detail, a trait we feel valuable for this particular phase of the project.
Our approach is minimalist — a mix of new and secondhand timber and plaster to hold the frame in place, keeping in mind we will dismantle this flooring at the end of the boat build and re-sell or donate. Only hand held power tools have been used thus far — drills to screw down the planks and a jig saw that I forgot we had, which Hunter helped me set up the day after our group working bee (much faster than the hand saws).
Many hands make light work, and before we new it we were wrapping up the day by laying the first planks. Cold beers were cracked back at our house as the team enthusiastically shared the day’s events with Remy who unfortunately has to remain in his corset for at least another two months (the good news is he won’t be having surgery).
The next day, Hunter joined me for a morning session re-plastering some of the frame supports and cutting pieces of timber and planking. Remy and I made the rookie mistake of asking the materials delivery guy to drop the load of planking in the middle of the work site; we thus cannot complete the full skeleton until we have offloaded the planks by laying them out on the level side and circling back once the load is lighter and easier to relocate. Remy’s brother Lilian, who had made a surprise visit from the southwest the evening before, joined us for an hour to help and more progress was made, albeit slower than with the larger team. I went back after lunch for my first solo session, unable to take my mind off slight issues to resolve — everything takes much more time on your own, but I enjoyed the problem solving and working at a more gentle pace.
The local seagulls cawed and calmbered on the roof of the warehouse as a stiff breeze cooled my sweat. I took a minute to absorb the moment. My body hurt all over, not used to the crouching and this kind of physical effort. This kind of fatigue feels good — like you’ve earned it. Strangers and CapSo staff and volunteers popped their noses in both days; the word is out and curiosities are tweaked. I can already count on the one question everyone is sure to ask:
“How long will it take to build the boat?”
“We launch on Wednesday,” I reply, as advised by Pascal (in which week, month or year, can be left up to the imagination).
Jokes aside, I would love the boat to launch in two summers from now — 2027. With the enthusiasm of volunteers like this first group along with myself and Remy (when he’s back on his feet), I’m sure we can make solid progress. It is a very special feeling to be working together birthing life to this vessel that will soon voyage us and the Floating Stories Lab Association’s wider community on research, storytelling and citizen science missions around the world. It all started with the seed of an idea (video coming out soon about this!), a chance opportunity working on the Women & the Wind Documentary with Kiana Weltzien, and being invited to meet Hanneke Boon aboard her flagship Wharram vessel, Spirit of Gaia (video below). Though the seed of the Floating Stories Lab has been sprouting for several years, it’s only been a year since we decided on building a 41ft Polynesian-inspired wooden catamaran for this project. To be now physically laying the foundation of the build is incredibly exciting. Thank you all for supporting us so far. The fun is just beginning.
Have a great weekend!
Angie
(Co-Founder and President, the Floating Stories Lab Association)
Note: With quite a bit of time on his hands whilst he nurses a broken neck, Remy has begun writing our French-language newsletter, that will also be published here in Substack and delivered to your inbox. These will be in his own words and geared towards our French-language community (he beat me to it today!).
Coming Soon: We have received our first sample of French-grown and produced plywood and the 100% Bio Epoxy derived from Algae (produced in South Australia, distributed in Spain) and will begin testing with Pascal in August. On first inspection, the plywood looks excellent — Pascal, with all his experience, is delighted with the quality and we expect to move forward with this selection for the entire boat build. We are still deliberating on timber species and awaiting samples. More to come!
Citizen Science Creative Residency
We have received some incredible applications for our ReTISS Citizen Science Creative Residency to be held here in Plouhinec, Brittany (France) from October 3 - 10, 2025. Due to the high interest, it is likely we will bring forward the application deadline to August 1st (an announcement will be made soon) in order to have more time to review the applications, short-list and conduct interviews. Be sure to get your application in as soon as possible if you haven’t already.
Women & the Wind Documentary — 9 days left to stream on Kinema!
Women & the Wind is currently streaming on Kinema until July 27th as part of its 30 Days at Sea Fundraising Screening Campaign, with 50% of all proceeds kicking back into the Women & the Wind Foundation.