Unsung Heroes: Boat Builder

Wednesday 3 June 2009, 10:00 GMT

Stepping inside the boat builder's compound reveals a handyman’s wonderland – a cornucopia of nuts and bolts, poles and fittings, lathes and drills on endless workbenches and shelves.

“You need everything in there. If you don’t have the right part, you swallow and choke. The boss always wants you to be totally prepared,” says Kiwi boat builder George Jakich. “Chasing resin in Uruguay is quite a mission.”

The lights are always on in the boat builder’s sanctuary, as he often works through the night to keep a Volvo Open 70 in one piece.

Once a yacht has crossed the finish line and tied up at the dock, it falls into the able hands of the boat builders to fix it up, spruce it up, or make it more stable, stronger or faster for the next phase of the race.

Where it was once the job of one man to do the patchwork on a limping boat, a two-boat campaign can employ up to six boat builders today.

Many of them are specialists in composite construction technology and structural engineering and concentrate on particular areas.

If there’s no composite work to be done, they help out another part of the campaign preparation.

While the boat builder’s primary role is understanding carbon fibre, he must have a full gamut of skills.

You have got to know how to deal with the boats structurally and cosmetically, from knowing how to spray-paint to bleeding a diesel engine.

What happens during a stopover can determine the outcome of a race. If the work done on the boat is substandard, that can jeopardise the team. And it’s not just the boat, but the people you have to think about.

The shore crew has to put on fittings that the crew clip their harnesses to. After the arrival celebrations are through, the first – and most mucky – job of the boat builder is to strip and scrub the boat.

If the boat comes in unscathed and just needs a good wash-out that’s fine. If not, it can require a round-the-clock effort to get the boat back on the water before the next leg – from the moment construction of a boat begins, the builders become accustomed to working to a tight time frame.

You do your best to have the boat ready early – it always gives you a good psychological edge over your rivals. You’re in the marina, ready to go, while the others are in disarray.

A repair during a stopover may be as simple as rebuilding a broken bunk or as complex as mending structural failure around the keel.

Quite often it means working through the night. But if you’re servicing the deck gear, you can lay a blanket out on the deck and soak up the surroundings.

This article appears in Life At The Extreme, the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 Official Souvenir Programme. Available to download here in four languages.