Atmosphere
Original Nereia 1947 design. Oregon masts constructed with ‘bird tooth’ joins. Standing rigging connected to bronze chain plates.
Special boat information:Constructed in 1999 in C Shed at the historic Victoria Quay in Fremantle WA, ‘Atmosphere’ was commissioned by Gene Merrill and Vicki Sterling. Looking for a classic design they could adapt to the cruising life, ‘Atmosphere’ was launched in 2003.
The completed hull was glassed inside and out with heavy tri-axial glass cloth in epoxy resin. Cabin sides were constructed of two layers of Indonesian Nyotah, laminated in place. The deck and cabin top beams are laminated. Decks and cabin top are double layers of Marine Ply, also laminated in place. The construction method does not use ribs, but three ring frames, one midships and one at each of the two masts.
Nearly all the metal fillings are custom-designed and cast in bronze, including 14 Chain plates cast from aluminum bronze. The internal woodwork fit-out took nearly one cubic metre of West Australian She-oak. Mast are constructed with 8 staves of Oregon laminated together and have permanently fixed Oregon spreaders. The main gaff is carbon fiber – making it light but strong.
Whilst ‘Atmosphere’ looks very traditional, closer examination reveals modern influences borrowed from fiberglass and composite boats. The cabin top glass is rolled over the top edge without the usual moulding, to give a clean, smooth and simple join.
We first met ‘Atmosphere’ and Gene and Vicki in 2004 when we were all cruising north up the Western Australian Coast. At the time we were sailing on our 28ft Compass ‘Ameada’. Both boats ended up in the Wide Bay region of QLD, so that we could enjoy the Great Barrier Reef cruising grounds.
In 2012 Gene and Vicki moved back to Europe and were looking to sell the boat. At the time we were not even thinking about returning to the water but redundancy and growing unemployment in the Fraser Coast region soon had us looking for other opportunities.
In the mid-1990’s Donald completed his City & Guilds in Wooden Boat Building at the Falmouth Wooden Boat College in Cornwall, UK. Since that time though he has become a convert to the practicalities of fiberglass. A traditional wooden boat was never on our radar. Still, strange things happen in life and by October 2013 we were the proud (if bewildered) owners of Atmosphere.
An urge to show our son (then 7) the wonders of life at sea, especially the Great Barrier Reef, saw us head north in August 2014. Spending six months working our way up the QLD coast to Townsville, where we settled for the school year, returned to work (to top up the cruising kitty) and took the opportunity to attend to the (never ending) maintenance work on a wooden boat! Since leaving Townsville in January 2016 we have been slowly making our way down the coast on available weather windows.
“It’s a nice boat – and I love it! The living is a bit squishy and the sailing can be scary but only sometimes. It’s a very trustworthy boat. Its fun to live on, you get to fish whenever you want and it’s very adventurous”, says Shay (Master Gunner and sometime skipper, aged 9).
Special boat information:Constructed in 1999 in C Shed at the historic Victoria Quay in Fremantle WA, ‘Atmosphere’ was commissioned by Gene Merrill and Vicki Sterling. Looking for a classic design they could adapt to the cruising life, ‘Atmosphere’ was launched in 2003.
The completed hull was glassed inside and out with heavy tri-axial glass cloth in epoxy resin. Cabin sides were constructed of two layers of Indonesian Nyotah, laminated in place. The deck and cabin top beams are laminated. Decks and cabin top are double layers of Marine Ply, also laminated in place. The construction method does not use ribs, but three ring frames, one midships and one at each of the two masts.
Nearly all the metal fillings are custom-designed and cast in bronze, including 14 Chain plates cast from aluminum bronze. The internal woodwork fit-out took nearly one cubic metre of West Australian She-oak. Mast are constructed with 8 staves of Oregon laminated together and have permanently fixed Oregon spreaders. The main gaff is carbon fiber – making it light but strong.
Whilst ‘Atmosphere’ looks very traditional, closer examination reveals modern influences borrowed from fiberglass and composite boats. The cabin top glass is rolled over the top edge without the usual moulding, to give a clean, smooth and simple join.
We first met ‘Atmosphere’ and Gene and Vicki in 2004 when we were all cruising north up the Western Australian Coast. At the time we were sailing on our 28ft Compass ‘Ameada’. Both boats ended up in the Wide Bay region of QLD, so that we could enjoy the Great Barrier Reef cruising grounds.
In 2012 Gene and Vicki moved back to Europe and were looking to sell the boat. At the time we were not even thinking about returning to the water but redundancy and growing unemployment in the Fraser Coast region soon had us looking for other opportunities.
In the mid-1990’s Donald completed his City & Guilds in Wooden Boat Building at the Falmouth Wooden Boat College in Cornwall, UK. Since that time though he has become a convert to the practicalities of fiberglass. A traditional wooden boat was never on our radar. Still, strange things happen in life and by October 2013 we were the proud (if bewildered) owners of Atmosphere.
An urge to show our son (then 7) the wonders of life at sea, especially the Great Barrier Reef, saw us head north in August 2014. Spending six months working our way up the QLD coast to Townsville, where we settled for the school year, returned to work (to top up the cruising kitty) and took the opportunity to attend to the (never ending) maintenance work on a wooden boat! Since leaving Townsville in January 2016 we have been slowly making our way down the coast on available weather windows.
“It’s a nice boat – and I love it! The living is a bit squishy and the sailing can be scary but only sometimes. It’s a very trustworthy boat. Its fun to live on, you get to fish whenever you want and it’s very adventurous”, says Shay (Master Gunner and sometime skipper, aged 9).