Ora: A Sailboat Suspended in Time

Ora is the greek word for Time.  Probably the most important variable in modern era. And a ressource that is worth a lot more than all the money and diamonds of this world even if it is free.

Ora… Temps… Tempo… Tiempo… Tid… Time is universal. Wherever you live on the planet, in whatever langage you phrase it, an hour is an hour, a minute is a minute.  

Even if you feel time is too short when experiencing pleasure or is too long in sickness, a second remains a second.

I just pray for everyone to become conscious early in their life of the preciousness of time that passes by before life decides for you that your or someone you love’s time is gone. 

We all have souvenirs, moments of intense emotions in our lives where we would have liked to stop time. A moment of eternity to savour and cherish. This is what this design is about.

Through all the nice experiences or less pleasant moments that forged my timeline, sailing on the immensity of our world with parents, loves, kids and friends has always provided me with distinct memories. A lot of these souvenirs are fixed in time and I can remember them like if it was yesterday.

The vessel progressing in the sun to nowhere, piercing the blue, turquoise and green waves in a constant rhythm pushed by the winds. The yacht leaning on his flank through the warm of the day or the freshness of dusk. The boat resisting wind gusts to keep us secure. The white water furrow behind us that resemble the trace your own life will leave to others hoping it to be as straight as possible. Love, pleasure and friendship surrounding me. This build pays homage to all these notions.

A few hundreds hours were necessary to complete my design. Let’s just say I saw a little big for my first build! Through hours passing by, I figured progressively the complexity of my initial objectives. I don’t know if these considerations explain the almost-complete absence of sailboat in Lego’s lineup but with retrospect, I can easily figure why.  

First, the sailboat… Finding a way to build a self-supportive mast and a sail with plates instead of a plastic sheet was a challenge. Particularly with the difficulty to keep the mast aerodynamic profile without it getting too bulky with Technic bricks and linkers. I finally found a way through with regular lego plates and physics. Strings and flexible hoses were added as stays for reality but don’t play role in stability as per the rules. The final model has a length of 61 cm, a height of 111 cm and has 4295 parts including the three accessorized minifigures.  

Secondly, I wanted to reproduce the lines of modern performance sailboats with a vertical front bow, small entry lines and a large aft section to maximize stability and limit friction. I felt that the reproduction of underwater curvatures was important. I opted for a 360 degrees design with an internal structure leaving room for an interior layout. The hull was designed «stud-inverted» to take advantages of curved slope bricks and orientation of front section pieces was angled relative to the aft section. At some point, which is different from front to back, I had to flip 180 degrees the building process to continue «stud-up» for the cabin, bridge, cockpit and rigging. Side walls are fixed 90 degrees relative to structure.

Working through my objectives, I tried to find a way for my design to express the notion of time. How could I build something different from other great Lego concepts? The idea of dynamic then took the lead. Since lots of designs are based on fixed objects, I challenged myself to induce movement in my design to give the impression of a photograph taken at the exact moment the yacht was actually sailing, a souvenir suspended in time. 

The keel was removed and rudder shortened. The hull was heeled 11 degrees on starboard side. Splashing waves of cristalline water in blue to green tints were added. Aft transom was articulated to open like a real bathing platform. Sail was curved as if the wind was flying through. An adjustable boom was installed as well as a wind vane on mast top over the sailing lights. Three colors flags flying in different directions was installed at transom. And the «Grand Pavois» with pavilions dancing in the wind was hoisted on forestay to implement rejoicing.

The notion of time can still be observed in different locations. It is on the transom where you read the boat’s name. Two golden clocks are installed, first at mast base and second in the opening cabin where mini figures can enjoy a good moment sitting in the dinette in front of the kitchen. And a large dial is designed on the main sail.

I really enjoyed passing all these hours designing this sailboat . Even going through pleasure, doubt and frustration, I pushed my limits and take great pride in the final result. If by chance, this model gets into production, I hope you too can feel a little of that moment of eternity and the furrow of my life I try to leave to other’s memory.

If you like what you see, if you are young, middle-aged or old, if you feel the same about the importance of time, if you are a designer or a builder who loves to discover new techniques, if you like to expose great art-inspired concepts or if you only prefer to play with the minifigures, please vote-on and pass the message to your friends!

Merci! (Yeah I’m french-speaking ;)