Boat Build Update.

[Fortunate One]

Here's another update.

Here's the profile drawing, the windscreen has changed a little since this drawing was made. I penciled in the change showing the slope going to the rear of the dodger.

You can see the change where the white out is. We originally had it designed where 2 different radius or radii came together and it didn't look as sleek as we wanted so it was changed. The frame for the windscreen will be made from mahogany and it will be glassed over on the exterior surface and epoxy over wood on the interior side, the actual vision glass will be set flush with the frame, most likely going to be a 3/8" thick low iron safety glass.

The rear cockpit deck hatch behind the chair has changed to accommodate the fish box. The bow pulpit and windlass may be eliminated. And that's not the actual tower design but it's close




I was at the shed and one of the guys was cutting the hull for the trim tab rams. The rams will be totally concealed under the trim tabs and this involves fabricating boxes into the hull to house the hydraulic rams. So I grabbed a piece of the hull where the doublers were installed to reinforce areas such as this and where the strut pads attach. Check out this hull lamination.



Here's a picture of the ram housing male molds.



Here's a mock up panel for the cabin floor and the galley table. It was made out of scrap and it wasn't sanded well or varnished well. It was just put together to show the grain in the cherry. The mahogany will be a few shades lighter than the mahogany that's on the piece. But man you have to admit that's some fine looking grain.



Here's the table "match booked" ready for finishing.



Deck is glassed and almost ready for 1/2" teak.


Air intake grills almost ready to be sent off for powdercoating.


This is actually a picture of the sides of the cockpit. This is where I'm going to have 2 large speakers recessed on each side to we can listen to tunes at the dock and in the canyons. The next picture is a shot of the panels that will mount over the cockpit sides and hold the speakers.




Here's the form that's being used to create the steps into the cabin. The steps will be cupped on the sides to giude the foot onto the step and a flat landing surface. Similar in style to the foot brace on a fighting chair. They will have LED's recessed below them. The steps are upside down as it rests on the saw horse.



This board will hold the engine start stop control panel and gagues and the Racor filters. Notice the yacht quality finish? The fuel tanks are behind them and the engines are under the blankets to the left and right. The deck suports are laminated douglasfir and are finished clear so the look of the engine room will be difernet than any other. The piece at the top of the mounting board is mahogany.



The forward deck was removed so the remaining systems could be installed. The main electrical cable installed as well as the tanks, battery boxes, black water plumbing, fresh water plumbing, and bilge pump. Last remaining piece is the bow thruster motor. The boxes below the frames at the far end of the picture are battery boxes. They'll be finished painted prior to the final install.

Everything below decks has been installed on the centerline and as low as possible.


Lastly, the holes are being cut out for the exhaust. Check out the thickness of that transom. The shelf to the left is where the stearing components and rudders mount.

[Fortunate One]

I have some new pictures so I thought I'd post them incase anyone needs a fix for eye candy.

Jewlery, Vetus cleats and 2 1/2" scuppers


Engines mounted. The guys did a nice job on the custom aluminum mounting pads mimicking the manufacturers mounting hardware.


Transmissions Mounted with trolling valves. The guys did a nice job on the custom mounts. Not any protrusions to bite ankles.


Air intake screens and filter holders finished, powder coated perfect.


That's where the air intake screens mount up on the far bulkhead. The bridge deck will be completed once I part with the coin for the genset and once the ice maker arrives. Then the rest of the deck will be installed along with the cockpit cabinets.


Work being done at the anchor locker


Close up of the forward cabin deck frames.

View from the bridge to the cockpit. I'm 6' tall and it provides a good height from which to watch the spread and still be a part of the action.

A lot of work is going on in here. The crew is concentrating on the helm deck and the cabin.

Faired Hull. Final fairing will take place once the forward deck and the side deck is installed at the shear break. is

One of my favorite photos

[Nauti Natured]

Unbelieveable. The pipcture of the deck framing is awesome. Shows the care taken in the build. Cant wait to see her shape up. Thanks for posting the progress!

[Fortunate One]

Nauti Natured

They're Yanmar 8SY-STP 900 hp each. The deck framing is awesome. If you haven't noticed it's done the same way in the engine room also.

I was at the shed yesterday with my Video Camera and I took some video. It's not the best but it shows all of the work going on at the moment.

The song is "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and the boat is being named "Elizabeth Reed".

You can see the massive fish box hanging above the cockpit while we access the rear bilge so we can install the remaining below deck electrical and plumbing.


Here's a link to the video. Crank it up.

http://blip.tv/file/802806#share

Mike

[blueoceaneyez]

Wow! That is some amazing work...

[Nauti Natured]

Originally Posted by Fortunate One

Nauti Natured

They're Yanmar 8SY-STP 900 hp each. The deck framing is awesome. If you haven't noticed it's done the same way in the engine room also.


http://blip.tv/file/802806#share

Mike

Thanks .... I flipped back a few pages and found it. Are those turbos in a strange place or is it me? Shouldnt they be at the exhaust end?

[Fortunate One]

Originally Posted by Nauti Natured

Thanks .... . Are those turbos in a strange place or is it me? Shouldnt they be at the exhaust end?

They are, you're looking into the engine room from the cockpit.

Mike

[Nauti Natured]

It looked like the intakes were running right into them like a supercharger from that angle. I cant see where the duct work runs.

[fishskipper]

Mike,
Thats going to be one great rig! I can see a lot of thought has gone in to this boat. You can tell when someone knows what they're doing!!!!!

[Fortunate One]

Thanks Capt. Ron.

A lot of thought has gone into it and that's part of the fun. The process can be consuming since I’m so heavily involved in all decisions. But it’s been a great experience.

If I could do this for a living, I’d be one happy guy. Unfortunately with the cost of fuel and the state of the economy, I don’t think there would be many people that would be willing to pay for this level of strength, structure and detail in a 48’ boat. Nor would they want to wait for one.

Although it seems most of the builders are focusing on the 60’ and larger boats. The competition for an express like this would be Cabo or Davis and this is so much more boat than those primarily due to the fact that it’s a wooden boat built like a tank.

I can’t wait to finally get her offshore and see how she performs. I’m hoping she’s going to be a silent fish raiser with a super clean wake. We’ve recessed all of the strut pads and trim tabs so there’s clean water coming off the back and less turbulence at the props. We’ve even made the flair for the bow thruster as smooth of a transition as possible.

The hull is relatively flat at the stern section similar to a Florida boat design and that will help to keep the bow down in the water where her entry is 63 degrees. I know as a result of the bow remaining in the water that it will hurt speed and fuel burn slightly as a result of the wet surface area but the engine torque will help keep her momentum and I’m willing to sacrifice some fuel mileage for a comfortable ride and ride profile.

She has a good dead rise at amidships and she has a full-length keel. The end of the keel was tapered very gradually for less turbulence.

We’re expecting a 2 to 3 degrees bow rise when on plane. So the intent is to use the 1800 HP along with the hull design to create a wave-cutting hull and to use the modified Carolina Flair to shed water. The lifting strakes have a reverse bevel for added lift out of the hole.

When I sit here and think about all of the little things that make a nice boat and how we’ve attempted to incorporate them into the design, it’s enough to make my head spin. There are so many custom parts and pieces.

The hydraulic ram boxes are even recessed flat into the hull. The board that houses the steering and the rudder shafts is bullet proof; we used G10 for the hull penetrations and as a stabilizing component for the rudder bearings.

The fish box is huge and it’s what’s needed to spend a couple of days in the canyons. That’s why I’m purchasing a water and icemaker with plenty of capacity to store fresh water.

One guy on another board that’s been following the build and has actually seen the hull as it was being laid up, thinks we’ll see a lot of action off of the flat lines trolled in tight similar to a boat that he use to chase marlin with.

We're doing the best we can to create my version of the ultimate 48' Tournament Express Fisherman. I guess time will tell shortly.

I'm really enjoying the building process and posting on sites so others can share in this once in a lifetime experience.

Mike