The custom build continues; A photo update.

[canyonjunkie]

shes stunning, thats all i can say!

[Fortunate One]

Fortunateone, we need an up date at least I do. We launched just before Christmas and had a wonderful time in Tobago. Off to Grenada on Friday for their billfish tournament. I need my fix. I know it was the holidays but come on
Nick

Hi Nick,

Best of luck in the tournament.

Man I'm envoius. Tobago, Grenada, billfish tournament man you're living well.

Send me an e-mail of your trip or post up a report, let me live vicariously through you.

I still have months of cold weather to deal with the worst of the season so far is coming at the end of this week.

There was no update because of the holidays and because I was Fortunate enough to get a taste of the warm weather myself. On January 1st. I spent 5 Glorious days at an adult all-inclusive resort in Mexico and just made like an iguana. Wake up, eat, lie in the sun, drinks brought right to us on the beach, get up off the beach for a late lunch, eat at one of the 2 beach front/pool side restaurants wash it down with an adult beverage and back to the beach to catch an hour siesta under a tiki hut. I’d go in the water and see Ballyhoo schools swim right up to me. That gave me the urge to fish but I was enjoying doing nothing so much that I just didn’t want to leave the resort.

Now I'm trying to convince myself that I need to get down to South Beach to attend the Miami boat show. I still need to purchase that Navnet 3D.

If I’m not freezing my tail off over the weekend I’ll grab my camera and head down to the shed. I’m jonesing for a fix myself.

Mike

[John from Madison CT]

Mike,

If you haven't been to the Miami boat show, it's worth the trip, nice temps aside. It makes all the shows in the NEast look like romper room.

We're looking forward to the winter road trip to see the "Stradivarius"

[hmsmithjr]

Fortunate One,
I have been admiring your build and one day hope to build one of my own from scratch. You made me really jealous talking about Mexico since I have to wait till June to go on my honeymoon. Wea re going to El Dorado resort and it sounds like what you described, I can't wait.
Maclin

[Fortunate One]

John,

I've been down to Miami for the show twice. It was incredible. I actually enjoyed the brokerage show on Collins more. I met some nice people down there while staying on Collins ave. It was a heck of a party.

I'll drop you guys a PM soon and let you know what time is good so stay tuned to the other site also.

hmsmithjr/ Maclin This build is a thrill and the way it's being done is an experience of a lifetime. Not many get to have a boat built along with the opportunity to have so much input on how she's built and what's going into her. It's a collaborative effort.

I was celebrating an anniversary down there in Mexico. Total surprise for my wife.

[Fortunate One]

I’ve been waiting to stop by the shed to check out the progress. As a mater of fact I haven't even called the guy heading up the project lately except to briefly talk to him about the tower. It's not that I lost interest, it's just with the holidays and a short vacation I took I was kind of busy. I figured I'd get a nice surprise when I eventually decided to head down.

So I called the project manager today and I asked him if it was worth me making a visit this afternoon.

He chuckled and said didn't you get my e-mail yesterday. I said no. So he said "sure head over, you might find some progress has been made."

So I did just that.

The first thing I noticed is a prop was hanging and we had the clearance and angle that was required. This is a test prop. The project manager said we're good to go. So the strut mock-ups are being released to the fabricator to produce a couple of nice stainless steel struts.



I was in awe when I saw they started to seal the transom.

These pictures do not do the transom any justice at all. But trust me the look of that wood with one coat of sealer on it is enough to stop you in your tracks. I must have spent 5 minutes taking it in. Unfortunately I couldn’t open the door today to take a picture from a distance because it was too cold out and someone was apparently working earlier today because there were a few pieces of wood that were on a bench freshly painted and I didn't want to loose all of the heat in the shop.









I noticed progress on one set of cockpit tackle draws and cabinet. They used some purple heart wood for the draw guides and they've used starboard for the draws themselves. I like that touch.







They have the permanent louver frames installed in the hull. They are making a removable insert that will contain the louver blades. This way at the end of the season, we can remove the louvers and clean the flying fish out of the air boxes.




Most of the cabin floor has been installed. They are working on the hatch frames and they've building a vent cover for the bow thruster, which has been covered up to protect it as the sanding is taking place. I have to hand it to the crew, they are always careful to insure that finished products stay looking like new as they are building this boat.

That native cherry and mahogany sole is absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to see if fully finished.







The dodger is starting to get sealed. It looks cool in a natural finish but that would be just too much bright work to maintain. So a layer of glass and epoxy are in order.






The sound down perforated panel has been installed on the deck frames over the engines and the rear bulkhead has been finished so very shortly the Racor's will be hung back here and then all of the fuel lines will be run. The paint came out yacht quality. The lower portion of this bulkhead is recessed so we can have a place for the icemaker, water maker and refrigeration components to live.





Now here's something that will get any wooden boat enthusiasts heart pumping, as if that mahogany transom and cherry floor wasn't enough.

Here's a picture of the finest hand selected Burmese Teak fabricated into a cockpit deck. I recall how nice it looked in a rough sawn condition. Kind of makes me want to kick off my shoes and walk bare foot on it.

This deck is superb. And if anyone may recall I posted a thread on this site asking opinions about picture framing the hatches. I decided to go down that road and I'm very happy that I did. It doesn't just look like a slab of teak. This deck is beautiful and as you can see it's not even close to being finished yet.

That teak covering board isn't too shabby either.

Look closely and you’ll see that it’s been siliconed and sanded already. The deck was assembled in 2 large sections and the hatch covers were fabricated and assembled in a shop down the street. The boarders are loose have to be installed and caulked and that will take place next week. The deck will be epoxied in place without any bungs showing.

[Fritz]

There is just something about a teak deck. You going to have to get good at saying, "NO STREET SHOES PLEASE."
Love the transom as well.

[triniswordfish]

AWESOME!!!
love the deck and framed hatches
and the wood work always makes me drool
keep it coming fortunateone
triniswordfish

[Fortunate One]

Nick,

I'm glad I went the route of the framed hatches. The framing will eliminate the edge of the teak from chipping if something were to get dragged in and out of the lazeret or fish box. Plus if the frame were to get damaged to the point of requiring replacement it wouldn't be too difficult to replace.

In addition to that there is the added benefit of the frames adding rigidity to the hatches.

Glad to see you're enjoying the build.

[Seaker]

Ohhhhh that deck and transom are SWEEEEEEET.
The framing of the hatches gives a great finish touch to the entire deck.

That wheel looks great there even if its only a mock up for now!