DER Tour of Hodgdon Yachts

Boat Building Lesson #1 - Excellence is Expected!

by Joe Thrift ,  photos by Glenn Hill

Porsche Club events are always unique, but sometimes you get an unexpected windfall.  At this year’s annual banquet, some members stood up and suggested ideas for DER activities.  Larry Theut offered a visit to Hodgdon Yachts (www.hodgdonyachts.com) in East Boothbay, where he works as a finish carpenter.  They are nearing completion of a four-year project: construction of a 155’ wooden ketch named Scheherazade (the woman reader of “1001 Arabian Nights”, pronounced SHA-HAIR-AH-ZAHD). This vessel will be one of the finest sailboats in the world when completed.

            Since we had to tour the yacht ASAP before the finish work got underway, we had to go within a few weeks of the banquet, and the allowable group size was very small. Since the number of DER members who signed up that night exceeded the limit, the banquet was the only announcement.  (See...This is why you need to go to the Annual Banquet!!  - Webmaster.)

Beautiful hand carved mahogany seashells like this are seen throughout the ship's cabin. This is old-world craftsmanship to compliment the high-tech construction of this vessel.

            The tour was one of those rare opportunities to see something you would never be able to without a real inside connection.  This super-yacht already has 400,000 man-hours of labor and includes the best materials and technology available...much like that developed for use on the America’s Cup sailboats.

            As you ascend the 3 stories of custom-built scaffolding around the hull, you can’t really appreciate the amazing size and proportions of this boat until you reach the top and see the decking and cabin.  Closer inspection indicates every detail of this project is done as perfectly as humanly possible.   We were all very impressed with the ship’s details, including the polished stainless-steel hardware with custom welding, the huge amount of carbon fiber above deck, the high-tech electronics, the incredible woodworking detail (each room’s black walnut came from it’s own tree so the shades would match), and how heavy items are strategically placed as low as possible to improve the ship’s stability.

            Larry filled us in on the not-so-noticeable details such as the 17 holding tanks (fuel, water, waste, hydraulics fluids, and more), the redundant desalinization system, the updated orders to fit electronic equipment which didn’t exist when the yacht was started 4 years ago, the hull construction (6 layers of 9/16” Douglas fir planking (from a blow-down, not live-cut) with a single fiberglass layer applied as one piece, the mast stay anchors (bolted through the first 5 layers of the hull with the nuts countersunk and covered by the sixth layer so they can never loosen).  Also, the bulbous keel came from Canada and has its bottom third filled with lead.  The carbon-fiber mast is from New Zealand and cost $1-Million all by itself!  Mechanical details include he four-blade variable-pitch prop, the hydraulic system which automatically launches the gangway out of the stern to reach a pier about 15’ below the deck, and the retractable bow-thruster with joystick control.  After launching, there will be extensive sea trials to test these systems to the new owner’s satisfaction.

The ship's name and logo are engraved on all the winches on deck!

            If Dr. Porsche had built boats, we would like to think this would be an example of his unique quality.  This was a great event, and special thanks go to Larry Theut for offering it to us! 

   Click here to see more photos from the Hodgdon Yachts tour