|
Photos courtesy of:
Joe Thrift
BOAT BUILDING LESSON #1 –
EXCELLENCE IS EXPECTED
Story by Joe Thrift
Porsche Club events are generally fun to
attend, and 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 they are beginning finishing work on a 4-year project to build
a 155’ wooden hull ketch, due to be launched this August.
Since we had to tour the yacht ASAP
before the finish work got underway, the allowable group size limit
was small, and DER members who signed up that night exceeded the
limit, this was the only announcement. The tour was one of those
rare opportunities to see something you would never get to see
without an inside connection. This super yacht already has 400,000
man-hours of labor and the best materials and technology developed
for use on the America’s Cup sailboats.
As you ascend the 3 stories of
custom-built gangway 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.
From the polished stainless hardware with beautiful custom welds,
the huge amount of carbon fiber work above deck, the electronics,
the way everything heavy is near the bottom of the hull, the
incredible woodworking detail (each room’s black walnut came from
it’s own tree so the shades would match), to the enormous size of
the yacht, we were all impressed.
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
systems, the change-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 cut
live) 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 from Canada
with the bottom third filled with lead (and I thought gold was
heavier), the carbon fiber mast from New Zealand, the four-blade
variable pitch prop, the hydraulic system which automatically
launches a gangway out of the stern to reach the pier about 15’
below the deck, the retractable forward thrusters with joystick, the
4 locations for control modules to view remote cameras and operate
the boat, the upcoming sea trials.
In conclusion, if Dr. Porsche had
built boats, we would like to think this would be an example of his
unique quality. All this from simply attending the Annual Banquet –
who could imagine?
Top
of Page
|
