Another new start for Helmsman

Chocks and Cradle Harness

Embark is taking a break in Korea on her journey to Seattle.

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ai...si:538006767/imo:9732606/vessel:SEAMAX_MYSTIC

It's starting to hit home we are getting a new shiny big boat, so, mapping out the boat show floor to efficiently spend more money next week

We have our new 10' Bullfrog and trying to decide on cushions or weaver chocks. Also, I cant find a cradle off the shelf and been told to build one from the Bullfrog dealer for lifting to the bridge (via crane). Any advice?

Thanks, Tom

That’s a big step. Our ship, or what we thought was our ship, had to wait at least five days for an opening in Busan. Our new ship is rounding the eastern tip of Cuba. It’s going to be a horse race.

Based upon a photo we got from the owner of “Wandering Goose”, the Fleming 55 loaded behind us, Scott noticed that the zippered windows in the shrink wrap had not been closed after loading. He notified the shipper and requested he contact the skipper to have them closed. Even from thousands of miles away, he is on top of every detail. You have to feel good about dealing with the whole Helmsman team.

Tom-Jill-Lilly said:

Embark is taking a break in Korea on her journey to Seattle.

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ai...si:538006767/imo:9732606/vessel:SEAMAX_MYSTIC

It's starting to hit home we are getting a new shiny big boat, so, mapping out the boat show floor to efficiently spend more money next week

We have our new 10' Bullfrog and trying to decide on cushions or weaver chocks. Also, I cant find a cradle off the shelf and been told to build one from the Bullfrog dealer for lifting to the bridge (via crane). Any advice?

Thanks, Tom

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Chocks for the dingy.

For what it’s worth I am starting with soft chocks. I regard it as a temporary solution. New mother ship and scores of things to square away. New dingy, and until I know I like the choice it’s an unknown. Soft chocks get me going, puts off hard chocks selection and hole drilling until I am ready to lock in choices.

Hi FWT.

What Dingy do you have and weight?

Bullfrog Ding is 480 pounds with motor.
Add:
3 gallons of fuel = 21 pounds
A 2nd battery = 50 pounds
Downriggers = 40 pounds (most likely just one at 20 pounds)
Lead weights = 24 pounds (two cannon balls, most likey one at 12 pounds)

Other – water short of the bilge, swing/heave, tackle, rods, anchor = 10 pounds

So we are at 590-625 pounds. For me that's pushing it.


For keeping the deck clean, it was either soft Chocks or Weavers with removable plates. I do want a clean surface with the ding in the water.

Many folks have indicated that the plates being 1/4" is not an issue on the Weaver chocks.

Where to store the soft chocks? Is there room under the bench seat?

The soft chocks on bixlersmarine requires snaps says the manufacturer - so do I not want to drill holes only for a temp solution While inflatableboatparts says you can use straps in place of the snaps. I will call both on Monday. I might be too heavy for the soft chocks.

https://bixlersmarine.com/SoftChocks/

https://shop.inflatableboatparts.co...t-chocks-chocks-softchocks-and-dinghy-chocks/

My experience with choosing a dinghy is that ease of launching and retrieving is the first consideration. A second is total weight on the flybridge cover when it comes to mitigating roll in in beam seas. My choice is always to have a RIB and OB with total weight of not more than 300lbs. In regard to chocks, I built a collapsible cradle for the flybridge which I put aside when the dinghy is in the water, freeing up a lot of space upstairs. I preferred to have a clean swimstep so I did not have davits there, nor staples. Just my thoughts and experience here. Have fun selecting your dinghy.

Tom-Jill

Yeah, their idea is snap to the deck. But not my plan. They are quite light, big pillows. Once the dingy is lifted I’ll either stow them somewhere or use a light cord to tie them to something just so they don’t blow away while I’m off on the dingy. Then of course just put them back in place when it’s time to lift again. And, just lash it all into place via the rails until I’m ready to drill into the deck.

My dingy.

Polycraft Tuffy 300. Plastic hard dingy. 10 ft. As I recall 235 dry weight, no engine. Using a eProplusion I’ll remove with each use. So my lift weight will stay well under 275. I feel no need to plane.

My top criteria was stable in boarding. Too many small dinks have a round bottom which makes them great to row but tender. And, to lift over the rails I wanted to keep vertical dimensions down. We will just have to see how well the trade offs work out in reality. The bottom resembles many ribs. I bought a pair of the flat angle chocks.

It’s not perfect. Nothing is. I have to figure out oarlocks. For backup. And that’s not obvious.

Nice to meet you

Tom &Jill..Nice to meet you today. Look forward to seeing you at Pt Townsend and on the water this summer

Gary,Carol and Diesrl

Tessoc said:

Tom &Jill..Nice to meet you today. Look forward to seeing you at Pt Townsend and on the water this summer

Gary,Carol and Diesrl

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It was nice to meet you too. Thanks again for showing us your boat and providing insight. We hope to see you again out on the water.


Jill

FWT said:

THAT

LOOKS

GREAT

Congratulations.

Seems like the whole batch of us posting about our orders on this thread are about to get deliveries. Nothing at all firm but MY ETA is approximately late April.

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FWT - Congratulations!!! April is just around the corner. What is your hull number? Also, I noticed you input your name. Very nice and appropriate on many levels. How did you decide on that name?

Jill

Tom-Jill-Lilly said:

FWT - Congratulations!!! April is just around the corner. What is your hull number? Also, I noticed you input your name. Very nice and appropriate on many levels. How did you decide on that name?

Jill

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#55

Well, the name seemed to fit the boat. Second, pretty much every thing worth doing in my life has required me to be resilient. It all just seemed to come together. Boats are generally named after a lady, a character trait, or some attempt at humor. I offered up a boat name involving my wife, but she preferred not to go there. We played with a number of others, and when she came up with resilient it immediately struck a chord. When you know, you know.

Just an update. Helmsman43 and I have been on the boat for four days, installing electronics and enjoying the boat. Sore knees from crawling around the boat. The attention to detail and comfort in the engine room is crazy good. Wiring runs are well thought out with top notch artistry, in my opinion. Systems are logically placed, with the best compromise between efficiency and access.

Helmsman 43 has been sleeping on the salon settee and reports it is comfortable, though he advised a topper to soften. Conversion from settee to bed is 45 seconds to a minute.

We have installed lower helm electronics, the auto pilot, a circuit for the Pepwave and Starlink, and will add the upper helm tomorrow or the next day. Each day is discovering something new about the boat. The cool thing is the discoveries have been all good! More to come, but really enjoying the Mishy Jean this past few days.

One bit of advice…the first few days can be a little overwhelming. I would suggest moving in a little slowly. What seemed important for months may not be, while other things might. The support from the Helmsman team is top notch. They are fun to engage with, and want to get your questions answered. Super service from these guys. Would do it again tomorrow!

Helmsman, where are you ousting your Starlink?

Tom-Jill-Lilly said:

Embark is taking a break in Korea on her journey to Seattle.

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It looks like your ship had a remarkably quick turnaround in Busan. Tonight we watched the pilot boat meet up with the Seamax Mystic on her departure to Seattle. I think you’re going to win this race. Our ship is between Haiti and Jamaica. It looks like a five day backlog at the Panama Canal. At least we won’t be competing for commissioning services in Seattle.

We were pleased to see that you connected with Gary and Carol. We relied heavily on their recommendations when we were selecting options. They are very nice people, Helmsman nice.

FWT,

I went with the Soft Chocks on our NP 45. Dinghy is an AB 10 AL Lamina 128 lbs. Motor Tohatsu 20 hp 95 lbs. Three gallon gas tank about 25ish lbs full, anchor oars, bilge pump, life jackets 10-12lbs. Total less people about 270 lbs.

I did not want obstructions/toe catchers on the fly bridge. Chocks store in the seat lockers when not in use. Installation of folding pad eyes are for another thread. I will be replacing the 2x6's with 2" rigid foam covered in fabric attached to the Soft Chocks with velcro. The additional height makes a difference with the outboard. This summer will be our third season using them.

Rob

Datenight:

Many thanks for that. Especially the pics. That is a nice, clean, efficient-looking installation. My temp solution using them may turn out to be not so temporary. And, folding pad eyes are a definite need and useful regardless of what temp or permanent chock selection is used. Those have been on my mind to do even ahead of any chock replacement. Again, I appreciate that response.

Enjoying your NP45? Great boat.

Helmsman: You two are triggering a major case of boat envy. Ours will be satisfied soon enough, and that's comforting.

NSM said:

Helmsman, where are you ousting your Starlink?

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I am not sure yet. I won’t mount it quite yet. The plan is to try it in several places first while underway. The initial plan is the starboard side of the arch under the radar beam. Will install in March after some travel. We are in a covered slip until then.

Pillow storage (soft chocks)

FWT and Datenight...

Pillow soft-chock storage?

Does anyone out there have dims on the storage underneath the bench seat on the 38 bridge?

Thanks for the feedback and pics as well. I think the softchocks are the way to go.

After walking every dock in Roche Harbor of 377 slips to find what others do,
I was at the end of the last dock saying to myself "if only there was a 38 with a 10' bullfrog on its top" I'd have my answer.

Poof the very LAST slip was a 38 WITH a 10' bullfrog on top. Unbelievable.

It was on a vessel called Odyssey, the first time we've seen her. Gary and Carol with their dog Desiel gave us a tour. I went on top and looked at As 2x4 starboard hand built cradle which appeared to be very sturdy. It's clearance was 7" with the motor slightly tilted.

IN trade to obtain Embark, I gave up my 27' Seaport which was rigged for hardcore fishing, Salmon, Halibut, crabbing, and shrimping. So selecting a dingy, I wanted the more robust indestructible ding with a steering column to do lots of trolling. It also could be used as a shuttle in the San Juans when at home port.

So the fishing was prioritized over weight. Otherwise, I'd reduce as much weight as possible on top of the bridge and get an inflatable if all I was doing is running to shore and back.




After discussing the package with Bixlers, they recommended I go with the heavier 3 pillow system. I too would need to raise the pillows if I want the motor to come down a bit.

While I too would like a clean deck, so where would we store the pillows on a 38, (plus an additional one?)



(upstairs underneath the bench seat? I believe we have a propane tank and small dingy gas can scheduled for that area as well)

Lastly, I think I'll make measurements and/or make cardboard cutouts of the pillows, as Bixlers recommendation is a deep vee. https://bixlersmarine.com/softchocks/
I think that's because that all the have for heavy chocks (jet skis).

I can't help on where it might fit. But remember there is storage in the upper helm station console too.

Tom, Glad to hear you discovered Odyssey with a Bullfrog on the flybridge cover. Good luck with the chock selection and outfitting your Bullfrog!

FWT said:

Datenight:

Many thanks for that. Especially the pics. That is a nice, clean, efficient-looking installation. My temp solution using them may turn out to be not so temporary. And, folding pad eyes are a definite need and useful regardless of what temp or permanent chock selection is used. Those have been on my mind to do even ahead of any chock replacement. Again, I appreciate that response.

Enjoying your NP45? Great boat.

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FWT

We love our NP45! The chocks fit easily in the bench seat storage on the fly bridge.

Rob

We took the boat out today, to test the new electronics, fuel up the boat, and just run around the bay close to the marina. We ran through a wake of a fifty footer coming through at about 15 to 20 knots and the boat barely acknowledged the wave.

The boat is easy to maneuver for docking, rides extremely smoothly, and a really comfortable ride. Helmsman 43 has been helping me get the boat outfitted, and was extremely happy with the ride, and the handling ability.

The electronics install went well, with zero issues, though we still have FB and Arch installs to do. We will run some wires and cables tomorrow and get part of those installs completed tomorrow, and then head home for a little rest and home cooking!

Really enjoying the boat. One extra kudo for Van Helker. He has been great to work with. Answering questions at anytime, working through my knowledge gaps, and taking care of the punch list. It is interesting to me that part of the boat commissioning is almost like a complete survey with fixes for any glitches. Van and Gary did a great job of getting me up to speed and have stayed in touch throughout this break in period. Scott checked in a couple of days ago to make sure things were coming along well, and asked me to let him know if there were any issues.

FWT said:

Helmsman: You two are triggering a major case of boat envy. Ours will be satisfied soon enough, and that's comforting.

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It is fun to be a Helmsman owner. They are great boats!

No problem on fitting the chocks in the bench seat on the flybridge. We have 6’ long kayak paddles broken down to 3’ each in there with room to spare. But when all else fails, ask Scott or Van. They will know.

Very excited by this flurry of new boats!

From Kauai where there are no Helmsman trawlers, that is for sure.

Helmsman said:

It is fun to be a Helmsman owner. They are great boats!

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Now that we have an ETA, we’re back looking at our list of things to get for the boat. I’m curious about what is included in “ USCG safety equipment included” and ground tackle. Are the USCG required placards included and does the ground tackle include an anchor bridle or snubber?

We can’t wait for photos.

Doug_Snider said:

Now that we have an ETA, we’re back looking at our list of things to get for the boat. I’m curious about what is included in “ USCG safety equipment included” and ground tackle. Are the USCG required placards included and does the ground tackle include an anchor bridle or snubber?

We can’t wait for photos.

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Reach out to Kinani (who sends you the update pics.) Probably copy Scott. She provided me with an order list of gear to be delivered at commissioning. Itemized order list of docklines and fenders, through the items you are asking about.

I topped up the gear list by shopping for additional fenders and lines, and so forth. No, no snubbers included. That's on you to get what you like.

Doug_Snider said:

Now that we have an ETA, we’re back looking at our list of things to get for the boat. I’m curious about what is included in “ USCG safety equipment included” and ground tackle. Are the USCG required placards included and does the ground tackle include an anchor bridle or snubber?

We can’t wait for photos.

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The placards are included as well as general required safety equipment. A bridle and snubber are not included. I bought a Mantus Bridle, and will have a snubber made for me by Rope Inc. though many folks just make their own snubber. I wanted a longer snubber than the one offered by Mantus. As FWT states, Kinani can provide the list of commissioning items.

No pictures yet! Not through outfitting and the electronics work is still underway. Thanks for asking!

This last week was electronics install in the ER and the Lower Helm, and punch list items. Next week is applying the Permanon ceramic coating. I will also finalize placement of the Pepwave, the Ethernet unswitched hub, and install the antenna and the SCX20 SatCom. I am waiting on a custom mount for the radar which will be here prior to the March 1st date set for the Tennessee River exploration.

Helmsman43 will be receiving his boat in Virginia in a week. He was on hand to help with some of the work on my boat, so I will be returning the favor in a couple of weeks.

Helmsman said:

This last week was electronics install in the ER and the Lower Helm, and punch list items. Next week is applying the Permanon ceramic coating. I will also finalize placement of the Pepwave, the Ethernet unswitched hub, and install the antenna and the SCX20 SatCom. I am waiting on a custom mount for the radar which will be here prior to the March 1st date set for the Tennessee River exploration.

Helmsman43 will be receiving his boat in Virginia in a week. He was on hand to help with some of the work on my boat, so I will be returning the favor in a couple of weeks.

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Fantastic news! Let us know how your Permanon application goes and the method you use. Sounds like you are getting lots of things addressed. We have our Permanon purchased. Now, just need our boat! Hopefully soon, as we are the next 38E to be completed. Nancy and Larry