Contract Signed / New Build Underway

Loading onto Transport

We received these photos today showing the boat being loaded onto the transport which carries the boat to Shanghai. From there the boat is loaded onto the cargo container ship for its journey to Long Beach, CA. We have the name of the cargo container ship and its arrival date in LB is 9/22. I believe Scott advised the trip can take anywhere from 2 -3 weeks. Remember there is always a delay in receiving and posting photos so these are not real time. Pretty cool to see the boat moving along on the transport.

John

All very cool John - can't wait to see photos of your baby, sitting in California waters!

Tracking the boat

With the boat now transferred from the small freighter to the larger cargo container ship we are in the final stretch to see her soon. Scott provided the name of the container ship and website we can use to follow her transit. The web-site is FLEETMON - Vessel Tracking. I already signed up and found the boat just outside the mainland heading east (a good sign). Current estimated arrival date in Long Beach, CA is 9/22 which is exactly two weeks.

No new photos to share this week but expect to have some during the offloading followed by commissioning and delivery to San Diego.

John

Very exciting, John! Much like that of an expectant father, it'll be fun and educational watching the process.

Congrats on your new berth!!

FlyWright said:

Very exciting, John! Much like that of an expectant father, it'll be fun and educational watching the process.

Congrats on your new berth!!

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Wifey B: And both take nine months from conception.

Congratulations John and Mary. A few year ago we watched our boat cross the pacific by following the ship's AIS. We knew when she arrived at the Panama Canal. Just as she entered the Gatun locks, night fell and we could not see her. But we got up early the next morning to see her at Miraflores lock. Just as the ship was approaching the last corner, the web cam froze. We never saw her after all. Looking forwrd toseeing the pictures once she arrives!

Thanks to AIS, we were able to follow the car carriers that brought our last two cars over from Germany. But I'd much rather be waiting for a new Helmsman!

BandB said:

Wifey B: And both take nine months from conception.

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And, both have much to do with surrounding fluid.

Congrats, John!

Transport - Update

Based on the tracking web-site it appears the ship made a port stop for about one day and is back on the move. Not very much in front of her now but open ocean.

Scott and I have begun discussing logistics and timing of off loading the boat in LB. It appears he will fly in a couple days early to scope everything out and insure everything is lines up. I'm coordinating with Alcome Marine to have the transducer shipped to the yard for them to install during the haul out. All paperwork appears to be completed and the boat has been paid for. We had a little last minute fun resigning some documents which had to be dated the day the boat loaded onto the transport but everything worked out fine in the end.

Today we plan to drive to San Diego just to check on the slip and look around at home. We still would like to end up in SD full time within the next two years as part of our retirement plan but the cost of housing is so high its becoming a challenge. Trying to maintain our current large home and the 1.25 acre lot is not practical if we plan to spend time on the boat. Wish us luck on this next adventure!

John

Good Luck!

N4061 said:

Today we plan to drive to San Diego just to check on the slip and look around at home. We still would like to end up in SD full time within the next two years as part of our retirement plan but the cost of housing is so high its becoming a challenge. Trying to maintain our current large home and the 1.25 acre lot is not practical if we plan to spend time on the boat. Wish us luck on this next adventure!

John

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I think the real question is what do you want the land home for and what is the intended use. Is it important to be close to your boat or is it to be a contrast to the boat? Is large and lot's of land important or is maintenance of such something to be avoided? How much of the time will your boat be in San Diego once you've started cruising? Perhaps in commuting from your current home to your boat a while, the answers will become more apparent.

Container Ship

As of this morning the container ship appears to be back underway after a short stop in Japan. ETA is nine days per the web-site. Below is a photo of the container ship. One good thing about transporting boats under 40' are the different types of ships which can be used.

If this would have been say a 79 footer I don't think we would sit her on top of a cargo container. I was reading a recent post on another builders website where the cost of shipping a larger boat was being discussed and almost fell over when I read around of $200K (ouch). Even against a $6M yacht that is a lot of money to have to spend.

I know at my company we are always looking at the cost of transporting product across the sea and how much inventory we have sitting for a couple of weeks at a time. Who ever develops a really fast and economical container ship first should have a lock on the market??

John

Big Day Tomorrow

From the title of this post one could easily conclude the boat arrived early (no chance - in fact the cargo ship turned off its AIS). No the big news for us is tomorrow we pick up Sailor Blue - the new pup. Needless to say Mary is excited to have a new pup running around the house but is still grieving for our beloved Daisy. Amazing how much that little girl meant to us both.

Regarding the boat I'm currently looking at slips and hotels in Dana Point in case we decide to stop half way to San Diego. While I'm willing to make a 80 - 90 mile direct run Scott was thinking we shouldn't push the new boat and ourselves since there is no reason. The weather has been very strange lately so having a mid way stopping point plan makes sense. Nothing more I hate is cruising in low visibility without radar. We also will not have auto-pilot which means a lot of hand steering and fatigue.

Interior carpet and window coverings are on their way to the house for Mary to look at this week. That's about it for today.

John

Dana Point. Yes. You want to show them? lol. Aren't you afraid they'll call you a traitor? Just kidding but thinking of you pulling it into Dana Point does bring a smile to my face.

Slightly off subject

Sailor Blue, all one pound of her is now home. Needless to say we needed her more than the boat. Amazing how even the smallest living thing can bring so much joy. She has no idea what her life is going to be like.

N4061 said:

Sailor Blue, all one pound of her is now home. Needless to say we needed her more than the boat. Amazing how even the smallest living thing can bring so much joy. She has no idea what her life is going to be like.

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I will wager she will have an awesome life!
Lucky pup...
Bruce

Nothing personal, John, buuuuuuuuuttttttttttttttttt............................

I just chased something like that along my fence line yesterday! That dog is really going to make your boat look absolutely beautiful!!

What's the cutie's name?

EDIT: My bad...Sailor Blue!

EDIT #2: What I mean is that dog just hit it out of the park! Welcome home SB!

Counting down the days

With only a few days left until the boat arrives we find ourselves starting to scramble to get things ready. Today I spoke with the nice folks at Dana Point marina to see about a 40' slip for either Friday or Saturday evening. As luck would have it they only have one slip available and require a ton of paperwork before accepting a reservation. This had me looking over all the papers and emails we have collected recently and confirming everything is in order.

I found a fuel station in the same harbor as the yard we plan to use for the haul out and commissioning which should help with logistics. Alcom Marine will visit the boat Thursday to drop off the transducer and walk the boat. There is a West Marine within walking distance of the yard which I'm sure Scott visit at least once.

Tomorrow we need to run out and purchase one TV and some cable so we will have TV reception from the dock until the Satcom is installed in two weeks.

Mary found two smaller rugs in the house we will use on the boat until we have the custom carpet installed. She also went through all the boxes of "boating stuff" from our last boat and made a list of additional items she needs to buy next week. I'm not sure how she will manage this since Sailor Blue doesn't leave her alone and wants to be held all the time.

Today we tool Sailor Blue for her first check up and shots. Turns out she has small hernia which the doctor said isn't unusual but something we need to watch until surgery in 3 months. Otherwise she is in very good health. She actually weighs 1lb 14 oz. She is adjusting very well to the house and even did good in the car.

Will keep you posted.

John

What breed is your new crew member, Sailor Blue?

Just sort of wondering how much of a sea trial she had before shipping? Are all systems dialed in and read for your 80-90 mile delivery? Best of luck, looking forward to pictures.

Sailor Blue

BruceK said:

What breed is your new crew member, Sailor Blue?

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She is a Chihuahua, very popular breed in southern California. These dogs are very smart and loyal. They do love their attention which makes breaking in a new pup a little difficult.

John

Sea Trial

tadhana said:

Just sort of wondering how much of a sea trial she had before shipping? Are all systems dialed in and read for your 80-90 mile delivery? Best of luck, looking forward to pictures.

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According to Scott the standard system checkout was performed by the yard. I don't have the details but based on recently delivered boats Scott reports very few warranty issues. This is not to say I don't expect to have a few minor issues. Fortunately we have a couple of major pleasure craft harbors on the way down (Newport Beach and Dana Point). Will keep you posted.

John

N4061 said:

She is a Chihuahua, very popular breed in southern California. These dogs are very smart and loyal....John

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A boating colleague acquired a chihuahua called "Yeti" on the death of a friend. After a restricted apartment life with a housebound owner, she adapted perfectly to guarding the new owners boat, and bungalow.
I met a couple from Chihuahua during a delay at Istanbul airport. A number of dog breeds are named after their area of origin.

Update 9/20

Scott and one of his employees made it to Long Beach, Ca today to start preparing for Thursday's off-load. Current plan is to off load around 0800hrs which should support having the boat at the yard by noon if all goes as planned. We continue to coordinate with Alcom Marine on the electronics including the transducer which needs to be installed during the haul out. As much as I wanted to see the off load this turned out to be a bad week at work to take time off. My plan is to meet with Scott Friday in Long Beach to see the boat and prepare for the trip south. Mary and I still need to coordinate where to leave one car and work around a few other appointments that all piled up this week. So far so good.

John

Very exciting, you probably won't sleep tonight!

Off load

Well today finally arrived and the boat was delivered / off loaded in Long Beach, CA. Scott took care of everything for us while I was stuck working - Thanks again Scott. I will post the details once we get the boat to SD over the next couple of days. Enjoy the photo's.

I would be going crazy about now! Very exciting
Bruce

Great looking boat. Congratulations!
I look forward to meeting you two and seeing her here on the East Coast one day.

Very exciting. It looks like they first off loaded the boat to the dock, then launched into the water from there? Or am I not interpreting the pictures correctly. That may not be a self-loading ship since they are using the big dock gantry cranes. Or maybe it's just faster that way.

Off Load

twistedtree said:

Very exciting. It looks like they first off loaded the boat to the dock, then launched into the water from there? Or am I not interpreting the pictures correctly. That may not be a self-loading ship since they are using the big dock gantry cranes. Or maybe it's just faster that way.

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You are correct, from the cargo container to the dock then to the water! These large container ships are not self loading.

Just spoke with the yard and confirmed the boat is ready to go back in the water. Scott should be underway to DP by noon.