Building a Nordhavn - again

Hippocampus said:

Boy they have power to close city streets like that. Wonderful to see them use the cradle not slings. The gel coat is untouched. Magnificent vessel.

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The boat lives in that cradle from the day it pops out of the mold, until now. But the same cradle gets hauled to the shipping port, and used once again on the deck of the transport ship, now identified as BBC Ruby. When the boat reaches it's final destination, it is launched, and the cradle is scrapped.

Not only do they run down the streets, they relocate some number of utility lines to make way. And they do this every time a boat launches. But it's no big deal, and they just get it done.

Congrats TT, that is an amazing vessel.

Wow! Congratulations.

twistedtree said:

Ta Shing posted this video of the launch

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You have done yourself well Mr. Hayden. Congratulations and best wishes.

twistedtree said:

Ta Shing posted this video of the launch

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Although I marvel at the completion (almost) of your project but I'm flabbergasted at the yard being so far from the water for launching! What am i missing?

Codger2 said:

Although I marvel at the completion (almost) of your project but I'm flabbergasted at the yard being so far from the water for launching! What am i missing?

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It's not what you would expect, is it? I honestly don't know how common or uncommon this sort of thing is. But when you consider that they launch a boat at most every 3 months, it's not such a huge thing. Ta Shing actually has two yards/facilities a few blocks from each other.


What I think would be huge for them would be a test tank, but there just isn't space. South Coast, Nordhavn's other yard in Xaimen China, has a gargantuan travel lift and test tank. Then the travel lift can load the boat on a barge to take to it's shipping point. But the barge dock runs dry so it can only be loaded at high tide.




Maybe Steve D'Antonio will chime in since he has been to most all of the Asian yards.

Beautiful! Congrats!!!

twistedtree said:

It's not what you would expect, is it? I honestly don't know how common or uncommon this sort of thing is. But when you consider that they launch a boat at most every 3 months, it's not such a huge thing. Ta Shing actually has two yards/facilities a few blocks from each other.


What I think would be huge for them would be a test tank, but there just isn't space. South Coast, Nordhavn's other yard in Xaimen China, has a gargantuan travel lift and test tank. Then the travel lift can load the boat on a barge to take to it's shipping point. But the barge dock runs dry so it can only be loaded at high tide.




Maybe Steve D'Antonio will chime in since he has been to most all of the Asian yards.

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It's not just China but many European builders as well, although most a little closer to the water. Just using roadways to take boats to the water isn't considered an issue for them. It's like a big moment, like a parade. Even some US builders have had the situation. Some didn't necessarily always handle it well, like Northern.

I think with great distance, it eliminates any tendency to short cut the process. You look at the cradle and equipment used by Nordhavn. They're not set up just to move the boat a few feet. They're set up to transport the boat by land and sea around the world.

Congrats Twisted!

Wish I had better wifi here in MX to watch the video. But she sure is a beautiful boat, please continue to share the experience.

Cheers

Congrats she looks beautiful.

The landlocked factory isn't such a surprise - it's probably way cheaper than the waterfront or near waterfront. Many of the Puget Sound builders are a ways away from the water for that reason.

Amazing!
Congrats!

The transport ship in in Xiamen, China loading other boats, and we are the next stop. ETA to Everett, WA is Dec 19.

twistedtree said:

The transport ship in in Xiamen, China loading other boats, and we are the next stop. ETA to Everett, WA is Dec 19.

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Whoo, that’s only a couple weeks away. Congratulations!

Can’t wait to see her.

What are your cruising plans? Be fun to see you out there

I hope Nordhavn can put a big red bow on it for you on arrival. That's a heck of a Christmas present.

w8n4sun said:

Can’t wait to see her.

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Ha, me too I last saw it almost exactly a year ago, with all subsequent visits cancelled because of Covid.

Hippocampus said:

What are your cruising plans? Be fun to see you out there

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Well, it has changed quite a bit. Our plan from the start was to commission and take delivery in Florida, breakdown for a year along the eastern seaboard between Canada and the Bahamas, then head over to Europe.


But our assumption about boarder closings over the next year is that you can't assume, and we don't want to be confined to the Eastern US. We prefer more wilderness cruising.


Thankfully I structured our contract to allow commissioning at any of Nordhavn's locations, so we switched to Seattle. Here, even with the Canadian boarder closed to recreational traffic, we can pop up to Alaska and have all the wilderness our hearts desire. So we will be in the PNW until boarders reliably re-open around the world. At that point, we will come up with a new plan. Northern Europe is still high on the list, and we are kicking around the idea of doing the Northwest passage to get there. But that's a long shot for many reasons.

I just checked and the ship has left Xiamen and is on its way to Kaohsiung, TW to pick up our boat. I'm getting very excited... The ship is the BBC Ruby.

TT
Is Emerald Harbor handling the commissioning?

Great fun. Wonderful to have that kind of range. So when Alaska is played out are you intending to do the Panama Canal, islands then azores or down the Coast then South Pacific to start doing the clock?

sunchaser said:

TT
Is Emerald Harbor handling the commissioning?

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Yes, in conjunction with PAE, and various 3rd party contractors. It takes a village.

Hippocampus said:

Great fun. Wonderful to have that kind of range. So when Alaska is played out are you intending to do the Panama Canal, islands then azores or down the Coast then South Pacific to start doing the clock?

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In response to all your questions; Yes, No, Maybe. We have no need to circumnavigate, specifically. Just places we would like to visit, and some we aren't very interested in. I would love to do the NW Passage, but don't know if that will ever be a realistic option for us. Some people cruise to see the people of the world, and others cruise to see the natural world. We are primarily interested in the natural world.

Congratulations, Peter!! I bet you're as excited as an expectant parent! It's been a looong gestation! Fortunately, she will make one heckuva Christmas gift!

I hope it's everything you've dreamed and meticulously planned it to be. Can you share the transporting ship's name for those watching Marinetraffic?

FlyWright said:

Congratulations, Peter!! I bet you're as excited as an expectant parent! It's been a looong gestation! Fortunately, she will make one heckuva Christmas gift!

I hope it's everything you've dreamed and meticulously planned it to be. Can you share the transporting ship's name for those watching Marinetraffic?

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Thanks.

It's shipping on the BBC Ruby.


I also just noticed that the configuration of BBC Ruby is a bit unique. The wheelhouse and accommodations are forward, not aft. I've seen that on some work boats and crew boats, but it seems unique on a freighter.

Indeed, an interesting ship.

I will try to get a photo as she passes Port Angeles to embark the pilot.

Congratulations. I hope it travels well and is soon commissioned and delivered. Let the joy begin!

twistedtree said:

Thanks.

It's shipping on the BBC Ruby.


I also just noticed that the configuration of BBC Ruby is a bit unique. The wheelhouse and accommodations are forward, not aft. I've seen that on some work boats and crew boats, but it seems unique on a freighter.

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You’re right, the configuration is different. Here’s a the BBC Ruby picking up a new Krogen before heading to Everett. It does appear they do a good job securing the boats to the deck.

Nice. Ours is now loaded and the ship is en route to Taipei for it's last stop before crossing to Everett. They are running 1-2 days late, so my best guess for unload is Dec 20 or more likely Dec 21.

Hey Peter:

Congrats on your new Tanglewood! Seems like yesterday we were chatting about your new build......but that was the 2017 FUBAR. Nice to have it loaded and on the way.

Hope to see Tanglewood in Alaska this summer.

Alex
mvWildBlue.com