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I’m not sure how long the boat will be out of the water, but my guess is that it will be a couple of weeks to a month. Delta painted the bottom last year. As you can see in the photos, the paint job didn’t last. I’ll have to ask if there is a warranty…
While the boat is out of the water we have a number of projects; including swapping in the new generator, placing the new domes for Internet access, increasing the size of the thru-hulls, installing dripless shafts, swapping the zincs, cleaning the thruster tubes, inspecting the stabilizers, etc.
While en route from the marina to the shipyard, I had a prop engineer on board who did some testing to check prop efficiency. He decided that the boat is over-propped, and Delta will be reshaping the prop. This is an area where my knowledge is weak, and I’m not highly motivated to understand it better. I do understand that there is a science to sizing a prop for a boat, and that having the right size and number of blades, at exactly the right pitch (angle of attack), can make a huge difference in the fuel efficiency of the boat. In my case, it is good news that my boat is “over-propped” because this means they can increase my range by making changing to my existing prop rather than requiring a new prop.
Meanwhile, I’ve been working on our route planning. I uploaded the latest version of our route to the website. The biggest change is that we’ve now streamlined our routing across the Gulf of Alaska, and eliminated Sitka from the trip. We’ll be running straight across the Gulf of Alaska, which will be roughly a three-day passage. We also agreed that the group would rendezvous for the passage on June 7 at Glacier Bay. All of the boats are now in Seattle, and we’ll all be starting north at roughly the same time. However, for the first thousand miles of our trip, we’ll travel together only randomly. All of us have guests meeting us who want to see Alaska. We’re allowing six weeks to travel north so that everyone has plenty of time to explore and just be “tourists”.
And lastly…
We are in Cabo now, and were out on the water yesterday.
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The marina at Puerto Los Cabos is adding dry dock storage for boats, and a 150 ton lift! As we were leaving the marina, I could see the work in progress. I don’t know the schedule, but they seemed about half way done. As far as I know, this will be the largest lift within a thousand miles in either direction.
9 Responses
You are setting forth on a long voyage and you want to be able to pick when and where she’s hauled in the future. First, a bad prep job must be corrected now. Under no conditions should areas of bottom paint flake off. Second, make sure that you use a hard paint like Trinidad SR. Unlike most boats, you will be putting on many miles and cannot use ablative paints. Delta will have their experience on what works on voyagers and they have ready access to brands we don’t usually see and which come in 55 gallon drums. Here in North Carolina, we have yards which service both commercial trawlers and pleasure vessels. They often have commercial paint left over and offer it at discount to pleasure boat owners. Here it is Seahawk paint and comes in a bright royal blue – sorry Roberta!
You may not have known what kind of bottom paint was used in China. The new color that you put on may have been incompatible with the type of paint applied by the Chinese. Get it done correctly now so that when you get into fouling waters, you have long-term protection. Surely you encountered these issues with your Nordhavn 62?
Ron
Andy:
I don’t know how to know when the bottom needs completely painted, and when it just needs touch-up. I’m hoping that your question and my response trigger others to say how one knows. Generally, I’ve heard that the bottom should be repainted every two years. It has only been one year for my boat, and clearly, there are areas where the paint is gone completely.
In this case, I’ll ask Delta whether or not they think the bottom needs completely repainted, or just a touch up. To my “layman’s eye”, it looks to me like the paint was put on with inadequate sanding, or cleaning of the prior paint beneath. The second coat of paint seems not to have adhered to the surface below. That said, this is an area I know nothing about, and will need to defer to experts.
-Ken W
Dwaine: I paid the use tax in Washington (a huge number!) and filed a claim asking for a refund. I was given bad information about bringing my boat into the state (by the state). Had I realized that I would be subjected to Washington State tax, just for bringing the boat in for a few days, I would have kept the boat outside the state.
My case is supposed to go before the judge one week from today. My current plan is to cancel the case, and just let it be. The local tax office filed a brief with the judge explaining their position, and after reading everything, it seems like I will lose. As a Washington resident, the second that boat entered the state, I had liability.
Given this, I decided that I would just bring the boat back into the state, and “be legal.” I’ve paid my tax, and might as well enjoy having the boat in Seattle. Once we leave the state in April, it may never be there again! Or, at least not for a decade or more!
-Ken Williams
Re: Bottom paint
Ken,
You stated that Nordhavn originally painted the bottom with a light blue color that was then follow by a black coat. This was actually a good thing as you can tell where the black has worn through. The picture of your stern under the swim platform is shoping some blue as are the rudders. Those areas can be touched up or the entire bottom can be repainted. Consider the entire bottom if you are unsure when/where yuor next haul out is going to be.
Andy
Hello,
I see your boat in in Seattle. Did you ever resolve the sales tax issue with Washington St.?
I agree, that is a lot of money to pay for a temporary visit.
Greetings Bo .. And, if you are the Bo I’m thinking of, let’s have lunch! (I’m just down the road).
I’ve never heard of seachests called “wet wells”, but I’m guessing that you are referring to my seachest.
I did explore several systems for removing the crud from the sea chest and intake lines. All of the ones I looked at used electricity, and I was warned against them by credible sources. Apparently they can encourage electrolysis, and eat your thru-hulls.
Instead, I’m taking several different tacks..
– I’m removing a steep turn that is just inside the thru-hull
– I’m increasing the thru-hulls from 2″ to 3″
– I’m adding an exterior strainer to the intake
– In warm water, I’ll be putting chemicals into the sea chest periodically to kill the crud
– I’ll be taking pre-cut hoses with me (from the thru-hulls to the strainers and to the sea chest), so that I can easily replace clogged hoses
For the next year, I’ll be in cold water, so this will all be a non-issue. And, actually, it is usually a non-issue in warm water. My theory is that my problem really started when I was sitting for months in a temporary slip at the Puerto Los Cabos marina. The water was so shallow that I had “maybe” six inches clearance to the mud below. I’m guessing I sucked some crud into the lines, and it was the start of some clogging that took another month to completely shut me down.
Talk to you soon,
-Ken W
As to bottom painting:
Another Nordhavn owner looked at the pictures and said that my bottom paint looks appropriate to the number of miles run (about 8,000 since the paint job). I’d like it touched up or repainted, just because it looks terrible.
Bottom paint is a subject I am totally ignorant about. I don’t know how often a bottom needs painted or how to know when it is time for new paint.
The bottom was painted last year, almost immediately after the boat was new, because Roberta requested that Nordhavn paint the bottom a dark navy blue (or black), and somehow the factory decided to paint the bottom a pale blue (cyan). It didn’t really bother me, in that for the most part, only the fish see the bottom paint, and they aren’t prone to complaining. However, Roberta held firm to wanting the bottom painted dark blue or black, and we repainted the bottom in Seattle last summer.
Ken W
Why did she get hull paint right after commissioning?
Hey Ken
Did you ever resolve the problem with your wet wells. Did you look into the ozone injection system used to kill the marine life that cloggs the system? Chem-Free is one suppliers that has a system specifically for wet wells.