Shipping: 12 Step Program & Southeastern Guide Dogs

I awoke this morning at 8:00 AM and checked my email for Friday photos.  Sure enough there was an email from Jeff Druek:  "I hope you had a pleasant Holiday. You will not find attached this week’s photos of your boat under construction. We have a 12 step program for weaning you off the weekly construction photos.  This is step one!  LOL."

I immediately wrote back asking for the other 11 steps.  Jeff wrote that tracking the freighter's progress is the 12 Step Program but the BBC Africa is out of range.  Oh well, no photos and no current update. 

That said, the freighter's position on December 25 was Latitude 25.47618, Longitude 121.5771.  She was traveling at 9 knots on a heading of 43 degrees.

BBC Africa

So I asked Kodi what I should write about.  Kodi, in her official role as a Southeastern Ambassador Dog, suggested that I share our fund raising effort with our readers.  I thought it was a good suggestion.



Kodi on the day she became an Ambassador Dog (Jan 2012)
Standing: Andy Kramer, Director of Development, Titus Herman CEO
Seated: Diana, Lester and Myrna (my sister)
Foreground: Ambassador Kodi

Last year thanks to the support of our friends, Diana, Kodi and I raised over $6,500 for Southeastern Guide Dogs.  We’re hoping to raise at least that much for their 2014 Sarasota Walkathon.

Flash: We are currently at $6,550 including posted contributions and commitments.

Southeastern provides guide dogs that literally change the lives of visually impaired individuals along with veterans with disabilities.  

It takes two years and $60,000 to raise a guide dog.  The process starts with breeding healthy dogs with great temperaments.  It continues with volunteer puppy raisers who love and train the dogs for the first 16 months of their lives.  This is followed by six months of intensive harness training at Southeastern’s Palmetto campus that transforms these spectacular dogs into guide dogs.  The process concludes with 26 days of training with the dog’s recipient.  The dogs are provided to the recipients at no charge.

Charity Navigator gives Southeastern their highest 4 STAR rating.  The bottom line is that 91% of the funds donated go to raising and training dogs. The school receives no government support.

If you want to help change someone’s life and want to make a donation where you know that your money is going to make a real difference, then we urge you to join Team Kodi by clicking on the link below.

 
http://www.guidedogswalkathon.org/team-kodi

Thanks for your support.

Les, Diana and Kodi (aka the Furry Kid)

PS. Your donation is 100% tax deductible.


Kodi in her Southeastern Ambassador Dog cape

Happy New Year

Shipping: Up, Up and Away

Click on the link below and listen to "Up, Up and Away My Beautiful Balloon" by the 5th Dimension.  The music is perfect for the occasion.  You may want to open a second window so you can hear the music while you are reading the article.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5akEgsZSfhg

This morning I found an early present under the tree.  Well, OK, it wasn't exactly under the tree. It was in the form of an email from Outer Reef telling us that Guided Discovery was loaded and on the way.

She was loaded in Kaohsiung on Saturday, December 22 after making a short trip on Tania's barge from the shipyard to the yacht transport.



1. The ship's crane lifting Guided Discovery off Tania's barge

Explanatory Note: Notice how low the ship sits in the water.  It appears that the ship ballasts (takes on water) to lower down and then drops support piles to provide stability while lifting the yachts.  Once on board, the cradle is welded to the deck.  Then cables are run through the haws holes and welded to the deck firmly anchoring the yacht to the cradle.  I'm told the cables are covered with rubber to prevent damage to the haws holes.




2. Up, Up and Away

3. Arriving on the ship

4. Arrive on the ship - close up



5. Settling on the deck
Velox (white) coating on the shafts, props and rudders

Explanatory Note: Velox is an antifouling paint imported from Europe by ZF Marine, a major manufacturer of marine transmissions and running gear.  The product involves a primer and top coat.  The objective is to prevent barnacles and other marine growth.  It also reduces resistance so the props run more smoothly through the water.  In theory, the coating should reduce fuel consumption.  Another benefit involves bottom cleaning, which we expect will be done at least monthly when were not cruising.   The diver will be able to remove any growth more easily.  This is the first time we've seen the running gear with the Velox applied.

6. Safely aboard the BBC Africa
Note the securing cables running through the haws holes

Expected delivery in Port Everglades Florida is on or about January 24.  The ETA is dependent on many variables including ports of call along the way, weather and traffic in the Panama Canal.

The ship's name is BBC Africa.  She is 7007 ton general cargo ship.  She left Kaohsiung on Saturday bound for Taipei.  From there she crosses the Pacific heading for Vancouver British Columbia to offload, and, perhaps, on load more yachts.  Then she heads south for the Panama Canal.  After transitioning the canal she heads for Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.

8. BBC Africa

You can track BBC Africa's progress with the link below.

http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/304881000

Meanwhile, I looked at the weather over the Pacific using the link below.  There are no active typhoons, cyclones or tropical storms.  This bodes well.  I think it is safe to say that a typhoon like Haiyan, which recently struck the Philippines, would put a slight dent in our ETA.

http://www.intellicast.com/Storm/Hurricane/PacificAnalysis.aspx

So, stay tuned for updates on shipping progress.

Finally, Outer Reef provided some additional photos of the finished boat.  These include the aft deck, the aft deck table (photos 26 to 29) and the salon table (photos 20a & 20b).  I suspect that when Howard took the photos last Friday the aft and fore deck cushions were sitting on the aft deck to allow him to take photos an uncluttered salon.  So, go back to Construction: Week 52 - Ready to Ship to see these GREAT photos.

Best wishes 

for happy holiday season

and a great 2014

Les, Diana and Kodi (The Furry Kid)

Construction: Week 52 - Ready to Ship - Complete Set of Photos

The title says it all and the photos speak for themselves,  Further, the boat is completely clean, no workers, no tools and no debris.  Enjoy.

Notice in the first photo that the boat is sitting the barge that will transport it to the ship.

1. Port side view
Final bottom paint

2. Boat Deck looking forward

3. Boat Deck looking aft

4. Flybridge

4a. Flybridge control station

5. Flybridge Settee

6. flybridge looking to starboard

7. VIP Stateroom

8. Guest Head

9. Guest Stateroom

10. Master Stateroom looking forward
TV on the starboard bulkhead

11. Master Stateroom looking to port

12. Master Stateroom looking aft

13. Master Head

14. Pilothouse

15. Pilothouse stairwell, wine cooler and refrigerator

16. Pilothouse settee

17. Galley looking to  port

18. Galley looking forward

19. Salon looking forward
Awaiting salon table

20. Salon looking aft

20a. Salon Hi-lo Table
Finish: Wenge with teak and black border

20b. Salon Hi-lo table on stainless steel legs

21. Engine Room looking forward

22. Engine room looking aft



23. Lazarette looking forward

24. Lazarette looking aft.

25. Aft deck looking forward
From left to right
Port wing door
Refrigerator, storage and sink
Salon door
Boat deck access ladder
Starboard wing door

26. Aft deck settee with table slider mechanism

27.  Aft deck table

28. Salon sliding door
Boat deck access ladder

29. Aft deck sink

Next set of photos will show the boat being loaded onto the ship.

Written by Les.

Decisions: Final Interoir and Exterior Design

Seven years ago, Diana and I visited Skipper Buds in Northpoint Illinois to look at a new 2006 48 Sundancer, which was sitting on the "showroom" floor.  We were considering buying one on the used market but wanted to see if we liked it before "shopping."    Diana fell in love with the interior design of 48 on the floor and we bought the boat. 

At that time Sea Ray was offering the 48 with four interior choices.  The one on the floor had their "C" interior. 

Fast forward to 2012 and the building of our 63 Outer Reef LRMY (Long Range Motor Yacht).  There are no interior choices.  Every boat is customized for each owner and there in lies the challenge.  The buyer has to make all of the decisions.

There is actually some logic to this.  Sea Ray builds around two hundred 48 Sundancers each year.  Therefore, their decorators can design a group of interiors and buy the necessary fabrics in bulk.  Outer Reef since 2007 has build a total of 57 boats starting with hull 7.  Our boat is hull number 63 and one of around eight 63s built to date.

This "volume" does not lend itself to designing a choice of interiors.  For one thing, buyers in this market are more likely to do it their way.  For another, Outer Reef would have to buy the fabrics and store them, sometimes for years.  None of these boats are built for a dealer's inventory as there are no dealers.

Diana, Colleen and Mike discussing interior design in December 2012

We've been working on the interior decisions for a year.  The process started last year on our trip down to Sarasota where we detoured to Outer Reef's headquarters in Fort Lauderdale for a two day design session.  That was followed by several additional cross state visits during the winter of 2012-2013.   The decisions made during this period were ones that, in part, involved installation during the build in Taiwan and are shown in the photos below.



Main deck and flybridge color board - All applicable to Taiwan build
Moving clockwise from the lower left:
Distressed fabric for salon barrel chairs with a piece of wenge
Empradore light marble for the galley
Beige ultra leather salon settee fabric
Flybridge Sunbrella Maxim Heather Beige settee fabric
Aft deck Sunbrella Renatta Hemp settee fabric
 

Below deck accommodations color board
Moving counter clockwise from the lower right
Carpet - Installation in Fort Lauderdale & no longer applicable
Bed spread fabric - Installation in Fort Lauderdale & no longer applicable
Purple pillow fabric - Installation in Fort Lauderdale & no longer applicable
Wenge trim
Head board fabric - Installed in Taiwan

More work followed during the summer of 2013 but that work was made more difficult due to the 1,400 mile distance between Chicago and Fort Lauderdale.  I would categorize this as the UPS period.  Not very productive and very slow.  The decisions at this stage revolve around bedding and pillows.

Progress continued throughout the early fall as Diana and I made numerous trips (around 10) to the Merchandize Mart in Chicago.  This effort produced the fabric choices below for the staterooms.



From left to right
Master Stateroom
Guest Stateroom and carpet for the staterooms
VIP Stateroom

Explanatory Note: The large fabric sample is for the bed spread.  The samples on each are fabrics selected for shams. 

Final decisions were made in the last week.  Three days after driving 1,223 miles from Chicago to Sarasota we crossed the state for a two day design session with Debra Manzi, Outer Reef's interior designer.  This was followed by a session this Friday where we made another day trip across the state.

One of the frustrations with the process involves the fabric manufacturers.  Many times we picked something only to find that our choice had been discontinued or was not available or would take 8 weeks or so to manufacture.

So much for the story of how we got to where we are.  Now to the decisions.

Well start with the Pilot House.  The photos below show the port settee and the helm station.



Pilothouse settee just forward of the galley

Pilot house table

Pilothouse control station

The key structural design elements involve the use of teak, wenge bullnose, stainless steel (helm wheel, handholds, ceiling handholds, settee table post and helm chair base), black leather helm chair (not shown), black console face and leather like Formica work surfaces and the beige fabric on the settee.


Pilothouse pillows shown with the beige fabric, wenge and teak
Kravet patterned fabric will be used for three 20" x 20" pillows
Small dark brown NovaSuede above the teak square will make two 20" by 20" pillows

Moving aft to the galley you can see the Empradore light marble counters and backsplash.  There will also be a removable cutting board over the sink.



Empradore counters and backsplash

Now to the Salon.  The structural design elements include the wenge bullnose and cabinet surfaces, teak flooring, beige Ultra Leather settee fabric and the recessed ceiling with stainless steel grab bars.


Salon looking forward

Salon pillow fabrics shown with structural design elements
Clockwise from the lower left:
Saddle Brisa Distressed fabric for the barrel chairs with teak square
Textured Kravet fabric for three 20" x 20" pillows with wenge design element
Patterned100% Kravet fabric for two 18" x 18" pillows
Settee Buff Ultra Leather fabric
Note shown: A solid brown silk fabric in the same color way for one 22" x 16" pillow 

We chose a Sunbrella fabric called Renatta Hemp for the aft deck settee and for fore deck seating just forward of the Portuguese bridge.  The structural design elements on the aft deck involve the natural teak floor, varnished teak table with compass rose and stainless steel posts.  We have ordered three unfinished teak deck chairs with arms for the aft deck for additional seating.

Aft deck of a 63 sister ship

Fabrics for the aft deck
Renatta Hemp
Swoop, by perennial, fabric for the three deck chairs
Solid black fabric for pillows
Solid Heather Beigec canvas for accents on the pillows (small swatch)

Aft deck table

Teak deck chairs and teak deck

The flybridge is, as of the moment, the most complete part of the boat's design elements. Here we see the Sunbrella Maxim Heather Beige settee fabric in context with the beige non-skid and fiberglass table.  What's missing is the Stidd helm chair with its white powder coat base and beige seat.  You can see the helm chair base in the lower right corner of the photo.

 Now to the below deck accommodations.

VIP Stateroom
Euro shams will be used here as there is no headboard

Fabrics for Master, VIP and Guest Staterooms
VIP fabrics are to the right and include from bottom to top the spread, pillow shams and Euro shams
Guest Stateroom bunk and pillow sham fabrics are in the center
Above the guest pillow sham are the teak, wenge and beige wall covering structural design features

Guest Stateroom

Master Stateroom

Master Stateroom fabrics with wenge and teak structural design elements
From the bottom up:
Kravet Chevron Bed Spread
Cranberry neck roll
Kravet Sham fabric
Headboard fabric
Note: The cording shown in the photo is not being used

The installation of the bed spreads, shams and pillows will take place during commissioning, which will start of the arrival of the boat in Fort Lauderdale.

Written by Les.