I got invited up to observe the progress of the new Fathom 40. Hull #1
is being created in a mammoth aluminum shed up in the bustling town of
Sedro Wooley, WA. Many of the interior layups are done, the stringer
grid popped out of the mold yesterday afternoon, and the hull is
getting prepped for infusion.

Interesting pedigree for this boat; the three partners in the company
were all in upper management positions of Nordic Tug (in fact, one was
the president for several years). Five of these boats have already
been sold, and the first one hasn't been completed.

They hope to have the first boat launched in time to have it in
Seattle for Opening Day, May 5.

The wonders of compter assisted design never cease to amaze me. In one
corner of the plant there's a guy building wiring harnesses. Every
single wire is labeled, of course, and they are all precut to the
exact length they will need to be and have the appropriate connectors
installed. Using the 3D images on the computer screen, they know how
each wire will route, what side of a system or accessory it will
connect to, etc. The guy building the harnesses admitted that there
could be some risk in putting together wires for a hull that hasn't
yet been assembled. "We could be off by as much a 1/1000th of an
inch," he said. :-)

One thing that I thought was notable, some of the infusion molds make
as many as 9 parts at once. For example, there are some cutouts in the
form used for the cabintop above the pilothouse. Rather than mold
around the "hole", a small part is built into the mold and included
in the infusion matrix. In one case, the cover for a grey water tank
was being created in what would have been a wasted "space" in the old
days- and there would have been additional expense for laying up the
small part as a separate item.

I always enjoy watching boats being built. Couldn't do it for a
living, the fiberglass smell drives me nuts within short order.
The new infusion processes seem to have radically reduced the amount
of fumes in the air- but there are still more than I'd care to breathe
on a regular basis.

The systems and materials chosen for this vessel inspire confidence
that it will be a pretty good boat when finished.
The experience of the partners and their key employees (mostly lured
away from guess who) also bodes well for the Fathom 40.