Birth of a Boat
 

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.

Birth of a Boat
 

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
ups.com...
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.

Is this the one designed by George C Marshall?
Thanks, Dan

Birth of a Boat
 

"Danlw" wrote in message
. ..

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
ups.com...
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.

Is this the one designed by George C Marshall?
Thanks, Dan


Make that Greg, not George. Dan

Birth of a Boat
 

"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
ups.com...
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.


Another glowing assessment of a boat by Chuck. How lucky you are to
observe hundreds of boats with no flaws. ;-)

Heck, if one did not know better one might otherwise think your *review* is
a shameless advertisement for Fathom boats.

Ka Ching!

Birth of a Boat
 

On Mar 8, 6:47�pm, "JimH" wrote:
"Chuck Gould" wrote in message

ups.com...

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.

Another glowing assessment of a boat by Chuck. * How lucky you are to
observe hundreds of boats with no flaws. *;-)

Heck, if one did not know better one might otherwise think your *review* is
a shameless advertisement for Fathom boats.

Ka Ching!

If one really didn't shot from shine, they'd think my report on a
visit to a boat factory was a "review". But one would have to be just
about dumber than a barnacle to arrive at that conclusion, so there's
darn little chance of it happening here in the NG. (On the remote
chance that you failed to notice, there *is no* boat to review. Just a
group of molded sections and a partially laid up hull.)

Birth of a Boat
 

On Mar 8, 6:03�pm, "Danlw" wrote:
"Danlw" wrote in message

. ..







"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
oups.com...
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.

Is this the one designed by George C Marshall?
Thanks, Dan

Make that Greg, not George. Dan- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

It is. Ric Reid, (former president of Nordic Tug), told me that Greg
had the design together within just a few days of accepting the
contract. "We're pretty sure he'd been working on this concept for the
last few years as a kind of designer's pet project," he said.

Some unusual aspects: There's no skeg. The theory is that the prop
wash against the skeg increases vibration. The prop is protected by
virtue of the fact that the keel extends down below the blades.

There is stand-up headroom on the port side of the engine room. The
molding for the main deck has a raised settee above the port side of
the engine room, and that creates the necessary vertical clearance.
Stand-up room in portion of the engine room is quite a feat on most 40-
footers..

The hull is a split mold, and will be cored above the waterline. Darn
nearly everything will be infusion molded.

More info:

http://fathomyachts.com/

Birth of a Boat
 

Chuck Gould wrote:
On Mar 8, 6:47�pm, "JimH" wrote:
"Chuck Gould" wrote in message

ups.com...

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.
Another glowing assessment of a boat by Chuck. � How lucky you are to
observe hundreds of boats with no flaws. �;-)

Heck, if one did not know better one might otherwise think your *review* is
a shameless advertisement for Fathom boats.

Ka Ching!

If one really didn't shot from shine, they'd think my report on a
visit to a boat factory was a "review". But one would have to be just
about dumber than a barnacle to arrive at that conclusion, so there's
darn little chance of it happening here in the NG. (On the remote
chance that you failed to notice, there *is no* boat to review. Just a
group of molded sections and a partially laid up hull.)


One would definitely have to be dumber than a barnacle to think anyone
would pay someone to make a post in rec.boats.

Birth of a Boat
 

On Thu, 8 Mar 2007 21:47:30 -0500, "JimH" wrote:


"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
oups.com...
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.


Another glowing assessment of a boat by Chuck. How lucky you are to
observe hundreds of boats with no flaws. ;-)

Heck, if one did not know better one might otherwise think your *review* is
a shameless advertisement for Fathom boats.

Ka Ching!


Maybe it would be better if you wrote about boats, Jim. You obviously know
a lot more than Chuck does, and you're surely much more trustworthy.

Go for it!


--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

Birth of a Boat
 

On 8 Mar 2007 20:06:30 -0800, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:

On Mar 8, 6:47?pm, "JimH" wrote:
"Chuck Gould" wrote in message

ups.com...

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.

Another glowing assessment of a boat by Chuck. How lucky you are to
observe hundreds of boats with no flaws. ;-)

Heck, if one did not know better one might otherwise think your *review* is
a shameless advertisement for Fathom boats.

Ka Ching!

If one really didn't shot from shine, they'd think my report on a
visit to a boat factory was a "review". But one would have to be just
about dumber than a barnacle to arrive at that conclusion, so there's
darn little chance of it happening here in the NG. (On the remote
chance that you failed to notice, there *is no* boat to review. Just a
group of molded sections and a partially laid up hull.)

Chuck, what you're implying is a reading comprehension problem.
--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."

Birth of a Boat
 

On Mar 9, 5:16?am, JLH wrote:
On 8 Mar 2007 20:06:30 -0800, "Chuck Gould"
wrote:





On Mar 8, 6:47?pm, "JimH" wrote:


If one really didn't shot from shine, they'd think my report on a
visit to a boat factory was a "review". But one would have to be just
about dumber than a barnacle to arrive at that conclusion, so there's
darn little chance of it happening here in the NG. (On the remote
chance that you failed to notice, there *is no* boat to review. Just a
group of molded sections and a partially laid up hull.)

Chuck, what you're implying is a reading comprehension problem.
--
John H




Barnacle: A very low form of marine life that contributes nothing to
the normal operation of a boat and is a PITA simply "along for the
ride". Seems like there will always be a few barnacles. It's fortunate
that we don't have any posters to the NG who are non-contributing
lower life forms simply along for the ride.

But let's examine my egregious screw up:

How would I dare post some boating related content here? Will someobdy
please pray for my poor misguided soul and send me an email informing
me about it? That will give me something to post that would meet with
Jim's approval. I live and die by JimH's opinion of me, and it's so
distressing to see him unhappy or displeased.

Perhaps I should apologize to JimH and his on-line prayer group for
cluttering up the rec.boats board with comments about a visit to a
boat factory. Who gives a durn about boats or how one brand or another
is built? What was I thinking? Anybody know where I can buy a lottery
ticket? Not only would that be the highlight of my week, it would make
interesting, boating related reading. :-)