Friday, December 29, 2017

Building a Nordhavn 68

It's been really quiet here for the past 6 months, hasn't it.  Sorry about that, but between cruising and the title subject, I've been really busy and, frankly, distracted from the blog.  For well over a year, we have been casually interested in a Nordhavn 68.  It all started when I walked off our boat and onto our friend's 68, Kya.  I was just stunned by the difference in space.  You wouldn't think 7' more length would make such a difference.  Our 60 is 65' LOA, and a 68 with similar extended swim platform is 72' LOA.  But the difference is huge, all because of the increase in beam.  Then, a few months later at the Ft Lauderdale boat show, I ran into Dan Streech (PAE President) one evening, and over a few drinks we solved many of the world's problems.  As part of that discussion, we talked about our interest in a 68, and that resulted in a pile of drawings and spec sheets.  All this got us thinking, but it wasn't until this summer that we got serious.

We had been on the boat for 4 straight months, and with our guest bunk piled high with storage stuff, we were reminded that some more space would be nice.   Then we looked back over the 4 years we have had the 60 and realized that we are on board at least 6 months out of the year.  When spending half your life on board, it's nice to have it be like your home.

Meanwhile, all the counter thoughts were running through our heads.  It was a lot of work to build our 60, and a lot of work to get it dialed in and working well.  Did we really want to go do that all over again, especially now with the 60 working so well?  The past 2 years have been pretty much trouble-free.  And the 68 is a lot more expensive than a 60.  In fact, that's why we never took it seriously when we built last time.  But I also didn't appreciate how much more you get, not only in space, but in systems and features that are standard on the 68, and optional in the 60.  Finally, towards the end of our spring/summer cruise as we were departing Prince William Sound, we made the call.  "Dan, do you remember our solve-the-world's-problems discussion as FLIBS?   We want to move ahead with a 68 build."

Ever since it has been a whirl wind of activity.  We spent the next month cruising from Prince William Sounds down to San Diego in preparation for the fall CUBAR cruise to Mexico, made a trip to Dana Point for a few days discussions with PAE about boat details, back home to catch up on the rest of our lives, continually intermixed with boat drawings, specification, research, etc. as we developed the specs for 6837.  Then another month cruising from San Diego to La Paz Mexico.  Now back home with the holidays behind us, we just finalized the contract on 6837.

There is a healthy build backlog currently, and our boat won't go to mold until June 2018, with completion at the factory by the end of 2019.  And we should be commissioned and done sometime in the 1st quarter of 2020.  That's a long time, but it will afford us the time to pay proper attention to the build, and an opportunity to catch up on some land activities.

As for our 60, we plan to cruise Mexico until April or May, then sell her.  Actually, she is for sale now, though not formally listed, and we have a few people who seem pretty interested.  In a perfect world, where Tanglewood goes next after Mexico will be guided by her new owners.  It could be south, north, east, west, or stay right in Mexico.  The planet is the limit.


6 comments:

  1. Congrats on the decision and plan! At least you'll never say "I wish we would have..."

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  2. Hi Peter,

    Congratulations! Very curious to hear about your choices as the build progresses, but the big one is of course FPH or APH?

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  3. Congratulations! We think making the decision maybe the hardest part. Can't wait to see the postings as she comes along.

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  4. Why a new build? Why not a brokerage boat? I'm sure there are reasons, and it would be nice to know what your reasons are.

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  5. Thanks everyone. See the next post for more info, but it will be a aft pilot house layout.

    As for new build vs brokerage, we are doing a new build for the same reason we built our 60 new.... there are no brokerage 68s available, or none that suit or goals. Some of the changes we are making would be pretty difficult to retrofit into an existing boat.

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  6. Congratulations Peter! I hope this one comes with a better horn.

    I tip my hat to you every time I sound your old one. Cheers and Happy New Year!

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