1. More Room - the Delta is 38' long X 12' wide. I wanted a boat about 48' long X 15' wide. The Delta has 4 permanent bunks. I wanted at least 6 - 8. The cabin of the Delta has seating for 4. I wanted seating for at least 10. The Delta has a large back deck, I wanted a huge one.
   
   
2. Longer Range - The Delta has about 200 miles of range. I wanted at least 350 miles of range
   
   
3. Faster - The Delta cruises about 18 - 20 knots with a load. I wanted at least a 25 knot cruise.
   
   
4. Sturdier - The wheel house on the Delta is covered in clear plastic. I wanted a solid fiberglass wheel house. This would be dry, and I could lock it.
   
   
5. Larger Compressor - The Delta has an 8 CFM compressor. I wanted at least 16 CFM.
   

The list goes on from there. I eventually came up with over 20 pages of wish list. I quickly found (as I suspected) that none of the current “production” boats would fit the bill. It was clear that I would have to have a boat built.

I started to research builders. The local builders Henriques, Viking, & Yank, were either too busy, or only wanted to build what they wanted, not what I needed. So I expanded my search to the entire East coast. Youngs Brothers, Briggs, Delta, Nordic, Sea Hawk, Wesmac, and a dozen others, they only wanted to build slight variations on their boats, not what I wanted..

I eventually found Chesapeake boats in Crisfield Md. It is owned & run by Dave Mason. I called them up, giving them a general outline of what I wanted. They felt they could help me out. I went to see them a few times to see & drive the boats they built. They build certified boats for both Chesapeake bay, and the oceans route, out to 100 miles. Having a boat certified, means it can carry more than 6 passengers for hire, a limitation on the Delta. Things were looking up.

We went over my wish list, eliminating some items that just would not work, and came up with a plan. The boat would be about 50 Ft. long X 17 Ft. wide. What a monster. The boat would be built using a “cold molded” technique. This is the way some of the most expensive sport fisherman’s like a Merrit, Rybovich, and a Buddy Davis are built. Cold molding, is basically a boat built of wood, then covered in fiberglass. Then the Gel Coat ( the hard shinny outer coating on a boat) is sprayed on. Basically the exact opposite of molding a part. The boat has enough fiberglass in it to be considered a fiberglass boat by the Coast Guard.

One of the main advantages of building the boat this way was flexibility. With a boat built from molds (like the Delta) there is not much room for change. What ever pops out of the mold, is what you get. Using the cold molded process, we could have the boat customized to our needs. What follows is a picture story book of the boat being built, with a written narration. As my son Nicholas says “I saw it when it was just a toothpick”

Photos 1 - 6
This is the first time we ever saw “our” boat being built. I had gone into “contract” with Dave in early June. Dave doesn’t use a written contract. He works on a hand shake “ if I tell you it will be in your boat, it’s there” This is a nice way to think, but it made me very nervous. I told Dave I needed the boat by. December of 2001. He told me it would be done in October !! I was still figuring Dec. This would give me time to get it home, and get it “ZEROED” in for diving.

Dave had tried to talk me into using a set of used 660 HP. Caterpillar engines. I felt a new boat deserved new engines, which came with extended warranties. We also decided to go up one size to 800 HP. This way, we would have power to spare. On Monday July 6th Captain Keith & I ran the Delta from Nantucket, back home to S.I. We walked off the boat at 10:30 PM. I went home, and jumped in the car, Sue Nicky, & I, drove down to Md. to see the boat. ( photos 7 - 9) As you can see by the photos it was just getting started. They were just laying out the frame. Even from the start, you could see it was going to be a “biggun” Being in the shop also let us get to know the guys that were actually building our boat.

We traveled down the street to T & S marine to meet our new engines. The motors had just arrived, and were still on the shipping skids. ( Photos 10- 13) Tim ( the T in T & S) introduced us. These were the largest engines he had ever sold. He was as anxious as us, to see them run. I was used to the 400 HP Detroits in the Delta. There was no comparison here, these babied ruled!!! Tim gave me a basic rundown on how they worked, and what expect of them. He showed me the electronic gauge panel too. We picked out an additional gauge panel to go at the other steering station. I took these pictures using Nicky for size reference.

We were moving right along, the boat was starting to come to life, we were very excited as well as worried. Would it be as nice as we expected?, how would it ride?, would everything work well together? We celebrated our trip with a crab dinner in town. Crisfield as we came to find out, is famous for it’s crabs, all caught locally, some from boats Dave & his crew built. Little did we know, how much crab we would be eating in the next 11 months!!!

(fuel tank photos 4) As you can see in these photos, the fuel tanks are on the shop floor. They hold 425 gallons each. I specified to Dave how I wanted the tanks built. They are pitched to the center, and forward, so as to be able to use all the fuel. The Delta has a 400 gallon tank, but due to the construction of the tank, 50 gallons are unusable. The Delta fuel tank is also sealed, you can not get, or, see into the tank. The new ones, have large inspection ports to allow you to “see” into the tank. I also had extra fittings put into the tanks. This allows me more flexibility in plumbing the new tanks , and adding features, like a pump to move the fuel from tank to tank. With the tanks set up like this, I can just fill one tank for short trips, or feed the engines off of either tank. If I have a problem of some kind with one tank. I can get home on the other, and fix the problem at the dock.

(4 photos of hull from Ray)
In these photos you can see that the hull bottom is now finished. The bottom has also been fiber-glassed. a special kind of isophalic resin was used in the hull. This resin is more waterproof than the regular resin used in fiberglass.

(Photos 22 - 27)
It is now early September, The hull has now been flipped over to the upright position. The engines have been set in place. Now the shape and proportions of the hull are starting to be formed. From the position of the engines, other structures can be put in place. The builder can now start to determine where the bulkheads and fuel tanks will be placed.

During this visit I work with the head carpenter Eddie Hall. He is the guy that directs the building of the wooden structure of the boat. Eddie & I map out where the bunk area will be, as well as the cabin. We run into a problem during this visit. The engines are too far forward, to get the cabin , & bunk area space we want, would put the engines partially under the cabin area. That would make it difficult to remove the engines for servicing. One of the design goals is to make removal, & servicing of the engines as easy as possible. We compromise, Eddie shortens the bunk area & cabin a little, Billy, who does all the metal work, and sets the engine beds up, moves the engines back 18 inches. Disaster everted. Dave had been talking about starting from scratch. The engines that were so huge, now look like little peanuts in the boat. The large fuel tanks, now look like coolers.

By now we get a feel for how the shop works. Some of the guys do wood work, Eddie Hall, Ray Pruit, Dave, & Bo-Bo. Yep, that’s really the name the guy goes by. Big as a house, strong as a bull, no - one teases him about his name. Dave says “you can hit Bo - Bo with a hammer, and it wont hurt him none” Even though we are in Md. , only 235 Mi. from home, the guys here, have a strong southern accent, so some times it is a little hard to understand them, but it makes things more amusing too. Lou is the head fiberglass guy. He works with Dave, Ray, and Bo - Bo doing fiber-glassing and spraying. There is a tremendous amount of sanding that goes into these boats. A lot of it is done by hand. basically the whole boat is built by hand, one beam, & board at a time. Each beam is screwed, nailed, & 5200ed in place.

Billy usually works by himself. He is not an employee of Dave Mason, but more of a subcontractor. He does all the metal work. He puts the engines in the boat, setting up the engine bed to keep them in place. He installs the prop shafts, including the shaft logs that keep the water out of the boat. Billy fabricates the rudders, and steering gear too. Billy & I confer about the fabrication of the steering system. I build some of the parts back home, and bring them down to him. Again, I am trying to correct some of the design flaws of the Delta. No steel under the decks here, stainless all the way. Billy also installs the steering cylinder, that makes the rudders turn. Billy runs the hydraulic boat mover, that moves boats around in the shop, as well as move them to the ocean. That is a trip, wait till you see that circus !!!

We encounter an unforseen set back. Dave Mason has suffered a “slight heart attack” As Ray tells us. This is a small shop, 10 guys max. The men are all skilled craftsman, excellent at what they do, but it is Dave ( who never actually builds anything) that orchestrates it all, and keeps the jobs flowing. All the while our boat is being built, 3 -4 others are also in varius states of construction. From toothpicks, to sailing home. Many of the boats they build, are for fishing on Chesapeake bay. These boats all follow similar designs. Our boat is different. The men are not able to move forward on our boat with out Dave there. I feel the weight of time. Heavily, I thought then. We lose two months. It is the end of October before anything else is done.

(photos 28 - 32) In these photos you can see all the watertight bulkheads are in place. The stern is being completed too. Look at the size of the beams in this baby. The fuel tanks have been set in place, for size reference, so to speak. The hull is getting so deep, that the guys need a ladder to climb in & out of the hull. The sides are being built up, up forward too. The beams are on 12" centers for added strength. You can see where Lou has been hard at work, glassing the bulkheads to the hull bottom, and sides. This adds rigidity & strength to the boat.

By early November the hull sides are up. This boat looks like an aircraft carrier (to me) now. Crisfield is a small town. You have heard the term “a one horse town”, well Crisfield is a one “pony” town. On each of our visits there we spend some time in the town, eating, shopping, and such. People quickly pick out our accent. They ask what we are doing there. Soon most of the people we see, know about the boat. Some of them stop by the boat shop to see it.

(photos 33 - 41 ) it is now the first week of December. Within a week of finishing the out side of the hull, the deck and cabin go on. When work progresses, it moves fast. These guys work very hard. They start work at 7 AM ( lou actually starts before 6 AM) They have a 15 Min break at 10 AM. for coffee & a snack. Then right back to work. They have lunch at 12 PM not one minet sooner or latter. Pretty much the whole town goes to lunch at 12. Every one lives nearby, some even go home for lunch. By 2 minuets to 1, they are all back on the job. In all our visits, they were never late. They work till 5 PM in the afternoon rain or shine 5 days a week. Lou also works on Saturdays, by himself. This is a pretty hard schedule, or so I thought then.

(photos 42 - 47) Now the hard part comes. We must design the interior space. We have a good idea of what we want, but need to convey this to the crew. We work closely with Eddie Hall. We try to lay out the boat on paper, lunches are spent measuring things up, and trying to envision how they will look. When the guys get back from lunch, we fill them in. They then build it. On a conventional boat the hull & cabin are either popped out of a mold, or built by themselves, The furniture is the built outside the boat, carried in, & secured to the floor. It is not part of the boat it adds nothing to the strength or rigidity of the boat. Chesapeake suggests we “build it into the boat”. As we make interior decisions, the items, galley, benches, steering station are built out of wood.

(photos 48 - 53) The wooden structure alone is strong enough to stand on it’s own. The wood is then covered in three layers of fiberglass. It is glassed to it’s self, the other furniture, the floor, and the walls. This makes the interior one piece, with the boat, becoming part of the structure, as oppossed to just furniture in a room. This add a tremendous amount of strength to the boat. But it comes with a price, weigt, and finality. You can not just “move the sofa so to speak. Once the interior is glassed in place, that’s it, the part stays there. All the parts are connected, and stay there. Only the table tops, cushions, and fridge can be moved. (Photos 54 - 57) because of the permanance of the interior, we have them make running changes as we go. This drives Dae crazy, but the rest of the shop likes the wa the boat is comming out, and understands that we want it our way, even if we are a little uncertain of exactly what way that is. You could not ask for a nicer, more talented bunch of craftsmen.

(photos of lou glassing & fairing. Lou has not been idle, while the guys build the interior. He has been glassing the outside of the boat. After it is glassed he puts on fairing compound to fill the hills and valleys, then sands it smooth. Eventually it is as smooth and even as glass. The next step for the hull is gel coating it, but that will have to wait for awhile.

Now we start to have a lot more balls in the air at one time. I meet with Marty from Mid Shore Electronics. We meet to discuss wiring the boat. One of the main faults of the Delta was poor wiring, both in the quality of materials, and workmanship. There are wires that go nowhere, wires that are disconnected, and rotted out on the Delta. I have rewired most of the boat my self, using the proper materials and techniques. I am determined that this boat will be done right the FIRST time. Every boat needs to be maintaned & repaired. But it a hell f a lot easier if it is done right, to begin with.

I explain to marty in detail how I want the boat wired, and why. We agree on all the major points. We then sit down and hammer out the details. What electronics, where they will be. What light ?, How many ? Where do they go? Receptacles both 2V & 110. How many, what style, where? No detail is to be overlooked. Marty needs to design and order the electrical pannels that will control all this. Unlike a house, a boat has at least three separate, but interlocking electrical systems.

You have the 12V DC system that runs lights, electronics, and the engines. It is connected to starting batteries, house batteries, generator batery, alternators, battery chargers, inverters, and shore power.

There is a 110V AC system that is connected to the outlets, and appliances, as well as flourescent lights, spreader lights, battery chargers, and generator.

There is the 110Vac system from the generator that is connected to everything the shore power is, as well as the 220V Ac system that runs the compressors, stove, and air conditioning units. None of these systems can cross feed or interfere with each other.

On top of that, I needed it built idiot proof so no one could “accidently” plug something in & burn out something else, A constant sourseof problems on the Delta. Did I mention three sets of 12V batteries that are independent of each other but able to be jumped to each other in an emergency??

But how do you make all those decisions, at once on a boat that doesn’t even have the floor in yet ? You make your best guess, improvise, and hope. With great hesitation, I ask Marty how much this is gonna cost. Dave chimes in, that there is an eleven hundred dollar allowance for electrical. That’s what it cost’s when “Big Daddy” wires your boat, but, he won’t do it the way you want, or to coast guard regs, for all that stuff. My light fixtures alone were triple that figure. Marty quotes me a rough estimate of $ 20,000. for labor, $10,000. for electronics, and another $10,000. for fixtures, wire, and other material. Susan had to pick me up off the office floor.

All the while the crew is outside hammering and building. The bunk area is a tough one. I wanted 12 permanant bunks. 3 levels of 2 bunks each both port & starboard. Remember we had to give up bunk are for the engine placement. No way to get 12 in there. Sure, I could jam in 12 shelves for keebler elves, but not good sized bunks for large size divers. We were origonally going to glass these in like the cabin, but decided not to, so we could leave it more open, for future changes. We end up with 8 bunks. I am not a happy camper. While a boat is often described as a bunch of compromises, surrounded by disapointment, and wrapped in fiberglass, I was not willing to settle easily. So the bunks would be revisited latter.

Eddie called me up to the roof of the cabin. I DO NOT like heights. I climb up there to discus the size & layout of the wheel house (photos of me on the roof) We come up with a basic size and style. As you can see I am just clearing the ceiling now when I stand up. The wheel house has to be added AFTER the boat is in the water. They build the wheel house on the side. The interior is being finished right down to the drawers to hold my tools, to a space for the icemaker. Since the cabin s a one time deal, it has to be right.

Well now we start to get into a time crunch. It is the end of December and the cabin is still not glassed, nor is the hull Gel coated. I want Marty to start pre- wiring the boat, but he won’t because there is too much banging, sanding, & grinding going on. Also, the crew has started two more new boats ( photo new hulls) In addition there is a boat show boat ( started when Dave had his heart attack) that must be finished for the mid January boat show in Ocean city. The guys start working more hours. They start at 6 AM and work on Saturdays. Lou is already maxed out.

We have some frustrating visits, between which, nothing is getting done on our boat. In the interim, we have dinner with Dsave Mason, and his family. We learn that Dave’s heart attack was major, and he almost died several times. He also has a baby that just turned 1 !! Luckily there seems to be little damage to the heart, but he must avoid stress. No chance of that here. I am now begining to feel the weight of time on my shoulders for real. I have planned out the whole schedule for 02 around the having the new boat. At a meeting in Late Nov., he promised me the boat for January 02. I made book on it. Not a wise decision.

(photos of painted hull, unfinished interior) By the end of the first week in February, the hul has been painted, and the interior has been glassed and preped foir gel coat. Things are looking up, the ball are not only in the air, but in motion. BY mid February the interior has been gel coated. ( photos of finished interior) We are estatic. Now the boat looks like a boat. The back deck has been finished and glassed, but not yet gel coated. They also cut windows in the cabin sides. The crew then cuts out the three large door. Now it’s starting to look like something is happening. We start to discuss moving the boat to the water. The Wheelhouse is an issue. Dave feels it is too large forb the boat, and we will not get the desired speed. There is no sister ship to this one. It is a one of. We are not certain how fast it will run. I DO NT want an 18 Knt boat, been there, done that. We redesign the wheelhouse to make it lighter. I search out boats as similar to mine as I can find that have the same power. I find three, they run as fast as 33 Knts. We are in the ball park.

We now a few more balls in the air. We start meeting ith Jerry the guy that makes the cushions. This boat will need a lot of cushons. He drps off sample books to the builder.,There are not a lot of great colors to chose from. We (Susan) pick a color scheme. We met with Jerry again, & give him the colors. We meet with Becky the sign lady to pick out lettering for the boat. We meet with the rail people to discuss the ladders and railing.

Back home I am bombarded with people who want to see the boat. I have deposits, and commitments, up the Wazooo. I start to prepare the Delta for the season. As I staert to work weekends, the boat yard goes on over time till 7 - 9 pm. Dave has added a few crew guys, but none seem to stick. Eddie Hall is wearing thin. He is having a lot of trouble with his knees. The two fishing boats started after ours are smaller, and much simpler in design. They actually start to pass our boat, in completion. Things are getting hot at the bot yard. Dave has started yet another boat, destined for Ohio. The boat yard crew is working as hard as they can, it’s a matter of too much work, not enough hands. Marty still will not pre-wire the boat.

Finally the day comes to “put her over” into the water. This is like a parade. The boat is put on a the hydraulic trailer and towed thru town to the water. This will be the first time I have been able to see the whole boat at once. It is an exceptionaly warm day in March when we move the boat. Since the boat is so tall, Ray & Lou, have ride on the top of it pushing the electrical wires over the top with boards, as it goes down the road. My son Nicky who has endured umpteen trips to MD., rides in the truck with Billy. There is only one road in town. We block up the whole thing as the parade moves forward. There is a lead escort pickup, the truck , trailer, the boat, and a rear escort. Sue & I are in my old red ford van buzzing arounf shooting pictures and video. I cross way over the double yellow, pass the escort vehicles, and boat. I run up ahead and pull over. I jump out & shoot photos and video of the rig going by. After they pass, I jump in the van, and proceed to catch up to, then pass the whole circus. But I must also pass 20 or so cars that are backed up behind the rig because the truck moves slowly. Each time I attempt to catch up & pass there even more cars stuck behind the rear escort. I then blast ahead and shoot more film. I repeat this process a few more times as head into town. We have to take a detour thru the meat land parking lot to avoid a new sign that crosses the road way.

We arrive in the parking lot about 2 miles from the boat shop. After lunch, the boat trailer is backed down the ramp into the water. Eventually the boat floats off the trailer.