Right on schedule: she splashed.
From the very beginning of this project, the folks at American Tug described the completion and launch of the boat as “late March”. And what do you know? On March 30 they dropped her in the water. That pretty much describes our entire experience with American Tug: 100% on everything. More on that later.
Here is a video of the launch, which took place at 8:30 am, and the sea trial, which started at 9:45 and ended successfully at 11:15.
Esmeralde is within a week of being launched and sea-trialed. Naturally, we are jittery with anticipation.
We have tried to document the build process along the way as best we could from a distance (across the country). Now that we are literally sleeping and eating within a stone’s throw of the boat, we are going a little nuts.
Here is some video of the boat yesterday, Sunday, while the builders were taking a well-deserved break in the action.
(For those of you who migh not be able to see the video on YouTube, you should be able to see it on Vimeo.)
The new ESMERALDE. We met her in person for the first time today at her birthplace in LaConner, WA. A very exciting, long-anticipated day. We probably look totally goofy and giddy in some of these pictures, but the reality is that we felt a little but that way as we explored our new baby.
We also met some of the great folks at American Tug/Tomco Marine who are building her: Kurt Dilworth, who has been our ever-patient and wise counselor throughout the process, Cheryl Stinson, Mike Schoppert, and a bunch of the men and women on the factory’s floor and in the purchasing and supply offices — all great people who have done excellent work as our oat has come together over the last seven months. Continue reading Meet The Tug
Our boat is scheduled for completion in less than a month. While the good folks at Tomco will not (understandably) put a pin on the calendar, they have consistently targeted “late March” and are still holding to that goal.
These photographs are from early this week — the last days of February — so we are truly in countdown mode.
She is about six or seven weeks out from completion. Work continues on the exterior and interior. The galley is coming together with the installation of the countertops, cabinetry elements continue, electronics and systems are going in, and the roof over the cockpit is put in place. Continue reading More Tug Pics
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