Below are some informal snapshots of the build process of our Expedition Vessel.
Just finished building the Glen-L Designed rowboat “Fife” of stitch and glue construction. Here are some photos and video
Here are some early renderings of the Blood Baron, a collaboration between Captain Aaron Pufal and Northern Marine. Often refereed to as “my life’s work” and currently under construction in Anacortes, WA, applying every engineering and design wish is an very much a challenge.
Estimated launch: Fall 2013
If you were watching the Travel Channel’s new show Extreme Yachts, it featured Norther Marine and you may recognize the flag below. The show used our Blood Baron expedition yacht that is under construction as a stand-in for their latest launch “Atlas” a classically styled, 95 footer.
Check out other posts on this site for more information on our build!
Another video of Northern Marine yacht builder stacking our Fly Bridge atop Project Blood Baron.
To design, negotiate and build your vessel with project management by
Captain Aaron D. Pufal, please send an email to: theyachtcaptain@yahoo.com
A quick time lapse video by YachtVid of our fly bridge being stacked atop Motor Yacht Blood Baron, a 85′ tri-deck expedition vessel built with Northern Marine.
To design, negotiate and build your vessel with project management by
Captain Aaron D. Pufal, please send an email to: theyachtcaptain@yahoo.com
Available in HD
It’s was a quite the milestone today having the bridge deck stacked and I am especially pleased that the complex shape of the hull extension was a perfect fit. Special credit is due to Ben Eddy, Northern Marine’s CAD departments lead, and everyone involved with its construction and flying.
Having this deck in place, allows us to better visualize and layout the Saloon, Dining, Galley and Master Cabin spaces. As in every custom build, “as drawn” and “as built” are two very different things no matter how many 3D renderings you have made.
To design, negotiate and build your vessel with project management by Captain Aaron D. Pufal,
please send an email to: theyachtcaptain@yahoo.com
Can you spot some of the design changes? There are too many to count.
This top image is what we started with just a year ago, taken from a sketch on a bar napkin and a mass of dog eared pages from a very full notebook.
The image below is our most current rendering that like any great work in progress may be subject to change without notice.
Working closely with the staff at Northern Marine, over the past year we were able to take my bar napkin sketch and fully computer render my vision of what Motor Yacht Blood Baron will look like in 2013.
The genius is in the details or so I have always believed. Although much of Blood Baron’s aesthetics have changed, most of the changes are far beyond skin deep, particularly the details pertaining to the engineering and systems which make up most of our contract specification documents.
To design, negotiate and build your vessel with project management by Captain Aaron D. Pufal,
please send an email to: theyachtcaptain@yahoo.com
I literally have spent countless hours on both research and in sales meetings trying to source a builder for our Expedition Yacht. I soon discovered that the phrase “Custom yacht” usually means nothing of the sort. In fact with all the shipyards and builders I spoke to this was the case.
Sure you can choose from a wealth of hulls, colors, décor palettes, systems, electronics, and finishes (this list goes on and on), but the moment you want to deviate from the catalogue of predetermined options you are told by the builder not what can be done but what cannot.
Let’s take Nordhaven Yachts as an example of this, Nordhaven are marketed and billeted as a custom builder of yachts; however, if you ask to change the superstructure in any way shape or form you are very simply told “No”.
As well, if you specify your own fuel system or suggest a different, potentially more efficient make-up air system this builder is not for you.
If you are a build captain, engineer and in my case also the owner’s representative, you will more than likely not receive a warm welcome with many “Custom” builders.
I selected Northern Marine not just because of their pedigree but because I am able to design my own vessel in true custom form. From the styling and actual structure to the smallest engineering detail I have almost complete control of this build, but with the added value of having the professional and experienced team at Northern Marine contribute to ideas with years of practical and specialized knowledge behind them.
On that note here are a few casual photos taken of our custom designed cabinetry, you’ll note that they are not even sanded or prepped for finish at this stage and they still look exceptional.
Taking a truly custom build to the extreme is what we have done with Project Blood Baron,
Imagine this:
I was able to select the actual tree that all of my cabinetry and doors are cut from, I wanted a clear and straight grain, so that if you look closely at the below photos of my unfinished cabinets; you can even see the grain continues down the face of each drawer frame and panel alike. That in my opinion is pretty close to perfection.
To design, negotiate and build your vessel with project management by Captain Aaron D. Pufal,
please send an email to: theyachtcaptain@yahoo.com
The Sailing Team Provide Some of
Great Britain’s Best Hopes for Olympic Medals
Great Britain’s sailing elite came home with a very promising medal haul from the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta last month.
It comes as welcome news for Great Britain, who host the London 2012 Olympics from the 27th of July to the 12th of August. The Olympics are always an exciting time, but typically more tense for the host nation as expectations pile on. The GB sailing team won two gold, two silver and four bronze medals on the closing day of the Skandia Sail for Gold Regatta, with Giles Scott winning the Finn race and Ben Ainslie getting the silver.
After the Olympic selectors opted for Ainslie to represent GB over Scott, the latter winning the gold was an interesting, perhaps even controversial result. 24-year-old Scott said “I wasn’t really trying to prove anything with that. It is just quite nice to win races.”
Despite contracting a flu virus at the beginning of the race, Ben Ainslie persevered and managed to keep the pressure on Scott who took the lead. Despite giving him a good run for his money, Ainslie capsized on the last race of the event and said goodbye to his chances of winning.
He put on a brave face though, and made light of his mistake, saying “Sometimes these things happen. Thankfully it wasn’t the Olympic Games… It wasn’t my best race but Giles sailed fantastically. He had a great series and I am really pleased for him.”
For the women, Alison Young proved it was a deft decision to add her as a late pick for Great Britain’s sailing team, as she won gold on the day. “It is pretty cool to win” she said, “It is a good confidence boost going forward to the Games and I will be looking to build on a few things between now and then.”
So, if you’re placing any bets come the 2012 Olympics, it would appear that some of the Great Britain sailing team are likely candidates to bring home some sought-after medals.
Zac Colbert writes on a range of nautical themed topics, from sailing news and race tech reviews to Mercury outboard motors and yacht maintenance. One day he’ll sail to Fiji from New Zealand, one day. Photo used under a creative commons license courtesy of Ben Sutherland on Flickr.
