Hi from the Bahamas - just a quick note as we are filming today in Harbour Island Eleuthera.

Here are a couple of shots of the new boat being moulded in the factory. Note the first part of the lay-up is done with the hull in two separate pieces which allows easier access and allows the hull pieces to be turned on their sides as you see here. So the port side of the boat is on the right and the starboard half of the hull is on the left

Note also that the upper part in the photo is greenish. This is actually the mould itself we are seeing with just a thin gelcoat applied. Northshore use a clear gelcoat as an osmosis shield as part of their Nordseal barrier system. So the area in green is below the waterline.

More laminate applied as the process continues. You can also see the core above the waterline being applied with vacuum bags (which is on the bottom of the picture as the hull pieces are on their sides.




Now here are a couple of picture from the lovely Bahamas where we are currently filming on location for the Distant Shores TV series. Once again on this trip we are amazed that these islands aren't more visited. They are surely the best cruising area available to boaters on America's East Coast. The shallow water does scare some people off, but you can learn to handle it even with deeper draft boats (up to 6 feet draft is possible). But throughout the islands people are jealous of our less than 3 foot draft. Even the new 49 will draw less than 3 feet with the keel pulled up.


A number of the routes and anchorages we have been in the past month have only been accessible since we were shallow and also could dry out. More on the keel and drying out/bahamas strategies in further blogs. Now off filming...