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Building and Commissioning our Nordhavn

Spec'ing, building and outfitting this boat took a great deal of time and effort to manage, but it was a labor of love.  We don't kid ourselves that it's a perfect boat, but we carefully thought through our own cruising needs and did our best to make intelligent choices on outfitting the boat--choices that seem right for us.  After 2 1/2 years of ownership and about 15,000 nautical miles we still LOVE the boat!  There have been few bad surprises.

Leading up to taking delivery, we were especially pleased to be able to visit so many other Nordhavns, especially 47s, and to have learned so much from their owners who have been incredibly gracious with their time, good ideas and helpful suggestions.  The N47 community is rich with fascinating, giving owners who are always willing to share a tip, a story, or a resource.  The Nordhavn owners' 

Bluewater in the factory test tank in Xiaman.

Hands-on guy that I am, I flew to the factory in China to go through the boat with my detailed checklist about two weeks before the boat was shipped.  When I first stepped aboard with the boat in the giant testing basin, perhaps 25 workers were swarming over the boat, filling every available space.  Those who were not working on projects were supervising or cleaning, and the spirit of cooperation was remarkable.   What I found was a boat substantially ready to ship, but as we began to systematically go through my checklist we found issues that needed attention, and most were dealt with before the boat shipped.  My five days at the factory were like trying to drink from a firehose--so much to absorb and so little time.  Was it worthwhile?  You bet!

You cannot lead where you do not go, and the Pacific Asian Enterprises (PAE) team goes to sea--as we saw on their whirlwind 26,000-mile around-the-world trip in a Nordhavn 40 and on the historic Nordhavn Atlantic Rally in 2004.   In coming to know PAE a over a period of several years, I have developed high confidence in the company and the boats they build.  Over the process of planning and building the boat, I was in close, almost daily, contact with N47 project manager Mike Jensen, and Mike is backed up by an all-star cast: founding partners Dan Streech and Jim Leishman who truly know it all when it comes to Nordhavn yachts; Jeff Leishman, PAE's renowned and talented naval architect; Dave Harlow, one of the best project managers in the business, who is now managing the N55 project; Philippa Morrow, who is the glue that sticks it all together in the PAE project management; Mike Gregovich who does a masterful job of providing each new Norhavn owner a unique and truly useful custom manual; Mickey Smith of Boat Systems who designs bullet-proof electrical systems for all the Nordhavns; and lots of other unsung PAE heroes. 

 Taking the boat from factory-new to ready-for-sea is what Nordhavn calls the commissioning process, and the company's commissioning team at Stuart systematically went through every system on the boat, checking, verifying, tweaking, and, where necessary, changing, improving and re-engineering.  Commissioning chief John Hoffman and his team of multi-talented guys know how to fine-tune a brand new Nordhavn and they take justifiable pride in doing their job with talent, skill, and a terrific attitude.  Their aim is to keep every customer happy 100% of the time, and they are close to the mark!