Early this morning the commercial ship Amazon River arrived in Seattle from China. Part of the Amazon River‘s cargo was a cross-section of the current Nordhavn line: a 43, a 52, and a 68. The 52 was the first Nordhavn 52 in what I fully expect will be a very successful new line of Nordhavns. It was fun to see it on its inaugural US sailing.
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The Nordhavn 68 in no-load form displaces 156 thousand pounds so its considerably heavier than the standard container that these cranes normally host off deck or from below. What follows is the launching of the 68 but all three followed the same procedure. The crane lowered four chains that are attached to the cradle that mounts the boat to the deck. The entire boat and cradle assembly is then carefully raised, shifted out beyond the ship to the water, and then lowered to the water. As the boat lands in the water, a small craft drops off a couple of crew members. As they arrive on the boat, they first check to ensure the boat is watertight and safe, then inspect the mechanical systems before starting the boat. With the engine running and the boat safe to sail, the crane lowers it another few feet allowing the boat to float off the cradle. Then the boat is backed free of the cradle and sailed to the commissioning port. In this case, Elliott Bay Marina in Seattle.
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All three vessels will be commissioned by Emerald Harbor Marine under the supervision of PAE project managers. We have a slip in Elliott Bay so we’ll be seeing lots of these three boats as we go back and forth.
Thanks for the comment Adam. The boat in the picture is indeed a 68. I believe it is the first of the non-aft pilothouse variant. You are correct they used to be aft-pilot house only but this one is definitely correctly referred to as a Nordhavn 68.
You are correct that the 52 in the pictures could be described a “stretched 47” in that it has the longer cockpit of the 52 but not the longer boat deck, standard fly bridge and other styling features of the remainder of 52 line. However, it still is technically a Nordhavn 52 and is badged by Nordhavn as one. Hull 5263 will be the first boat delivered with the full 52 configuration. Ironically, it too will be delivered to Seattle and we can tell you a fair amount about it since 5263 is shipping to us :-).
I’ll post early 5263 pictures later in the weekend.
-jrh
Just a couple of notes: That appears to be a N64, not a 68; the 68 is an aft-pilothouse boat.
Also, it looks like 5260 is technically a "stretched 47"; in addition to the extended hull of the "stretched 47", a "true" N52 has a longer boat deck and two salon windows instead of three. Both types are given the 52xx hull designation, however.
Todd, you are right, Dan Streech confirmed there are indeed two 75s on board the Amazon River. Looking more closely at the pictures I can clearly see one of them.
Joe and Jim, as the 52 projects comes along, I’ll post some details here. Thanks for the comments.
James Hamilton
jrh@mvdirona.com
James, great pics, thanks for sharing. I look forward to reading about 5263. smile
James,
Look forward to seeing your 52 when she arrives!
Jim Evans
James, also onboard were the first two Nordhavn "75 Yacht Fishers".
No unfortunately, 5260 isn’t ours. Our boat, 5263, will be arriving later in the year. It’ll be similar to 60 but will include a flybridge, a longer boat deck, and some other styling changes. But, otherwise, it’ll be the same.
James Hamilton
jrh@mvdirona.com
James,
Thanks for posting the photos! Is the 52 yours?
Thanks again,
Jim Evans