Nordhavn 5263 Arrives in Tacoma

Nordhavn 5263 arrived in Tacoma at 5:22AM this morning assisted by Weddell Foss and Henry Foss. We took our dinghy down and the fog was so thick we couldn’t see the bow at times. We’ll do a more detailed blog entry with more pictures but here’s a quick sampling of some of the pictures.

The first view as the Ever Ethic emerged from the fog:

5263 tucked safely away up on deck:

Getting lowered into the water:

Floating in the sun:

Underway heading North towards Seattle:

When we left this morning at 5:45 it was 28F. Its warmer now at 43F but its been a long cold but exciting day. We’ll post more pictures and details soon.

–jrh
jrh@mvdirona.com


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17 comments on “Nordhavn 5263 Arrives in Tacoma
  1. Thanks for the comment Bob. We’ll see you at the boat show if not before. All the best to you and Marilynn. Have a good holiday.

    James Hamilton
    jrh@mvdirona.com

  2. Bob and Jean, Its great hearing from you. We only a few more weeks to go on this project. Its getting close.

  3. Bob Hale says:

    The boat is beautiful. Handsome might be a better word. Maybe the two together — handsome and beautiful. The long, deep keel is perfect. Well done.

    Bob Hale
    Waggoner Cruising Guide

  4. Bob Miller says:

    James and Jennifer –

    She is beautiful.

    Congrats.

    Bob and Jean

  5. Bob, great hearing from you. I’m looking forward to you visiting the boat and talking through some of my questions. Its over on G-dock of Elliott Bay Marina being commissioned by the Emerald Harbor Marine team. Its getting close.

    I’ll see you at the class on the 27th. Thanks for all the help and advice you have already provided on this project.

    James Hamilton
    jrh@mvdirona.com

  6. Thanks Steve. I’ll contact John Hay on your recommendation to complete the commissioning. Thanks for the help,

    James Hamilton
    jrh@mvdirona.com

  7. Bob Senter says:

    Congratulations James and Jennifer!
    I’m looking forward to spending a little time in your beautiful new engine room with you admiring the machinery and seeing you in the Captains Classes. Make a list of questions – you’ll have plenty.

    All the best,
    Bob Senter
    Northern Lights/Lugger Service Training
    cell: 360-531-1444

  8. Steve Theus says:

    Congratulations Mr. Hamilton. This is Steve Theus with Racor / Village Marine. If you would like the watermaker commissioned and completed please contact our Seattle sales and service center and ask to speak with John Hay. He is the store manager in Seattle and he can arrange to get you taken care of!

    Steve Theus
    Marine Territory Manager
    Parker Hannifin Corp.
    Racor Division
    Village Marine Tec.
    619-226-4195
    steven.theus@parker.com

  9. Thanks for the comment Karen. We’re still several weeks from having the boat but its great having it in the Seattle area where we can be closely involved with the commissioning process and watch it progress.

    James Hamilton
    jrh@mvdirona.com

  10. Congratulations James and Jennifer
    We know exactly how special that moment is!
    Enjoy the journey, it is certainly worth it. We will look forward to reading of your progress and your adventures ahead.

    Karen and Alan Davidson

  11. Good hearing from you John and, as usual, you are very observant. The stack is hinged at the aft end. This allows us to lower the stack for much lower air draft. We won’t know the final heights until we have had time to measure the boat in fully commissioned trim but we expect that the stack folded down should allow us to clear a less than 20′ fixed bridge. Unfortunately the Great Loop requires passing a 19.1′ fixed bridge in the Chicago Sanitary Waterway and we have a plan for it as well.

    The stack is heavy and so raising and lowering requires a small crane or Travel Lift. This is the lowering process: first unbolt the exhaust, then the stack mount, and then lower the stack aft to the boat deck. If more clearance is required, the hinge pin comes out, and the entire assembly can be picked up and put down on the boat deck beside the tender. I think it’s a cool feature.

    You were also interested in the spacing between the prop and the rudder. This is an interesting trade-off where, on one hand, the further aft the rudder is, the more lift and the more powerful the rudder will be. On the other hand, the closer to the prop, the more effective it will be at low speed. Like all things in naval architecture, its a trade-off.

    I spent considerable time talking through this design trade-off with PAI and they decided to go with moving it back 18" and slightly increasing the size over what is used on the 47. This is the approach taken with the 55/60 and the other extended designs and is reported to work well. I’ll know in a few more weeks and let you know.

    I’m meeting with the commissioning team, Jeremy Henderson the project manager, and Jeff Merrill on Tuesday so I’ll probably be around when you drop by. I’ll look forward to seeing you then John.

  12. Thanks for the well wishes Jeff. The boat looks quite good even after after the long journey from Xiamen, to Taiwan, then LA, followed by Oakland and then to Tacoma. Its looking great and its exciting to have it near. We still need to complete commissioning but its now feeling very close. Exciting.

    Thanks for all the fine work that you and Jeremy have done on this boat. Everywhere I look on the boat, I see design features influenced by you or advice you have given us. And, Jeremy did a great job of managing the process, keeping things moving, solving problems, and the results look great. Thanks to both of you.

    James Hamilton
    jrh@mvdirona.com

  13. Thanks for the congratulations Sjoerd and Frode. It is wonderful to see this project getting closer to success. We’re really looking forward to getting the. All that remains is another few weeks of commissioning before we get to take it out.

    James Hamilton
    jrh@mvdirona.com

  14. John Marshall says:

    She is gorgeous… kind of neat how the stack detaches… I assume that’s a shipment-only option as opposed to a "low bridge" option?

    Also, the extra distance between prop and rudder on the extended hull was very noticeable in that one pict… at least as compared to my N55.

    I’ll stop over to G dock on Tuesday and check her out. I need to pick my wife up at SeaTac at noon, and stopping by Elliott Bay to see the new little ship (and say Hi to Don and Larry) will be fun on the way home. I presume you will be working during day, James.

    John Marshall

  15. Jeff Merrill says:

    James and Jennifer: Way to go and thanks for posting the photos. See you tomorrow afternoon for an on board tour! Jeff Merrill

  16. Frode Garborg says:

    Always wondered how the start of a Nordhavn fairytale looked like in pictures…..now I know :-) . Congrats! Frode Garborg (Nordhavn Dreamer)

  17. Sjoerd Koppert says:

    Congrats James, she’s beautiful!

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