Page 26: of Marine News Magazine (September 2015)

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BOATBUILDING

Boatbuilding Gone Bad

By Joe Hudspeth

Owners, designers, builders and the crew can collaborate in a meaningful way to ensure that the delivered product meets everyone’s expectations. You can get there from here.

We have all gone aboard or below an opposite corner of the engine now leave a mandate for decks on vessels and looked around the builder to lay a pipe maze that the owner will have to with a myriad of instantaneous ques- surmount every day. Such changes in technology and new tions forming in our minds as to why model designs will constantly occur, inducing builders to the builder would construct a vessel in reconcile awkward plumbing, wiring, and serviceable con- such a convoluted fashion. Builders nections that in the end can leave engine rooms looking will always get the bad rap for any eye- anything but ship shape despite best efforts.

sores and systems designs gone awry. It

Hudspeth is true; some builders and designers are B B

UILDER IN A OX to blame and their list of faults should Vessel builders do get it; we understand that new builds be clearly inscribed on the transom. On the ? ip side, there are a rare opportunity and come at a signi? cant invest- is often very little verbalized appreciation for the hours ment. Establishing clear speci? cations is certainly the right upon hours of pre-engineering that goes into specifying way to direct shipyards and designers towards the expected the right system, establishing a good ? t, and maintain- results. Careful attention should be made to ensure that ing overall mission goals, weight, balance, trim, tonnage, speci? cations are not con? icting and provide enough ? ex- performance, etc. No builder is perfect and a philosophy ibility for the designers to establish symbiotic relationships of continuous improvement is generally ascribed to, but between all systems and the con? nes of the vessel’s infra- sometimes custom built boats leave the ways, nevertheless structure. To start with, avoid backing the builder into the lacking their fullest potential. corner of a poorly constructed box.

Problems usually stem from speci? cations driven by

ETTING THE ULL TORY

G H S committee, where everyone is looking to make a lasting

What may seem like an inherent design ? aw may prove mark. This situation is overly common in public procure- to be intentional or at least a best case alternative. Custom- ments and competitive bid solicitations. Builders have ers themselves are not blameless and have been known to seen rigid design speci? cations that restrict all the particu- request change orders during the construction phase that lars and set performance requirements without account- can be design-altering. Good builders will do their best to ing for the feasibility of appropriately sized and available jump through any hoops the customer holds, but the laws engines, propulsion systems, and possible inef? ciencies or of physics, sound engineering, and applicable regulations cavitations that may develop as a result of extreme hull ta- always take precedence and impact the end result. pers or necessitated prop tunnel designs. It becomes quite

One boat buyer was dismayed to discover that a poorly problematic when there is a limitation set for a 3’ draft and placed raw water intake created a plumbing pipe hurdle performance requirements mandate a conventional prop right at the entrance to the engine room. The customer’s and shaft con? guration with a 40” propeller.

previously purchased sister ship did not have such an ob- It can be fun to ‘play’ at being a naval architect, but this stacle – why should this boat with the same engine model also comes with the responsibility of verifying that the min- be any different? Simple changes to some plumbing con- imum deck size, maximum length, beam, and air draft that ? gurations have occurred as a result of EPA-driven engine will house the remaining requirements for accommodation redesigns. Intakes that previously existed out of the way at space, heads, ADA standards, work stations, deck machin-

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