Duckworth Steel Boats, Tarpon Springs,Fl Oct 22, 2004

We were so bold as to attempt to run up the narrow shallow channel into Tarpon Springs in the night.  Naturally we got a bit lost and ran aground, but found a fuel dock to tie up to and did the final quarter mile to the shipyard in the morning.  The yard builds and renovates large fishing boats, including the Viking Starships of Montauk Point, LI which brother Richard knows well.  Bert has used Junior Duckworth’s facility for Vagabond for years, and swears by them.  I came here to finish up some tasks Mike Herring of Mobile had begun, and to have a bunch of other tasks performed which required superior design and assembly skills. 

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Spent November and most of December at Duckworth’s.

Replaced original hydraulic anchor chain windlass with a custom made electric.  Bert spec'd the motor and gearing and Duckworth assembled the unit.  The utility of steel was proven once again for they simply took a torch to cut out the deck plate containing the old windlass and welded in place another on which they had mounted the new.  These people proved to be artists in designing and fabricating the rig.

I installed a five-unit air conditioning and heating system engineered by Bert. I placed units in two staterooms, one between galley and pilot house, and two in the saloon.  I am particularly pleased with the one I installed under the settee.  I hollowed out its back and ran the duct through it and on up to vent near the ceiling behind the window curtain. Flagship Marine of Florida built the individual units.  I wired and plumbed the system.  Cold water is pumped via a thru-hull fitting into a heat exchanger and then voided overboard.  Bert being Bert and an engineer, specified a 2 hp swimming pool pump which produces a jet shooting ten or more feet out the side of the boat.  While some gawkers have studied Simba's beefy 30 foot paravane outrigger poles and asked if she were a shrimper, I fully expect that someday when I am running the a/c system a spectator will ask if she is a fire boat.  A second pump forces fresh water to circulate through the system; Duckworth designed and built a steel atmosphere tank.

I wanted two anchors to be ready at all times so Duckworth installed a second anchor rode channel.  I also had them weld an eye on the bow at the waterline to which I attached a 3/8 inch nylon line and chain hook to absorb anchor rode shock.

The starboard engine had been difficult to start from the onset of this adventure a year ago, so I had it overhauled by George Bell, a marvelous mechanic and fine human being.