The Unofficial Newsletter of Lyman–Morse Boatbuilding - WINTER 2000/SPRING 2001
You’d think after 66 boats and cruising over 149,000 miles he’d have something to say!
The Year 2000 - (Wow, did that year go fast!)
We take great pride in our versatility. The last few boats have been ample proof of our expertise: WINDWALKER II, a 60' sailboat with all the "trimmings"; WHIZZBANG, a spacious 54' motorsailer; RUMBLE, a fast 30' jet boat; and MAGPIE, a very sophisticated 75' powerboat. These are all real yachts that are working and looking magnificent, but very, very different. Several years ago, Stuart Farnham and I decided to evolve a younger team to replace us to ensure the future success and vitality of Lyman Morse Boatbuilding. As Stuart and I take more time off we find we may have been too successful - they do not seem to miss us!! JB has become the ringleader. He joined Lyman Morse two years ago with the simple job description to "get Cabot and CHEWINK into the Pacific". CHEWINK made it to the Pacific and is headed west this year to future adventures. Since the yard is running so well, JB is becoming a partner with ownership in Lyman Morse. This will allow both of us to benefit from some long term planning as we pursue our different goals. JB has a young family to raise and a career to expand with Lyman Morse as the vehicle to make these goals happen.
An incredible team has evolved here at Lyman Morse to carry us through the next decade. They will be the superstars of the service and boatbuilding industry. JB, Stuart, and I are pleased with the evolvement that has taken place the last few years. Not too many years ago we had only a couple of us who could captain and deliver the boats -now we have many. Not too many years ago we had one rigger, now we have Mike Harrell leading a group of several very good riggers any of whom could yank a mast out tomorrow with ease. The industry is changing as we rely heavily on our CAD drawings and we are fortunate to have two Landing School graduates heading up the program. We now have a group of mechanics/electricians that are the envy of the industry. To be a good engineer/mechanic in a boatyard means it is necessary to master a variety of skills - plumbing, diesels, wiring, systems, etc. With the experienced crew we have there is no job we cannot handle. Bill Belyea and Mac Ferris head up 25 carpenters all of whom are producing a much higher quality work than our best of ten years ago, but even better they have a young group of enthusiastic project managers who are our future. Jim Johnson has mastered the SCRIMP system with a dedicated group of fiberglass "technicians". We now have a clean, more talented shop, that knows their job.
What Would We Do Without Them!Ten years ago, I knew Heidi and I would have an empty house and it might be time to do more sailing. Retirement is not an option for me, and because of this great crew it does not have to be. Not to many years ago Deb and Heidi used to handle all the bookkeeping and office duties. Now Stephanie manages three young women who have the computers humming with more up-to-date information than I want to see. Pictured left to right are Stephanie, Paula, Peggy, Laurie and Carol with yard mascot, Oakley, in front. Our New Building
We are going to fire the boilers with propane in the hope they will burn cleaner and with less maintenance. The old fiberglass shop will be used for large re-fits, but the continual need for space (especially heated) for our service business and boatbuilding keeps our plans flexible. However, the best evolvement of the yard over the years is the quality of our customers. We could not evolve into a world class yard without customers who simply like to have the best as well as sharing our passion for their boats. Cabot's Log: PANAMA
The Kunas are semi autonomous and essentially govern themselves with a tribal system consisting of elected chiefs. They have restricted development on their islands, allowed cruise ships to stop only in one place, and pretty much ignored giving their sole to the tourist industry. In other words, a great place for cruisers.
When leaving the San Blas for Colon and the canal there are several stops, but we jumped the 40 miles to historic Porto Bello. In the 1500’s this was the main port for the Spanish. They shipped anything of value out of the entire region of Columbia, Ecuador and Central America. There is a lot of interesting history here as well as heartbreak.
The ports of Cristobal and Balboa are very busy as large container ports are being built by a variety of shipping companies. The Panamanians are very much in control of the ports through the canal commission, but an extraordinary amount of money is being spent on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides, building docks for cruise ships and containers. Hong Kong based Hutchinson Company is the outfit that has the politicians crying about too much Chinese influence, but they also have a big presence in several other major ports including San Diego. The Kansas Southern Railroad is completely re-building the railroad across the isthmus. This very historic railroad was one of the major moneymakers of all time. When we turned it over to Panama we had let it deteriorate to the extent that no one could run it for long. The new railroad is being re-built primarily for shipping containers, but there is supposedly going to be some passenger service.
Last year was the first year of ownership by the Panamanians and they inherited the dislike of yachts as a nuisance and continued the expensive and shoddy ways to handle their transits. This year the yachts are moving through more smoothly. The advisors are a bit better trained, so perhaps there is hope. The basic problem is that Panamanians have not realized the economic benefits of servicing the yachts. The cruiser walks around in sloppy clothes, speaks little Spanish and spends a lot of money. The Panamanian culture insists that smart dress equals buying power and has no understanding of the ocean or the cruising world.
The ships pass right next to you; a fascinating backdrop as nuclear submarines, QE II, tramp steamers, and all kinds of shipping file through. This proximity may also be the reason the canal may close the club down in the future. There is a certain backlash towards the old "zonie" hangouts.
We are leaving a lot of friends in Panama and an intriguing country that is in a huge transition trying to absorb the five bases and the canal we have left. With the dollar as their currency it is a natural place for legitimate and illegitimate companies to invest. We will see if Panama sells its soul to these interests or tries to build an infrastructure around the canal and shipping that will benefit the whole country and not just a few. WHERE ARE THEY?We had good representation in the Bermuda race this year with LYRA and WINDWALKER II in the fully crewed classes and FIRST LIGHT in the double-handed class. We were also well represented in the parking lot that occurred just north of Bermuda. MUGSY is on her way south with Andy Rowe still at the helm. Phil has been busy campaigning for Ralph Nader - let's hope Nader's non-pandering style may make a dent on our politics. WINDWALKER of Nantucket: Alan and Nicole Worden are just completing a great trip down the east coast through the canal and out the South Pacific to New Zealand via the Galapagos, Marquesas, Tuamotus, Society Islands, Suvarov, Pago Pago, and Tonga. WINDWALKER II Alice and Craig Cullen had a successful cruise through the Caribbean last winter and raced her to Bermuda this spring. They have left her with us for the winter as they attend to building a new home. She is being impeccably maintained and getting great reviews. NIGHTHAWK is wintering in Florida for the second year with some extensive cruising from Nova Scotia to Bahamas. MAINE LADY (ex JANMAR) resides in Walsted's Boatyard in Thuro, Denmark for the winter of 2000-01. The current owners, Ted and Linda Robbins sailed her with a total complement of six across the North Atlantic from Newport to Alesund, a city on the west Norwegian coast at about 62 degrees 30' North. Due to the procession of lows coming off the Northeast USA coastline in June, it was an unpleasant trip - rare glimpses of the sun and strong winds every day. Landfall was made at St. Kilda Island off Scotland. From there we headed North through the oil wells in the North Sea and finally landed in Alesund after 26 days at sea. The remainder of the summer was spent cruising from Alesund along the fjords and around to Oslo. From there we cruised the West coast of Sweden and much of the Danish Islands. The greatest delight was all of the people we met along the way. The summer of 2001 will be spent cruising in the Baltic. WHIZZBANG is wintering in Marion after a good shakedown this summer. John and Nancy are planning a trip to Northern Europe next summer. NARNIA is with us again this winter after a major re-fit last year. Birge plans to cross the Atlantic to Europe next year. GALLIVANT underwent a re-fit last year after being bought by Brenda and Ken Slater. She was in excellent shape from the Nelsons, but the Slaters are upgrading to the year 2001. CHEWINK is heading westward into the South Pacific. We reached Panama last February with the intentions of sailing to Tahiti in time to return for Alex and Drew's graduation in June. Realizing that we would be rushing through some great cruising grounds we stayed in Panama until June when we loaded up and headed out fifty miles. I call it being failed empty nesters, but we decided that the timing was wrong for us so we made the difficult decision to return to Panama. She is laid up in Miraflores Lake in fresh water and in good shape. Our planned route this year is west via the Galapagos and then into the southern Tuamotus and the Gambier islands. Stay tuned for the actual route and schedule as we are not going to make some of the decisions until we are enroute, but Tahiti will be the major decision point as we head, west to New Zealand, north to Hawaii, or just stay in French Polynesia. MAINE STAY, RAINMAKER, YE HEUNG, BADGER, RADIO WAVES, GRAY WOLF, AXEL D, WINDWALKER, MAGIC, BOHEME and RUMBLE are all being stored with us this winter. Selling Boats In MaineMany brokers like to have all the boats for sale in one small area to make it convenient for themselves as well as allowing the owner to get as much exposure as possible. Does this work? We do not think so and think our boats sell quicker in Maine, but more importantly, the transaction always goes far easier here. I think it is a combination of factors:
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We
started off the new millennium in great shape; three new boats launched, a
new 12,000 sq ft building, two new Hood designed sailboats and a 30' jet
boat under construction and a new partnership formed.
With
JB in control I am able to expand my horizons. I have always been
convinced that the success of our boats we build has been because of our
knowledge and experience of "being out there". There simply is
no substitute. The difference from voyages in years past and ones today is
communications. JB and I can communicate daily, easily and inexpensively
and therefore share what we both are learning. Good sound bite, eh?
However good that sounds, the bottom line is that neither one of us will
need to do so as he certainly does not want to hear from me every day. And
perhaps I will not be anxious to hear about yard problems making landfalls
in the South Pacific, but we can do so if necessary!
We used to convert woodworkers, and anyone who could hold a brush into
painters, but now we have a dedicated group who has transformed the
quality of our finish.
We
have placed this new building out back in the upper yard. This is our
largest building to date - 120x90 ft with radiant floor heating and large
roll up doors - all very fancy. But we need to move the fiberglass shop
into larger quarters. With the average size of new construction getting
bigger every year we have run out of space for the hulls and decks. This
should allow the fiberglass shop to continue to upgrade. Stuart will use
the other half of the building for major re-fits.
Arriving in Panama is when real cruising starts. Sailing down from the
East Coast is done a variety of ways -via Bermuda like ourselves and down
into the Caribbean through the eastern Caribbean. Others manage to take
the thorny path and day hop all the way to Panama (the most difficult and
stressful way in my opinion). No matter how you do it, entering the San
Blas Islands will generally be the first time you will see lovely
uninhabited palm tree islands with sand beaches, atoll like reefs,
deserted anchorages, and the Kuna Indians. The Kuna
society represents the first really distinct culture from ours that can
only be experienced by boat. This is what cruising is all about!
While the pictures of the San Blas all stress the lovely islands we
think the most exciting part of the San Blas and Panama are the rivers.
Rarely can you find good cruising next to the jungles where all you have
is a short dinghy ride up a river to immerse yourself in the birds and
animals of the rainforest. I recommend Tom and Nancy Zydlers "The Panama
Guide" for all the information you need on
Panama cruising. It is excellent.
The Panama Canal has not changed at all from the changeover to the
Panamanians. The people who built the canal in the early 1900’s were
extraordinary men with an great story, but the bureaucracy that built up
to run the canal became a very self serving enterprise with no vision for
the future. With razor wire fences to keep the Panamanians out they lived
in paradise being completely taken care of by Uncle Sam to the point they
didn’t even change their own light bulbs. Never was a thought given to
expanding the ports to accommodate containers or newer types of shipping
methods, finding uses for the crumbling infrastructure, or allowing any
private enterprise in to help build an infrastructure for Panama and the
canal.
Colon is still a dismal city that a "Gringo" cannot walk in;
it is very unsafe. Most yachts anchor off of or tie up to the Panama Yacht
Club, which is a relatively safe place with its own restaurant and
services. It works but continues to deteriorate because of lack of
investment for years. Its future is in doubt as the land may get gobbled
up for containers but seems secure for now.
One of the most interesting and only nice place to stay on your boat in
Panama is the Pedro Miguel Boat Club in Miraflores Lake one lock down on
the Pacific end; a falling down funky club that is its own community. The
best part is that it is in fresh water and, therefore, ideal for long
stays. CHEWINK has done extremely well here with mold during the rainy
season being the worst problem (we used a de-humidifier) - very little
corrosion, electrolysis, or wear. The club is also on the edge of the
jungle making for great birding and jungle walks. However, the best part
is you are living just a few yards from the lock.
We will stop in the Perlas
islands on the way to the Galapagos but there is easily another year's
worth of cruising on the Pacific side of Panama. We will, however, be
moving on towards French Polynesia where we will slow down again.