Nordhavn 57 Survey in Alaska
Survey in Alaska
Today, July 17th, 2024, it's official! We own a Nordhavn 57!
A couple of weeks ago, we headed up to Homer, Alaska to survey and sea trial Ice Dancer II (N5728), our new-to-us Nordhavn 57.
In the end of June, eager to get on Ice Dancer for the second time, Pat and I made our way up to Alaska.
We landed in Anchorage where we first got to meet with one of my old students, Jessica Reisinger, for coffee. Since I was her 4th grade, 5th grade and some of middle school teacher, I was excited to see her, because since I saw her last, she not only got into Medical school, she also was selected as Miss Alaska! It was fun to get caught up with her.
Then we made the 4 hour drive to Homer, our first time there. What a beautiful area! When we got to Homer, the owners, Dick and Gail, graciously let us come to the boat where he told us about how he brought it from Honolulu to Homer the previous week....BY HIMSELF!! At any age this 12+ day passage would have been an impressive feat...but Dick is over 80 and the sea state was not ideal. He clearly knows his vessel and handled it like a pro.
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| Just kinda super excited to be there! |
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| Ice Dancer II, looking good on Homer's big ship dock |
Shortly after that, James Knight and Jay Flaherty with Yacht Tech arrived, and we prepared for a sea trial and haul out. This haul out would be a first for all of us, since it was scheduled for 2:00 am....yep, IN THE MORNING!
In Homer, that week, there was a 22 foot tide swing and the only high tide that would accommodate this boat being hauled out of the water, was at 2 am. The afternoon high tide was not going to have enough water under the keel.
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| Our haul out slip at low tide. |
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| Super steep ramp to the boat with the extreme low tide. |
So, we left the dock just after midnight. It was a beautiful twilight sky, and never got completely dark the entire time we were out. It was also the summer solstice so we had a giant Strawberry Moon to add more light. Underway, on the 1 hour passage to the shipyard, we tested all of the systems and had Dick explain how he does things on this vessel he has had for almost 20 years. We pulled into the shipyard's sling right at 2 am. The yard was lit up and active, as it had other boats to haul out after us. They do things a little different up there in Alaska.
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| It was a Strawberry moon for summer solstice! |
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| Looking down on Ice Dancer as she was being hauled out. |
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| Ice Dancer on the hard |
We kept the boat in the slings for an hour while we checked out everything under the waterline. We had a local surveyor with us, but with James', Jay's, and Dick's knowledge of the boat, we felt like we were getting a master class full of information. All looked good, so we dropped her back in the water by 3 am and headed back to the marina.
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| We took oil samples to check the condition of the engines and generators. |
We all got some much needed sleep and then met back up on the boat the next day to continue testing systems on the boat. We found that, overall, the important items on the boat (ie engines, generators, etc) were all in good working condition. However, there were a number of things we found during the survey that would need some fixing and updating. Some of the items that would need to be done, included:
- Bottom paint
- New stabilizer seals
- New or re-certify the life raft
- All new hydraulic hoses
- Check the engine mounts - may need replaced
- New cable for the davit
- New line cutter
- New hoses and clamps throughout the engine room
- We thought a new water maker pump, but James found a spare and replaced it.
- New air conditioner raw water distribution manifold
- Replace or rebuild a steering ram. There are two to actuate the rudder.
- Consider a new dinghy, which we just purchased
- And a list of other small things.....
In addition, and we knew these things before the survey and making the offer, we need to update all of the pilot house electronics, fix all of the ceiling headliners, and update the upholstery throughout the boat.
So....we have a lot of work ahead of us. But the list didn't scare us off, we have rebuilt 2 Nordhavns (N46 and N50) and we can do it again. So, here we go!
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| With the owners Dick and Gail Barnes. |
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