The link below will transfer you to an article in Business Insider titled “These Awesome Explorer Yachts Will Transport You To The Ends Of The Earth”. It lists 12 Explorer Yachts with a brief outline of each and contains both Veronika and the Evolve project we currently have under construction. There are some really tough, go anywhere vessels amongst them, which is what we are all about.

http://businessinsider.com/best-explorer-yachts-2011-11?op=1





The mid guest cabin installation is approximately 50% complete now with the furniture (beds, warbrobes, night stands etc) installed and the sunken ceilings being positioned. The final stages for these will be the outer hull side walls and raised panel trimming around the cabins. Photos of these will follow shortly.

The air conditioning system installation has begun with the bases for the 36 fan coils under construction, and the stainless steel tray for the chiller pack being welded up. Once this is complete the chiller pack will be lifted into position in the engine room, and the fan coils will be installed into each cabin as the carpentry is completed. The ducting for the fresh air make-up system is nearing completion. This system pumps chilled and dried outside air throughout the vessel to keep it positively pressurised and hence salt and moisture free, plus keeps a constant flow of fresh air moving through the vessel. Once the ducting is complete this will be removed to be insulated and then the final install will occur.

March 8th, 2012

As the photos show the aft guest cabins are almost completely installed. These will be left until the end of the build now, when the marble, electrical fittings, bathroom fittings, soft coverings for the walls and ceilings etc will be installed. The final varnishing will also take place and any small defects that may occur during fitout will be refinished. The mid guest cabins are currently being assembled in place, beginning with the bathrooms, then beds, and furniture etc. We will be posting photos of these in the coming weeks.

March 2, 2012

The final batch of the 53 exterior hatches for storage and equipment access are being welded into the superstructure. As these are completed the fairing compound is applied so they all sit flush with the surrounding surface. The windscreen frame on the sun deck has been welded completely and is ready to have the fairing applied. When ever any of these components are welded into place they are initially “tacked” so they can be easily adjusted or moved. The Quality Control department and the Project Manager then come in and check that it is in the correct location, orientated the correct way, and will fulfill the duty it is designed for. Once this agreed the piece is welded completely into place.

January 25, 2012

The drive train for the Evolve project has been completed with the main engines on their Vulcan mounts, Twin Disc transmissions, Vulcan shaft couplings, shafts, stern tubes, P struts, cutlass bearings all mounted and aligned. The fire and bilge systems piping are completed and ready for painting. The Econosto fuel manifolds are mounted and the fuel system is now undergoing pressure testing. The interior carpentry installation is still moving along nicely.

September 2, 2011

The crew mess and laundry wood work is currently being installed. The floating floor element on the bridge deck has been put in. The next objective will be the assembly of the drive train beginning with the installation of the propeller shafts and cutless bearings.

The interior continues to be installed on the Evolve project in various areas. The forward crew cabins are nearly installed, and once completed this team will move to the mid guest cabins. The bathroom for guest cabin 5 is being installed. The team responsible for this will also begin the installation of the crew mess and laundry areas in the coming weeks. The “dumb dumb” (a rubberised insulative coating) has been applied to the aft guest cabins and the flooring system for this is next to be installed. The Owner’s day room is taking shape with the under window cupboards now being in place.

The port side of the hull fairing is now applied and ready for long boarding. This is where teams of 2-4 people using specifically built sanding blocks sand the fairing until the hull is smooth from any defects. A marking paint (in this instace blue) is applied to the fairing so the boarders can see where the high and low spots are. Depending on the situation they will either mark the low spots for extra fairing, or carry on sanding until the high spots are gone. Once all of the marker sands off uniformly then the hull is fair. This was completed on the starboard side at the beginning of the year. After this is completed on the whole vessel then a high build primer will be sprayed on and the process repeated.

The 2 propellor shafts are being machined to the correct dimensions, and their tapers and key ways are being cut. 1 taper, for the coupling end of the shaft is completed, and the other shaft is currently in the lathe being turned down to its correct diameter. Once these shafts are completed we will install then onto the vessel and have the whole drive train aligned. This includes engine, to gearbox, to flexible coupling, to shaft, through the stern tube and P strut and their associated cutlass bearings. The final items will be the propellors.

The whole air conditioning system, fuel manifolds, water heaters, hydraulic system and stabilisers are in the port awaiting customs release. The project is advancing steadily and as these pieces of equipment are released they will be installed on board.

Now that the rubber element for the floating floor has been released by Customs the floor system for the lower deck, main salon, and skylounge is underway. The floor has been laid between lower deck bulkheads 2 and 3 (Crew mess, laundry, and guest cabin 5), and bulkheads 3 and 4 (VIP cabins 1 and 2). Installation of the cabinetry for the crew mess and laundry should begin this week.  The main salon and skylounge floors should be completed in the next 2 weeks.

Most of the Master Cabin cabinetry has been installed, along with 30% of the day room. This process is moving along well and varnishing should begin in 6 weeks time. We are awaiting the foam padding element for the floating floor noise reduction system to come out of customs, after which the carpentry installation can begin in the rest of the vessel. Construction has begun on the final carpentry areas, the Captain’s cabin, the upper pantry, the upper day head, leaving only the bridge to get underway. The pre-manufacture of all of these areas in a warehouse speeds this process up considerably.

The carpentry in the Master bathrooms is finished. The carpenters have now started to install the bedroom of the Master Suite before moving onto the dayroom & study.