We are having a party.
Dashew Offshore and Circa Marine are once again holding an FPB 64 Open House in Whangarei, New Zealand. On March 24th and 25th, the latest FPB 64′s to hit the water - Iron Lady and Osprey – will be available for viewing.
Not only is March a perfect time of year to be in New Zealand, but seeing two completed FPBs side-by-side (with a few differences between them) is a rare opportunity.
Steve Dashew, Todd Rickard, Bruce Farrand of Circa Marine, and the owners of hulls 3 & 4 will be on-hand to discuss the details of the FPB program, including design, construction, systems, build experience, and what it takes to cut the dock lines and go! We are organizing dinner, a slideshow, a Q&A session, as well as time aboard for those in attendance.
Those of you on our mailing list should have received invitations to the upcoming FPB 64 Open House at the end of January. If you did not receive, or possibly overlooked the invitation, click here to register. We have had a terrific response thus far, and you can make sure we save you a seat by registering online by February 28th.
Posted by Todd Rickard (February 18, 2011)
February 20th, 2011 at 1:57 pm Hi Steve, I’m in California and won’t be able to make the open house. It would be fantastic if you could post the slides from your slide show up here on your web site, and ideally video tape (and upload the tape on Youtube) the proceedings so that the vast majority of your blog followers could “participate” even though we won’t be able make the get together as we’d like. Brian
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Steve Dashew Reply:
Hello Brian: We will be shooting lots of photos and hopefully some video, so we can bring you along vicariously for the open house. Schedule and band width permitting, we will try and get some of this up while it is going on.February 20th, 2011 at 7:08 pm
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March 29th, 2011 at 8:43 pm Steve, I really like the V-drive that permits the aft engine room, but how do you access the stuffing box?
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Steve Dashew Reply:
Hi Bob: V-drives do have their advantages, but access to that which lies beneath is not one of them. Being aware of this from the beginning – we have twice lived with V-drives – allowances were made in the structure and flooring for access. The port side longitudinal girder is notched to make access easier. When the engine room floorboards in this area are lifted their support framework is easily removed with a few bolts. There is then good access (in a V-drive context). Adjustment of the bellows on the shaft seal is accomplished with a wooden wedge. You can get two wrenches on the shaft coupling, and if at sea, the shaft brake will reduce prop movement if the engine is off.March 29th, 2011 at 9:09 pm
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