Even after all the hours spent working with the Wicked FPB 97 to date, we were not prepared for the scale impact when viewing 97-1 in person. Helping us adjust to this new sense of reality were some of our oldest cruising friends and very first Deerfoot owners, who, we should add, are still owners three decades later. We refer to Jim and Cheryl Schmidt, still the caretakers of Wakaroa (Jim and Cheryl are flanking your correspondents in the photo above).

Would you care to join us in the forward suite? Cheryl, Linda, and Sarah are standing against the forward watertight bulkhead, while the photographer shoots from the aft end of the suite.

It being Sunday, with lots of diversions, we’ll close with this shot of Jim, Sarah, and Cheryl in the owner’s suite interior mockup, looking here from the forward walk-in closet aft to the bulkheads, bed, and furniture sub-assemblies, all of which are eventually destined for the hull.

We have a full plate of meetings with various groups at Circa, sea trials, and testing this coming week. Stay tuned for more details.