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Hi everyone!

Got back from the NW late Friday night. Although it's near 90 degrees in Florida, it will take some time for my fingers to warm up to the keyboard again. Expect some typos! We flew into Seattle, rented a car and headed south to stay in Vancouver, WA, where we stopped for a bite at 'Beaches', a popular waterway restaurant with a unique drive-thru service. I tried to phone home, but was connected to directly to our waiter, shown here wearing a white uniform.

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The following morning we met with John Lance from Christensen Yachts for a yard tour, including a sneak-peak at the new 49-meter 'Odessa'. This ominous looking yacht has one of the most modern interiors they have ever built, as well as a unique sub-surface attribute, all wrapped up in Christensen's first ever black hull with a gray superstructure. While the color combo stands in stark contrast to past launches, it is much more than paint. A new resin system was used to withstand the heat generated by an all-black hull. As photos were not allowed by request of the owner, here is a render...

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As we made our way through many halls, I came across this hull, which appears to be similar to 'Casino Royale', which means it could be the new 'Liquidity III'?

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Here's one that's further along in build. All that is wood is no good. It's scaffolding.

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Same boat from behind, showing the transom access doors and a make-shift 2x4 gang-plank to the swim platform. Remember, this boat is on the hard, so the elevation here is near 15 feet off the floor.

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Same boat with workers fairing the bow. This process is a extremely labor and skill intensive. These guys have a better eye for curves than a college kid on spring break...

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This picture was an accident, so it's a little fuzzy, much like the logic of the guy standing with a camera in-hand, wearing a YF shirt. Yep, that's me, speaking with John Lance on the Portuguese bridge of the boat.

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Later that day, we travelled north to Tacoma and visited Northcoast Yachts for a tour of the new 125’ Stephen Yadvish is building. Later that night, we joined him for eats and drinks along Lake Union in Seattle, where he also owns a refit and repair marina called YachtFish Marine. Yes, the name is a play on his own.

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One big present waiting to be unwrapped, the bow of the new 125'...

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On the day of our visit, the props had just been screwed on... pun intended.

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Later that night, we had dinner at Daniel's along Lake Union. You really pay for the view at this place, but in this case, it was worth it. Right outside our dining table was a significant build from the past... Plumduff. Why? Because it was built by Admiral Marine, which was owned by Daryl Wakefield... now the president of Westport and a man we were scheduled to meet that week.

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Here's a close up of the bridge. Plumduff is an all-glass boat with wood overlaid. Very unique boat...

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The following day, we met with Michele Jones for a complete walk-thru of Delta’s manufacturing facilities, including their engineering offices and latest splash, the 151’ Katya. This picture is one of several buildings in Delta's yard. All that is glass, from one end to the other, are engineering offices. Delta has more engineers on staff than the entire workforce of some yards. And they have an excellent gene pool to draw from too, with Boeing located nearby.

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Delta owns most of the property in the foreground of this aerial view. Not shown is the new facility that was recently purchased up the river for building even larger vessels. Specifically, to build steel and alloy based hulls. Yep, you read that right. Delta's welding Reynolds Wrap!

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Michelle walked us through Delta's new 151' "Katya", a boat with interior volume that seems substantially larger than its length. It even has an enclosed, air-conditioned engineer's station. Delta is planning to debut it at FLIBS, which will be the first time in 5 years they've had a boat at the show.