The view while flying out to the San Juan Islands is spectacular.
Our pilot, Chris, let me take the co-pilot position. I asked where the collective stick was located, hence the disturbed look on his face...
On Saturday, we took a break from boats and took to the air in a Dehavilland Otter, a single-engine turbo prop with floats from Kenmore Air that...
This is a finish room, where hi-gloss wood coats get a final buffing with micro-glaze and a wheel. Special thanks to Dennis and Ben for their time...
Another section of the woodshop. I could keep posting pics, but you get the idea...
Westport has a HUGE cabinet shop located on the airport, separate from their lamination plant on the water's edge in Port Angeles. This picture...
Long before the build, it starts with a plan. Each build has a complete set of 3-D schematics, used during the build to identify parts, sequence,...
... or what hides behind plush ceiling panels. This will soon become a decorative, recessed and back-lit dome over the salon of the 164'.
When dazzled by displays, we often forget what a bridge looks like in the bones...
Again, if you know your Westports, you'll recognize this piece. It's one of two vertical fins that support the hardtop. Here, a worker is using a...
Look familiar? If you're a Westport fan, you know this piece. It's the hinged hard top of the 164' that flips-up for heli-rotor clearance.
This is the flip-side of the deck house superstructure having carbon strips laminated to cross ribs to add structural rigidity.
The honeycomb pieces you see scattered about the laminate is excess resin squeezed out after vacuum bagging.
The following day (Friday), we took the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, then drove to Port Angeles for a tour or Westport’s facility....
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...
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...
The following day, we met with Michele Jones for a complete walk-thru of Delta’s manufacturing facilities, including their engineering offices and...
Here's a close up of the bridge. Plumduff is an all-glass boat with wood overlaid. Very unique boat...
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...
On the day of our visit, the props had just been screwed on... pun intended.
