Great Harbour N37 Young America at our dock yesterday

[kraftee]

...and here are a few more tank shots. The first two show the fiberglass fuel polisher return pipe, which is INSIDE the tanks and returns polished fuel to the forward end of the tank (draws from the rear, obviously). The next one shows an N47 with the tanks pre-baffling. Pics 4 and 5 show the Mirage fiberglass crew laying up the tank tops on Joe Pica's boat, Carolyn Ann. Finally a couple pics of an N37 with completed and pressure tested tanks.

 

[kraftee]

This is the last group for the night. First is a pic of the bow thruster cutout on a 37. The thickness is hard to judge from the pic - but I know from experience that it is right around two inches. The next two pics are of a vacuum bagged N37 deck curing. Next, an N47 engine room and bosun's locker. And, finally, a deckhouse in the mold - and completed and ready to mount.

 

[Joe Pica]

Eric, Thanks for the walk down memory lane. There is no question that these boat are incredibly stiff and strongly built. They will enjoy a very long life

 

[Pack Mule]

Here are a couple pics when Young America and Carolyn Ann where at Paris Landing a couple months ago . I'll have to do two post. I haven't figured out how to get two pics in one post .

 

[Pack Mule]

Here is the other .

 

[kraftee]

By the way, if you look at the second picture in Post #60 (pics of N37 hull being flipped over), you will notice an orange-brown deck/house mold on the right side of the picture behind the guys in the white shirts. This is the deck/house mold for the Prairie 29. Here's another pic that shows the bow of the Prairie 29 hull mold sticking out past a new N37. Ken owns all the molds for these boats...

 

[kraftee]

I have literally thousands of construction pics of most of the Great Harbours built from 2005-on. I am happy to set up a drop box for any of you that now own one of these boats as a second owner and would like all the pics of your boat (like I did for Norm last night.) I will stop boring everyone else with, as Joe put it, this "walk down memory lane". But here is one of my favorite Great Harbour factory pics. It shows Norm's boat, Hull #40 (GH47 #4) on the right, then Hull #45 (GH47 #5), "Mother Ocean", in the middle, and the very first N47, "Gale Force" - Hull #46, still in the mold, on the left. The orange in the foreground is the new 37 hull mold.

 

[Joe Pica]

Thanks Eric, I'd very much like to get all the pics you have of Carolyn Ann. I've already seen a couple I don't have. By the way, we missed you when we ate again at Grandpa Sam's in Spencerport on our way thru the Western Erie this year. However, but you were not in the "Hood" to join us.

 

[kraftee]

Hi Joe. I sent you the DropBox link by PM.

 

[healhustler]

Hardly boring, Eric. It's easy to see how you and Ken got people so exited about these boats.

When aboard an N-37 in Green Cove Springs, you pointed out those hatches in the sole. Is this (green arrows) where those hatches were? Are they baffled eventually, or full length as shown in the photo?

By the way, how do you get the finished boats to Green Cove Springs, which is where I assume you must splash them, no?

 

[kraftee]

Yes Larry, those are the "alleyways" between the fuel and water tanks - accessed through hatches in the sole. These spaces should remain dry and are an amazing amount of storage. They run from the engine room forward bulkhead to the bow (no baffles).

Of course, all of the boats get a nice truck ride to GCS for initial launching. Like we say, every Great Harbour goes 60mph at least once in its life - backwards!

By the way, there is NOTHING more terrifying than following the big rig for the hour and a half ride to the river. That big boat swaying back and forth - looking like it is going to fall off the truck at any minute! The trucks take the long way around to Green Cove - all four-lane. The smaller pilot house trailer and pickup used to go the direct route on the narrow two-lane across 16 between Starke and Green Cove - until, on one early trip, it was caught up in a huge accident at a narrow bridge on 16 with a dump truck full of rock that rolled over and smashed into it.

Here are some cool shots of Norm's boat heading for the river - and then getting her top put on at Green Cove Springs.

 

[healhustler]

Awesome photos. I figured they were trucked, but what an ordeal that GH-47 must be. Over height, over width, and even over weight. I'm sure you had your reasons why the company stayed in Gainesville.

 

[Carolena]

Great pics, and not boring at all. I think many of us enjoy seeing what goes into building a boat - particularly when they are built this well. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Pack Mule]

The way this thread is going it would be nice if a mod could correct the title spelling of Harbour for me .

 

[FlyWright]

The way this thread is going it would be nice if a mod could correct the title spelling of Harbour for me .

No charge this time. You're lucky you caught me in a good mood!

 

[kraftee]

Thanks guys. I apologize for hijacking the thread and turning it into the "this is how we built 'em in Gainesville" thread, and I do want to reiterate to the moderators that I am in no way employed by Mirage/Great Harbour at this time - so this isn't a transparent sales pitch! I just spent so much time intimately involved with the construction and design of these fine vessels that I tend to "over-answer" questions!

And, Larry, the reasons Ken has stayed in Gainesville all these years are pretty simple: There is a good labor pool of talented, hardworking people (remember, Hunter and Monterey are each only about 10 miles away), property near Gainesville airport is WAY cheaper than waterfront property, he has a home on 80 acres that he dearly loves - where he raised his kids, and, well, he's been there since '71 - same address, same phone number, same company name - why change?

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

Kraftee. Don't worry about over answering, it is interesting to see the buildouts by the various manufactures. I get to Green Cove every few weeks and can only see the many
Mirage products from a distance because of the locked gate.
I did take a short trip on Semper Fi (one of them) about 10 years ago with Peter S.
Lunch at the outback crab shack.
Keep the pics and reports coming!

 

[healhustler]

Regardless of what ones opinion is about Great Harbour boats, this thread demonstrates that there's a lot to respect here. I always saw the GH as an unapologetic.

It's kind of like if a Krogen Manatee and a Florida Bay Coaster were taking a flight to the west coast and the only seat left on the plane was the one between them, the last thing they'd want to see is a big-butt GH wallowing down the isle.

 

[HenryD]

Hmmmm....ok, my GH has a big-butt...


Eric,
A dropbox link to any photos you have a Alonso's Sea (first GH47) would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Henry & Debbie
GH 47 Seven Tenths
currently in Charleston, SC

 

[Spottsville]

Earlier in this thread reference was made to how heavy Great Harbour boats are and the thickness of the hull is certainly a contributor. Here is a picture of the hull plug from our GH47 which as you can see is over 1 1/2 thick of woven fiberglass. The piece shown here weighs at least 10 lbs and the cutout laying on top of the hull piece is a cutout from the NidaCore hull sides (used from the rub rails up and the decks) which is buoyant, very strong, not prone to moisture saturation (like some foam core materials) but is very light.

 

[kraftee]

"I like big butts and I cannot lie". Funny stuff Larry - all except that "wallowing" comment! LOL

Hi Henry. Hope you guys are doing well (and staying warm!) I PM'd you the link to all the photos I have of your boat. Unfortunately, I was not with Mirage when Alonzo's Sea was built, so I have no construction photos. All I have, as you will see when you go to the dropbox, is about 80 hi-res pics that were taken during a photo shoot of the finished vessel. You might contact Travis to see if he'll look for whatever construction pics of your boat they might have and upload them to a dropbox.

 

[Fish Catcher Jim]

Now this is what I call Good Reading !!
Thanks Eric and everyone for all your time and effort posting these pictures and most valued information as well. Yep, we shall have one of these soon enough that's for sure !!
Have a great week end
Jim

 

[Fish Catcher Jim]

I have a question that perhaps might seem dumb to you GH veterans but for us and not yet actually got to do the walk through yet (in person) can not truly tell from the pictures.

Ok I am posting a picture of Shalala (2009 N47) the flybridge. If you notice where the lower unit of the outboard sits. Now then what I am asking is this....... Can the end seat cushion be lifted up and the outboard tilted up higher so as to scoot the tender back. Other pics show the room between the tubes and the seats. I just did not know if the seat coushin (end ) could be removed or raised.

My concern is this tender does sit pretty far over the aft of the boat and is always hooked up with the boom in every picture I have and I have a ton.
Thank You
Jim

 

[healhustler]

"I like big butts and I cannot lie". Funny stuff Larry - all except that "wallowing" comment! LOL

I speak admiringly of that feature, guys, as I do the entire boat. If you're passing by me on the water, you'll notice how long I'll be standing out on the boat deck watching you wallow into the horizon. Great little ships.

 

[Donsan]

Older GH37's

There are 4 2000-2001 GH37's listed on Yachtworld and one newer GH37. Are there any model specific issues with the 2000-2001 GH's? Is the construction similar to the later models?

 

[kraftee]

Thanks Larry! I know how you feel about Great Harbours!

And Jim, as far as dinghy mounting, the owner of Shalala had his dinghy repositioned like that well after the boat was built. There is one other N47 like this and one or two N37s set up this way (picture 1). I don't like the dink in that position, personally. I think it cantilevers WAY too far off the aft end. If you look at the second picture, you can see the port flybridge settee before the cushions were installed. So, it's pretty obvious that if you wanted to relocate the whole dinghy farther forward, you would have to do some 'glass work. The "standard" mounting of the dink is at an angle across the aft section of the hardtop, behind the seating. The drawback to the standard position - and the reason some of these boats were changed is that the 30hp outboard on the 12' Caribe extends about a foot out beyond of the hardtop on the port side. This can interfere with locking through if you are tied up to the lock wall on that side (of course, in that case, I just hip tow the dink anyway!) Another option would be to only mount an 11' dinghy with 20 horse engine. This would not extend beyond the hardtop at all.

Finally, Donsan, the major differences between the early boats and later boats would be the size of the props (later boats have the large 24" diameter props), size of the motors - some early boats came with 3-cylinder, 39hp 3JH3 Yanmars and others came with 4-cylinder 56 hp 4JH3s while a few of the much later boats had the lower rpm 54hp 4JH4s, SS rails vs. tigged aluminum, oil-rubbed interior mahogany versus polyurethane, side-opening portlights versus the later stainless lift up portlights with drip spouts, and other cosmetic differences. Also, most of the later boats had the excellent ZF-Mathers electronic controls and some had a molded fiberglass saloon sole (with teak/holly over it) versus a 2x4 and plywood sole (again, with teak/holly.) But to answer your question directly, there are no inherent issues at all with a well-maintained GH of ANY vintage.

 

[Donsan]

Thanks Larry! I know how you feel about Great Harbours!

And Jim, as far as dinghy mounting, the owner of Shalala had his dinghy repositioned like that well after the boat was built. There is one other N47 like this and one or two N37s set up this way (picture 1). I don't like the dink in that position, personally. I think it cantilevers WAY too far off the aft end. If you look at the second picture, you can see the port flybridge settee before the cushions were installed. So, it's pretty obvious that if you wanted to relocate the whole dinghy farther forward, you would have to do some 'glass work. The "standard" mounting of the dink is at an angle across the aft section of the hardtop, behind the seating. The drawback to the standard position - and the reason some of these boats were changed is that the 30hp outboard on the 12' Caribe extends about a foot out beyond of the hardtop on the port side. This can interfere with locking through if you are tied up to the lock wall on that side (of course, in that case, I just hip tow the dink anyway!) Another option would be to only mount an 11' dinghy with 20 horse engine. This would not extend beyond the hardtop at all.

Finally, Donsan, the major differences between the early boats and later boats would be the size of the props (later boats have the large 24" diameter props), size of the motors - some early boats came with 3-cylinder, 39hp 3JH3 Yanmars and others came with 4-cylinder 56 hp 4JH3s while a few of the much later boats had the lower rpm 54hp 4JH4s, SS rails vs. tigged aluminum, oil-rubbed interior mahogany versus polyurethane, side-opening portlights versus the later stainless lift up portlights with drip spouts, and other cosmetic differences. Also, most of the later boats had the excellent ZF-Mathers electronic controls and some had a molded fiberglass saloon sole (with teak/holly over it) versus a 2x4 and plywood sole (again, with teak/holly.) But to answer your question directly, there are no inherent issues at all with a well-maintained GH of ANY vintage.

Thanks for all the great information and pictures you have posted on these boats. I do love the boats. Wish my budget loved them too!

 

[kraftee]

BY the way, all four of those pictures in my last post were of the exact same boat. The folks that own it live on the water in a neighborhood off the ICW in South Carolina and their canals and lagoon are entered through a quite narrow lock. So, they moved the dinghy - and added a stainless prop rod between the stern rail and the hardtop to help support all that cantilevered weight.

 

[Fish Catcher Jim]

Thanks Eric,
I know that the 2008 N47 (Gale Force) has the tender set up on the for deck just as "Spoonbill" did but dont ya know that some one here, ( wont mention any names lol) is stuck on the 09 Shalala and I admit I do like the interior of shalala very much as well. For some reason, perhaps the brighter color of the wood or something.

The boom or lift or davit or crane or hoist or what have you is probably anchored during the build I would inmagine. I mean it would probably be more work if at all possible to move it to the for deck.
So what can you do ? I sure do not want a smaller tender.

I told Gina if I was to have a new one built I would have them build a simple flybridge. Meaning the front and side walls with 2 seats and controlls and the rest open and place a larger fishing tender up there. I mean with the front and side walls of the flybridge you could be sure that the tender would be more protected from the wind. Kind of like we did on a big trailor one time, of course without the controls and seats....lol

Maybe I will just carry three canoes up front and tie them together and add my portible outriggers I built for another canoe and call it good !
Any way thank you so much for all your help and info
Soon to be an owner of lol
Jim

 

[kraftee]

I think that Shalala is a beautiful boat. The owner (an airline pilot and former Marine) did a great job decorating that boat, and it is one of the later boats with the light-colored, unstained American cherry interiors. I ran Shalala from Green Cove Springs down to Ft. Lauderdale when she was new as a training cruise for the owner. Along the way, we stopped in Stuart to show the boat at Trawlerfest. She's the only Great Harbour that I know of with FLIR. Drop down the saloon TV, turn on the FLIR, and you can run the ICW at night with impunity.

Yes, Gale Force has her dinghy on the foredeck. It is really the only place on the boat that will hold a dinghy that large. You COULD add a hydraulic luffing, 1,000 lb. deck crane to the bow of another boat, but it's a major ordeal ($$$$). Also, keep in mind that even if you were building a new N47, the pilothouse roof DOES have a max weight limit, so you can't go crazy and put a 20' center console up there! Gale Force was the first N47 and was built for a retired Pediatrician who is a very close friend of Ken's. She is an absolutely beautiful boat that is equipped really well with pretty much every option and has LOTS of extra unique touches. She also has the more traditional mahogany interior. I have also cruised extensively on this yacht (Jacksonville to Annapolis for the boat show, throughout the Abacos, etc.) and she handles and runs beautifully.

You can't go wrong with either boat, but for me? I would most love to own Gale Force. I have attached a few pics of her...