New SHM Models

[Animal]

If you are a DD fan and in case you hadn't heard, Seahorse Marine has some new models coming out in addition to their existing Diesel Duck lineup.

In addition to SHM Duck lineup the 382 (LOA = 41'; FYI, Bill has also drawn up plans for a 382 Sedan), 462 (LOA = 51'), and 462 Sedan, there is now going to be a 542 Duck (LOA = 56').

Bill and his team are also working a variation on the 382 theme though officially it will not be a Diesel Duck. It is to be a "no frills" version that should open up the number of folks who can spec out a new >3k nm boat. Compared to the highly polished 382s SHM has delivered to date, the new boat will feature less teak, no stainless, workboat coatings, simpler rig, etc. In order to fit on a flat rack container it will be 37 or 38 feet LOA, which cuts shipping costs in half. So a folding swim platform, slightly less rake in the bow and a bolt on anchor chute will be featured. And, as George B likes to point out, it will fit in the more frequently available 40 foot berths. Tentatively called the "Puffin", there will also be a sedan version. I'm in no way associated with SHM, but a new steal boat with >3knm range for the mid 300s seems like a hell of a deal! Of course if you can afford the spit and polish, the higher end Ducks remain quite a sight to behold as well!

Just sharing because I'm a big Duck fan!

 

[healhustler]

I'm drooling here.

 

[dannc]

Puffin is the right name for the new boats.

The draft is not too bad either for east coast US cruising.

Later,
Dan

 

[Diesel Duck]

If you are a DD fan and in case you hadn't heard, Seahorse Marine has some new models coming out in addition to their existing Diesel Duck lineup.

In addition to SHM Duck lineup the 382 (LOA = 41'; FYI, Bill has also drawn up plans for a 382 Sedan), 462 (LOA = 51'), and 462 Sedan, there is now going to be a 542 Duck (LOA = 56').

In addition to the list above along with the new "Puffin" recently announced by SHM ( Name for New Boat (Not a DUCK) - Topic ) there's another new SHM Diesel Duck in the line up, the DD492 (LOA = 53'). In my humble opinion this will be the sweet spot for the SHM DD line. The new DD492 is just over 2' longer than the extremely popular DD462 and with that additional length there is now room for a spacious queen bed in the forward guest cabin (a huge improvement over the tiny guest cabin in the DD462). The new DD492 will also have a large separate guest shower as opposed to the wet head on the DD462. With the added length there's a bit more room in the engine room and galley area and it will also add a few more inches to the already spacious aft master cabin. For more details: Seahorse 492

For those interested the DD492 came about after numerous discussions with several prospective DD buyers and Bill Kimley of Seahorse Marine at the Trawlerfest in Anacortes this past May, myself being one of the new buyers.

It's my understanding the lofting process for the new DD492 is now complete and it's only a matter of finishing the new (3rd) Seahorse Marine shipyard in China.

I'll be heading to the Seahorse Marine shipyard in Doumen, China next month and will be meeting up with several other new buyers. Once there I will be discussing many of the details and options for my new DD492-01 along with checking out Bill's vast collections of model trains.

For those curious about the build time for a Diesel Duck, I'm being told that once the keel is laid it should take roughly 18 months to complete, with one caveat, and that being as long as there are not a lot of change orders.

 

[nemier]

Hey Monte!
You found TF! - good to see you here!
Please keep us informed on the build, that whole process must be so cool!!

 

[Animal]

In addition to the list above along with the new "Puffin" recently announced by SHM ( Name for New Boat (Not a DUCK) - Topic ) there's another new SHM Diesel Duck in the line up, the DD492 (LOA = 53'). In my humble opinion this will be the sweet spot for the SHM DD line. The new DD492 is just over 2' longer than the extremely popular DD462 and with that additional length there is now room for a spacious queen bed in the forward guest cabin (a huge improvement over the tiny guest cabin in the DD462). The new DD492 will also have a large separate guest shower as opposed to the wet head on the DD462. With the added length there's a bit more room in the engine room and galley area and it will also add a few more inches to the already spacious aft master cabin. For more details: Seahorse 492

For those interested the DD492 came about after numerous discussions with several prospective DD buyers and Bill Kimley of Seahorse Marine at the Trawlerfest in Anacortes this past May, myself being one of the new buyers.

It's my understanding the lofting process for the new DD492 is now complete and it's only a matter of finishing the new (3rd) Seahorse Marine shipyard in China.

I'll be heading to the Seahorse Marine shipyard in Doumen, China next month and will be meeting up with several other new buyers. Once there I will be discussing many of the details and options for my new DD492-01 along with checking out Bill's vast collections of model trains.

For those curious about the build time for a Diesel Duck, I'm being told that once the keel is laid it should take roughly 18 months to complete, with one caveat, and that being as long as there are not a lot of change orders.

...and I call myself a DD fan

Thanks for filling in where I forgot, and welcome to TF! I look forward to hearing about your build process here and on the DD forum!!

 

[dannc]

...
For those curious about the build time for a Diesel Duck, I'm being told that once the keel is laid it should take roughly 18 months to complete, with one caveat, and that being as long as there are not a lot of change orders.

And who controls the change orders?

Welcome to TF! About time you showed up! :lol:

Later,
Dan

 

[sunchaser]

492

Does the Seahorse group have a spec, procedure, QA and QC detail manual for insuring coatings, MOC and steel prep are top notch.

I ask this because of my trips to and dealings with Chinese manufacturers where these issues were not well adhered to unless an owner's rep was assigned.

 

[Animal]

I realize you are looking for more detailed engineering and manufacturing level details, but there are some excellent pictures of SHM quality here:
Paperina Bella 382

 

[Diesel Duck]

@ Mr. Infinity, Animal and NC Dan:

Thanks for your warm welcome. Truth be told I've been enjoying this great site for years albeit from a guest (lurkers) perspective.

@ sunchaser:

I'm aware of SHM having their welding certified but as far as a QA/QC manual I'm not aware of it but I'll certainly inquire when I get to the shipyard next month.

 

[dannc]

In the past, some/all? DD buyers/owners would hire a surveyor to manage the build.

My two cents is that the most critical part of a DD build is the hull prep, especially the interior hull. The rust proofing of the steel, the epoxy coats, and the spray foam insulation have to be done correctly with no if, ands, or butts. I have not heard of a DD owner complaining of problems with the hull interior.

The DDs are built to the Chinese Classification Society standard. Surprisingly, I was able to find an English language version of the standard, and from my first pass through the document, it looks like the SHM Ducks exceeds the standard by quite a bit.

Given that a Duck as sat on a reef for a week or more, another one hit an ice berg, and one hit a rock while going over 10 knots, I think the boats are built well enough. A DD ain't gonna have to pull the EPIRB after hitting a whale.

Later,
Dan

 

[Diesel Duck]

Slight correction to my 9/30/14 post about the new Seahorse Marine DD492...

In the aforementioned post I stated that the new DD492 is just over 2' longer than the DD462 when in fact it is right at 3' longer than its predecessor.

I'm presently at the Seahorse Marine shipyard in Doumen, China where there are two Diesel Ducks in the water tied to the dock, one completed waiting for the owner to take delivery and the other about a month away from being ready to sail away. In addition to those two Ducks there are about a half dozen other boats, mostly Ducks, in the shipyard in various stages of construction. Later this week I'll be going to Seahorse Marine's two other shipyards where at one there are several Coots under construction and the other yet to be complete shipyard is where they will be building my DD492-01.

 

[Animal]

I'm presently at the Seahorse Marine shipyard in Doumen, China where there are two Diesel Ducks in the water tied to the dock, one completed waiting for the owner to take delivery and the other about a month away from being ready to sail away. In addition to those two Ducks there are about a half dozen other boats, mostly Ducks, in the shipyard in various stages of construction. Later this week I'll be going to Seahorse Marine's two other shipyards where at one there are several Coots under construction and the other yet to be complete shipyard is where they will be building my DD492-01.

Please take lots of pictures to share!

 

[dhmeissner]

So do you thing SHM will ever design a boat with the designation "Loon"?

 

[dannc]

So do you thing SHM will ever design a boat with the designation "Loon"?

What would be the characteristics of a Loon?

Hmmmm, that kinda sounds bad now that I reread it.....

Later,
Dan

 

[Diesel Duck]

What would be the characteristics of a Loon?

Hmmmm, that kinda sounds bad now that I reread it.....

Later,
Dan

It would definitely need to have an awesome sound system so you could enjoy the looney tunes to the fullest extent. ?

All kidding aside, I envision that it would be a long narrow version of a Duck. Kind of like George Buehler's 71' ELLEMAID but with the Duck's sugar scoop stern section.

 

[dhmeissner]

Ellemaid is nice indeed, and I like the idea of the sugar scoop stern. I was just thinking SHM has a Coot and a Duck, so a Loon would be a natural.

 

[Diesel Ducker]

492

Does the Seahorse group have a spec, procedure, QA and QC detail manual for insuring coatings, MOC and steel prep are top notch.

I ask this because of my trips to and dealings with Chinese manufacturers where these issues were not well adhered to unless an owner's rep was assigned.

I checked all the Duck blogs I could find and there are several comments about interior rust in newer boats, so I doubt they have any reps there.

 

[dannc]

I checked all the Duck blogs I could find and there are several comments about interior rust in newer boats, so I doubt they have any reps there.

Was the rust on the interior of the hull? Which boats had the problem?

One boat had problems in the interior of a watertight door and there was some external rust issues on one boat, DavidEllis, that I can remember.

Some of the boats did use a representative.

Later,
Dan

 

[Diesel Ducker]

It could have been one of the Coot's, I can't remember.
Both inside and outside.

 

[dannc]

It could have been one of the Coot's, I can't remember.
Both inside and outside.

I Googled and Mark was talking about having work down on his Coot, Diesel Duck colors - Topic

The Carquinez Coot is now at KKMI in Pt. Richmond for bottom painting, zinc replacement, repair of delaminated paint in lazarette, rust under forward cabin floor, installation of blowback oil recovery system, and routine engine maintenance.

Hopefully, Mark will tell us if the rust was from wear and tear or poor surface preparation.

The only rust I noticed on the Shearwater's interior hull was from specs of metal dropped here and there in the engine room.

Having condensation around port hulls is going to be a problem in cold weather and high humidity. We have very good quality, energy efficient, wood windows in our house but we still get condensation in some rooms due to cooler temperatures and humidity. Drives me nuts. I have seen people build boxes around their portholes to stop condensation.

Later,
Dan

 

[Arcticspud]

Isn't rust a problem for steel boats? They tend to rust primarily from the inside out.

 

[Tad Roberts]

Isn't rust a problem for steel boats? They tend to rust primarily from the inside out.

Once upon a time is was a terminal problem. Today with modern coatings, if properly cleaned, primed, and applied, there is no problem. Rust only appears where the coating has failed. All wear points like rub rails, cleats & bitts, hawse pipes, cabin edges, etc. should be stainless steel and radiused.

 

[markpierce]

Two Coots (hulls 5 and 6) in China (not the red-hulled boats) nearing completion in early 2011:

 

[Diesel Duck]

Since everyone likes photos I thought I'd post a few from my recent visit to the Seahorse Marine shipyard in China.

This is a DD462 Sedan model nearing completion and waiting for a buyer.

This is a highly modified DD462 Sedan.

This is a DD462 getting close (Note: The stern thruster protection cage. This was an "owner specified" modification).

This is the first DD542 with mast down waiting for owner to take delivery (mast are down due to low bridge further down the Pearl River): LOA - 55', LWL - 53' 4", Beam - 15' 1"

This is DD462-14 (with optional ketch rig) at the commissioning dock waiting for sea trials.

 

[Animal]

Thanks for sharing! Looks like lots of action!

 

[healhustler]

Neato jet!

 

[markpierce]

I Googled and Mark was talking about having work down on his Coot, Diesel Duck colors - Topic ...
Hopefully, Mark will tell us if the rust was from wear and tear or poor surface preparation.

At speeds over 6 knots, the sea's salt water spouted from the anchor compartment's drain, and probably with the help of steel dust, caused rust in the interior forward hull. Solution was to build a raised tray to increase the distance from the water to the drain's inlet.

 

[dannc]

...

At speeds over 6 knots, the sea's salt water spouted from the anchor compartment's drain, and probably with the help of steel dust, caused rust in the interior forward hull. Solution was to build a raised tray to increase the distance from the water to the drain's inlet.
...

Mark,

Thanks for the photos and explanation.

We just got back from The Duck Nest aka Dou Men, China, where we had a great time. I took over 500 photos, wish I had taken more, which I will start posting after I have time to process some of them. This will be a few days since I have to catch up at work and home.

Stella and Bill are great hosts and we had a great trip which solidified our opinions about various issues.

Later,
Dan

 

[Diesel Duck]

Not sure if this photo will be clear/sharp enough to view all the details but I'll give it a try anyhow.

This is the interior and deck layout of my new DD492. Note: Some of the other interior layouts you may have seen, like that on George Buehler's DieselDuck.com site, have two settee's in the saloon (mine has one settee along with two Ekornes style chairs) along with some other minor differences.