It’s for Real – We’re Doing It!

We’ve talked to quite a number of you about expanding the pilot house on the David B and we’re really going to do it. We’ve got a real plan, a tentative timeline, and we’re ready to move forward.

A Brief History

The David B was built with the pilothouse on the foredeck about where the mast now is, and behind that there was a small bunk space and the galley. The owner prior to us moved it to it’s present location. For years we’ve talked about rebuilding the pilothouse so that it is back in it’s original location.

The Reasons for the Move

We’ve always felt that we could make the boat much more comfortable for us and our guests, and better suited for its present service because we’d have:

• More, cozy interior space with great viewing windows
• More, usable upper deck space for wildlife viewing from a higher level
• Better visibility from the bridge windows, especially for navigating in the ice
• Covered outer decks for outdoor viewing, out of the rain, and also wind protected
• More hanging space for guests’ personal gear like rain gear
• Indoor access to the staterooms all the way from the galley

All around it will make the boat a better experience for everyone onboard.

Aluminum — Our (not so little) Secret

We’re going to have the shell of it built of aluminum, lifted into place with a crane, and we’ll trim out the inside and outside using wood. Before you start picturing it a sad grey metal, we’re going to paint it white with black trim and varnished doors and no one will be the wiser. (It’s common on older wood boats to make use of metal structures. A boat right next to us in the marina just got an aluminum house this fall.) It will also be lighter, and stronger, plus the logistics of having it built ashore allows us to have it made while we’re in Alaska and put it on when we return, so we’ll have the full winter to finish.

One day I realized that it was kind of like putting an aluminum hat on the boat, and the project name was born: The Tin Hat Project

The Timeline

• December 2015 — Planning and Design work
• January 2016 — Investment proposal complete
• March 2016 — Regular outfitting for the boat starts
• June 2016 — Aluminum house constructed
• October 2016 — Lifting the shell aboard
• Winter 2016-2017– Completion of the interior and systems
• March 2017 —  Regular outfitting for the rest of the boat
• May 2017 –Sailing with the new tin hat.

The Money

Our proposal for the project and the investment opportunity will be complete before Christmas, but the basic details are that we’d like to borrow from those of you who already understand why the David B is such a great experience. We have done a similar thing in the past, offering interest or interest with trip credits, and this will be structured in the same way with very favorable rates for you. We’ll keep you posted and the full proposal will be available soon.

If we haven’t already talked about it with you, send me an email to let us know if you’re interested.

It going to be a really exciting project,

Captain Jeffrey