sad news -- Passage of Time destroyed in fire
Many of you have followed my design and construction of "Passage of Time," a
53' aluminum passagemaker Debbie and I dreamed up a few years ago and then
had Michael Kasten design for us. This sight has been invaluable to our
search for the perfect boat and the many design decisions and choices that
must be made along the way. We actually found the builder via the related
BST site and, of course, as we started building, we engaged T&T's very own
Arild Jensen to tweak our electrical design into a really cool set up for us
"Passage of Time" was set to launch and "hit the water" in late summer. The
final welding was nearly complete; the carpenters and electricians were busy
at work, systems were on the way . . . .
On Monday disaster struck.
In what appears to be an incredible freak accident with a welding spark
bouncing off something, through a port hole, and into a small garbage bag
that had some trash insulation -- that immediately roared into a fire that
could not be contained -- "Passage of Time" was destroyed. By the time that
the extinguisher was retrieved from the pilothouse, the smoke and flames
were too much to handle. The fresh unfinished cherry wood caught on fire,
and that was all she wrote. I will get pictures sooner or later, but it
will not look pretty. The superstructure melted from the heat and isn't
there. A portion of the deck itself melted away and/or collapsed into the
interior of the boat. Apparently the cherry wood Debbie so loved burns
rather hot.
The fire marshal is testing the insulation to see if it conforms to the fire
retardant product described on the MSDS that was provided to the builder.
The foam apparently went up in flame very very quickly, even though painted
with fire retardant paint.
The boat is a total loss.
The insurance people are doing what they do best, crawling all over the
place, testing and surveying everything in sight. The builder -- with whom
I have the utmost confidence and trust -- was as saddened as Debbie and I
were. It was bad enough for us to hear about it, they had to watch it burn.
It was terrible to think of our "baby" literally going up in smoke.
Thankfully, no one was hurt and we are most grateful for that. We have come
to know and befriend the builders, welders, carpenters and the collective
group of people who, over the last 17 months, turned sheets of metal, wood,
and wire into the beautiful boat with which we were looking forward to
cruising to places frequently dreamed of.
We were really looking forward to our expected August or September launch.
Looks like that will be postponed a bit, as we must start over from frame
one! The rebuild will probably go a little faster since the builders and
crew "know" the boat now and, as a little silver lining, the rebuild will
allow us to tweak a few areas that we believe can be improved having seen
the "real thing" as opposed to a 2-D plan.
Bummer. Time for a drink! Perhaps three.
Thank goodness I had not yet found a buyer for our current boat . . . . .
Alan Wagner
Tampa, Florida
"Morning Delight" 1978, 44' Gulfstar MC
Building "Passage of Time" -- Kasten designed 53' aluminum passagemaker
http://kastenmarine.com/valdemar52.htm
o;?
So, so sorry, what a tremendous disaapointment.
All you can probably do is be thankful no one was hurt. Today a
college kid riding his bike without a helmut, hit a pothole, had a
terrible fall, struck his head and was literally writhing & convulsing
in the road. Have no idea what his prognosis is, poor kid, the first
beautiful new england bit of nice spring weather...
Not trying to detract from your horrific loss & sadness, just trying to
help ease you pain. Hope I didn't goof.
JE
-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Wagner Wagner.Florida@verizon.net
To: passagemaking-under-power@lists.samurai.com
Sent: Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:40:13 -0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
Subject: [PUP] sad news -- Passage of Time destroyed in fire
Many of you have followed my design and construction of "Passage of
Time," a
53' aluminum passagemaker Debbie and I dreamed up a few years ago and
then
had Michael Kasten design for us. This sight has been invaluable to our
search for the perfect boat and the many design decisions and choices
that
must be made along the way. We actually found the builder via the
related
BST site and, of course, as we started building, we engaged T&T's very
own
Arild Jensen to tweak our electrical design into a really cool set up
for us
"Passage of Time" was set to launch and "hit the water" in late summer.
The
final welding was nearly complete; the carpenters and electricians were
busy
at work, systems were on the way . . . .
On Monday disaster struck.
In what appears to be an incredible freak accident with a welding spark
bouncing off something, through a port hole, and into a small garbage
bag
that had some trash insulation -- that immediately roared into a fire
that
could not be contained -- "Passage of Time" was destroyed. By the time
that
the extinguisher was retrieved from the pilothouse, the smoke and flames
were too much to handle. The fresh unfinished cherry wood caught on
fire,
and that was all she wrote. I will get pictures sooner or later, but it
will not look pretty. The superstructure melted from the heat and isn't
there. A portion of the deck itself melted away and/or collapsed into
the
interior of the boat. Apparently the cherry wood Debbie so loved burns
rather hot.
The fire marshal is testing the insulation to see if it conforms to the
fire
retardant product described on the MSDS that was provided to the
builder.
The foam apparently went up in flame very very quickly, even though
painted
with fire retardant paint.
The boat is a total loss.
The insurance people are doing what they do best, crawling all over the
place, testing and surveying everything in sight. The builder -- with
whom
I have the utmost confidence and trust -- was as saddened as Debbie and
I
were. It was bad enough for us to hear about it, they had to watch it
burn.
It was terrible to think of our "baby" literally going up in smoke.
Thankfully, no one was hurt and we are most grateful for that. We have
come
to know and befriend the builders, welders, carpenters and the
collective
group of people who, over the last 17 months, turned sheets of metal,
wood,
and wire into the beautiful boat with which we were looking forward to
cruising to places frequently dreamed of.
We were really looking forward to our expected August or September
launch.
Looks like that will be postponed a bit, as we must start over from
frame
one! The rebuild will probably go a little faster since the builders
and
crew "know" the boat now and, as a little silver lining, the rebuild
will
allow us to tweak a few areas that we believe can be improved having
seen
the "real thing" as opposed to a 2-D plan.
Bummer. Time for a drink! Perhaps three.
Thank goodness I had not yet found a buyer for our current boat . . . .
.
Alan Wagner
Tampa, Florida
"Morning Delight" 1978, 44' Gulfstar MC
Building "Passage of Time" -- Kasten designed 53' aluminum passagemaker
http://kastenmarine.com/valdemar52.htm
o;?
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Not at all . . . .
It is all a matter of perspective. Things could have been much worse.
Alan
-------Original Message-------
From: je1449@aol.com
Date: 4/19/2008 7:49:30 PM
To: passagemaking-under-power@lists.samurai.com
Subject: Re: [PUP] sad news -- Passage of Time destroyed in fire
Not trying to detract from your horrific loss & sadness, just trying to
Help ease you pain. Hope I didn't goof.
JE
Alan,
I am sickened to hear of your loss. I'm thrilled you are going to start
again! Drinks on me when we meet! Scott
Scott Bulger, Alanui
Atlantic side of the Panama Canal
Scott,
Weren't you on the Pacific side and looking forward to a long wait?
Ron Rogers
----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott E. Bulger" scottebulger@gmail.com
|
| Scott Bulger, Alanui
| Atlantic side of the Panama Canal
o;?
Thanks, Scott -- I will take you up on that. Welcome to the Gulf, by the
way!
Alan
-------Original Message-------
From: Scott E. Bulger
Date: 4/20/2008 5:33:37 PM
To: 'Passagemaking Under Power List'
Subject: Re: [PUP] sad news -- Passage of Time destroyed in fire
Alan,
I am sickened to hear of your loss. I'm thrilled you are going to start
again! Drinks on me when we meet! Scott
Scott Bulger, Alanui
Atlantic side of the Panama Canal
http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/passagemaking-under-power
To unsubscribe send email to
passagemaking-under-power-request@lists.samurai.com with the word
UNSUBSCRIBE and nothing else in the subject or body of the message.
Passagemaking Under Power and PUP are trademarks of Water World Productions,
formerly known as Trawler World Productions.
Nope, rumors of long waits were only true for N to S, not S to N. Wait from
S to N is 3 to 6 days. N to S is now 2 months. Boats now being measured
are being given dates in mid June.
Scott Bulger, Alanui, N40II, Seattle
Shelter Bay Marina, Panama