Since my first boat which included a DSC-capable VHF marine radio I’ve been wondering about the warning sticker that came with the radio.  The manual for my Icom M506 VHF has the warning: A WARNING STICKER is supplied with the U.S.A. version transceiver. To comply with FCC regulations, this sticker must be affixed in such a location as to be readily seen from the operating controls of the radio as in the diagram below. Make sure the...

Sometimes things work out.  As it happened, a business trip I needed to take to Seattle moved earlier than expected, and some parts delays moved the ship date for Enemy Glory a little later than expected.  Thus, since I needed to be in Seattle on other business anyway, I was able to book an extra day and have a quick tour of the Nordic Tugs Factory in Burlington, WA. The tour was a great way to top off a business trip and was even better at...

Despite a rainy, hazy, grim-looking day, we made our way up to Burlington to visit the Nordic Tugs Factory. The day started with a visit to the Nordic Heritage Museum in Seattle – well worth the visit.  This museum focuses on the emigration of people from five Nordic countries who settled in the Pacific Northwest and on  their experiences entering the United States.  The first floor focuses on life abroad and on the travel to the United...

It appears that the planets have aligned properly.  Business travel has taken me to Seattle, only an hour or so south of Nordic Tugs.  I couldn’t help but book an extra day so I could take a ride up to the factory and see her.  Last night I was able to see one of her sea tests on marinetraffic.com – I brought my camera, so I plan to take lots of pictures of the final product today!

Though I’ve built many things, a boat is not on that list.  In principle, it’s a fairly straightforward thing, however as the size of the vessel increases, so does the complexity.  In a vessel the size of Enemy Glory, construction is a process requiring attention to, thousands of details. When I committed to Enemy Glory the dealer (Paul Tortora of Wilde Yachts – a great guy!  In fact, everyone at Wilde, and Nordic, has been...