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Our Kismet finally feels the fresh northwest air, goes for a truck ride, touches water, gets its top put on and its engine started - all on a rare, for the Pacific Northwest, sunny and warm, February day. We arrived at the Fathom plant at 8a.m. just in time to watch our boat being loaded onto the trailer, which is used to haul boats to the launch site. As the boat peeked out of its womb for the very first time…

Remarkable! This is what we think when we see the professional dedication that the craftsmen apply to the quality workmanship as they build our Kismet. We've included photos of some of the crew who are finishing the installation of the port windows, cabinetry, carpeting and detail on the teak trim work.Since our last visit to Fathom they have installed the flat screen TV and cabinetry, starboard salon cabinets, refrigerator freezer, bottom paint, five blade prop and they finished the swim…

It's hard to believe how quickly three months will fly by. That's how long it has been since our new "Kismet" was started and today we were told that if all goes as planned she'll splash on February 11th – two days ahead of schedule. We continue to be amazed at how many changes occure from one visit to the next. This weeks most noticeable changes were the installation of the rear salon door and window interior teak trim and cabinets, the beautiful…

There are a lot of important areas of a boat however two of the most important are the galley and head (kitchen and bathroom for you landlubbers).  Top-left:  In this photo you are able to see the teak galley cabinets before the granite counter top has been installed. They've also set into place the electric 3-burner stove/oven and, like any construction project, you need to have some imagination as to what the final results will look like.Top-right:  In this photo you…

A fun day at the Fathom plant. On our latest visit to Fathom we were able to witness the culmination of 8 weeks of hard work come together to form what is starting to look like a boat.First we took the last photos of the hull's interior before the deck was installed.  Top-left:  You'll see the engine has been installed, the exhaust hooked up.Top-right:  The generator.Bottom-left:   The lazarette which houses the batteries, water tanks etc.Bottom-right:  You can see the interior…

There has been a lot of progress on Kismet since our last posting. Most of the progress is not immediately visible. In the top 2 photos you'll see the 9KW Northern Light diesel generator has been installed and unlike our last generator this one will have a sound shield, making it extremely quiet.The bottom 2 photos show the deck that has been moved inside. Fathom's expert craftsmen are installing, wiring, lighting and storage compartments all in preparation to mount the…

We made our second trip to the Fathom plant and were pleasantly surprised at the amount of progress made in 7 working days.Top-left - Jim standing next to the boat gives you a good idea of expedition design. The bow thruster has been installed and the holes have been cut for the windows.Top-right - Here you see the completed hull's aft exterior without the swim platform installed.Middle-left - A close-up photo of the lazarette area. Storage in the center with…

Beginning of the week we drove up to Bow, Washington to take our first look at the new Kismet. We were so excited to see our dream boat finally up close and personal. Here are some shots we took:Top-left: The outside work on the hull is complete for a while so the work begins in earnest on the inside. This is a photo looking from the transom towards the bow. The opening to the left will become the door to…

Top-left: Taking the mold off of a boat hull is like breaking a very large hard boiled egg open. Here you see 3 men separating the transom portion of the mold.Top-right: This is a shot of the bow where the technicians are pulling the port side mold off the hull.Bottom-left: As you look at the port side without any mold attached you'll see the grey gel-coat finish just as it came out of the mold. Before the gel-coat is applied…

Left: This is a photo of the two hull sides combined so that the bottom of the hull can be sprayed with white gelcoat. Note the two cylindrical areas in the bow - this is where the bow thrusters will be mounted. Also notice the swirl marks on the base of the hull - this is wax that has been applied so once the gelcoat resin fiberglass and stringer have been applied and installed the mold will release itself easily…

Left: Here is a great shot of a mold that has wax applied to it. The wax helps release the finished product when complete. The two-pieces, once attached, will form the mast.Right: Here you see the mold that has been bagged, being prepared to have the resin inserted - when you turn this piece inside out it will become the salon/galley floor.

Left: Here you see the mold for what is called the grid - once produced this fits inside the hull for support. The capside down pan towards the front of the mold will ultimately become the holding tank.Right: If you can imagine turning this inside out you'll have the top side of the boat - the worker is standing on the inside ceiling of the pilothouse.

Left: This is a shot of the mold for the inside cabin being prepared for the vacumn infusion of resin.Right: Here you see the mold for the pilot house roof. The vacumn infusion process applied.

Left: Here you see the one-piece mold of the boat from the rub rail up to the bottom of the flybridge. They are getting ready to spray the white gelcoat.Right: Same mold shot as the prior photo. More gelcoat being applied.

Top-left: Here you see the fiberglass being layed on the inside of the port hull looking back towards the transom.Top-right: What you see here is the vacumn infusion process of the resin that gives the hull more strength, more uniformity and less weight.Bottom-left: This is a shot of the pilothouse mold with fiberglas sheets being prepared for the resin vacumn infussions process.

The process uses composite materials and advanced infusion lamination construction. This process reduces weight and increases strength resulting in better efficiency. Infusion lamination is a technique that uses vacuum pressure to draw resin into a laminate. Materials are laid into a mold and a vacuum is applied before resin is introduced. Once a complete vacuum is achieved, resin is literally sucked into the laminate via carefully placed tubing. The part then cures under the higher pressure resulting in much greater…

We chose a light grey for the hull of our Fathom... Kismet. We like the idea of the color being broken up a little with a little bit darker hull. We like the dark blue but are concerned about heat conduction in the warmer climates. We think that with the light grey we will keep cooler while looking good. We can't wait to get out there to watch her be built.