cradle - burr yacht sales...mafi cradle. the operator lifted the end of the cra - dle, and the new...

Not all of us get a chance to purchase a brandnew yacht, but for those who do—it is atruly incredible experience. A large cruisingmotorboat or trawler is something tobehold—especially if it is your own!

But for even these owners, rarely is there anopportunity to understand all that hap-pens when they take delivery of theirnew boat.

Some of us believe that in the totalscheme of things, the broker or dealer isjust a middleman in the process of buy-ing a new boat—someone who takesour money and coordinates the detailsof the purchase with the factory or yard,and is responsible for filling out therequired paperwork. We pay them bigbucks and they make phone calls. Wesee these brokers when we buy the

boat, and then again when we take delivery—butthey’re not much involved the rest of the time.

In some cases, this may be a true scenario—butfor successful and professional dealers, it isn’teven close to reality. A good broker works very,very hard to make sure you are satisfied with your

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by Bill Parlatore photography by John Bildahl and the author

Micck Shoovee tigghteens up 5-blaaddeed ddeeliveery proops. Thee booaat wwill bee fitteed wwith

44-bblaadeedd proops baacck aat thee BBurr Yaard.

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new boat—and he or she goes quite a distance tomake that happen. Acting as representative forboth owner and boat builder, the broker is an inte-gral part of the new boat process. In some cases,these guys and gals help us in spite of ourselves—urging us into making decisions that they knoware better for us—based on their considerableindustry and boating experience.

We recently had the opportunity to follow a newmotorboat being delivered from the Far East, andto watch it go through the paces in preparation fordelivery to its new owners.

The boat, the beautiful Fleming 55, is a paragonof modern boat design and attention to detail.Appointed in a traditional yacht manner with teakdecks and trim, the Fleming is nonetheless a thor-oughly modern boat using the latesttechnology. The result is a very capablecruising motorboat with all around abil-ity. The Fleming is a great coastal cruis-ing boat, but several have successfullyventured across oceans.

The dealer involved in this story isBurr Yacht Sales, the U.S. East Coast dis-tributor of the Fleming—and they areresponsible for 80% of the sales andcustomer support for Fleming cus-tomers worldwide. A longtime Bertramdealer, Burr Yachts continues to workclosely with Tony Fleming, the manbehind the Fleming 55, to evolve designand construction details in the 8–10yachts that are built each year.

As you’ll see, there is a good dealmore involved in the process than youmight imagine—a lot more. Andalthough our experience may reflectuniquely to the Fleming 55 and BurrYacht Sales, much of this can be appliedto other boat builder/dealer relation-ships. The point of this feature is tounderstand what happens betweenbuilding a boat and owner acquisition.If you understand what is involved,you’ll better appreciate a quality deal-er—and how he or she makes sure youare a satisfied customer with a qualityboat. He earns every penny…

DDeliveeryyIt all started early morning at the

Dundalk Marine Terminal at the Port ofBaltimore. Located on the PatapscoRiver off the Chesapeake Bay, this is amajor shipping port, and handles alltypes of cargo—from imported auto-mobiles to overseas export.

The Fleming 55 (hull number 58) wasdelivered here the night before and sat

on the expansive terminal grounds—nestledamong containers and cargo handling equipment.It had been a seven-week trip from the Republicof China’s port of Kaohsiung to Baltimore, consid-ered normal for such a voyage between theseports. The Fleming actually cleared customs offNorfolk while still on the ship, yet there was stillplenty of paperwork to be completed before theterminal would release the boat to the dealer.

The delivery team consisted of three membersfrom Burr Yacht Sales, which is located inEdgewater, Maryland, just south of Annapolis.

Ray Currey, John Currey, and Mick Shove haveall been through this drill many times before, andthey wasted no time in getting started. John head-ed off to the terminal office to finish the required

Reprint from PassageMaker ® Magazine courtesy of the publisher, Dominion Enterprises. Copyright 2007, All rights reserved.


paperwork, while Mick and Ray tackled the prepa-rations for splashing the new boat.

The Fleming sat on a MAFI cradle covered withan enormous tarp. A MAFI cradle has a set ofwheels on one side and a hitch on the other, andcan be easily moved about by a special tractor thathandles such cargo on and off a special shipknown as a “Ro-Ro”. That stands for “Roll on, Rolloff” and is a modern way of handling ship-boundcargo. Unlike deck-stored cargo, cargo and con-tainers are taken inside the ship through massiveside doors, and can be stacked and stored all with-in the confines of the ship. This avoids any poten-tial damage caused by the elements while in tran-sit. Since the Fleming was shipped inside of theship, it arrived a little dusty but otherwise in per-fect condition.

The boat was shipped without the installation ofits bow platform or radar arch—to reduce spacerequirements. Even so, the tarp-covered packagetook up the space of thirty stacked containers.This is an expensive way to ship a large yacht, butcan be justified given the total protection offeredby the inside of the ship.

The boat also came without its propellers, as thelarge bronze props can be easily damaged duringall the handling. Mick pulled out the high perfor-mance 5-bladed props they use for delivery andwent to work putting these beauties on the boat.

Ray began removing the large blue-and-whitetarp off the topsides and then opened up all hatch-es and doors. While the boat aired out fromspending weeks inside the ship, Ray checkedengine fluids, attached the batteries, checked allthrough hulls, and checked for any visual signs oftheft or damage. Ray also checked the fuel—theboat normally ships with 50 gallons of fuelonboard, enough to make the nearest fuel dock.

Ray explained that this routine normally takesabout 45 minutes to get ready to move the boatover to the crane that will put the boat into thewater for the first time. “It used to take two-and-a-

slowly past Fort McHenry (which was the inspira-tion for our national anthem) we got a chance todiscuss the events so far. As both Mick and Raypointed out, there were no surprises, thankfully.While they expect a problem every once inawhile, things usually go very well. Tony Fleminginspects each boat before it is shipped, and thishas a lot to do with the lack of problems.

While we took aboard 150 gallons of diesel,Mick continued checking all the systems aboardthe boat. He turned on the air conditioning sys-tem—which quickly cooled down the interior ofthe boat. I also took the time to walk around theboat’s interior, and I was surprised by the com-pleteness of the boat. With the exception of anelectronic-free pilothouse, this boat was completeand looked ready to go cruising as is.

As I later learned, most of the outfitting deci-sions are made by the owners before or while theboat is being built—and the chosen appliances,systems, and equipment are shipped via containerdirectly to the yard to be installed while the boatis being built. The result is a turn-key yacht that ismissing only electronics and bow thruster.

The absence of electronics makes sense for sev-eral reasons. First, as the boat is often orderedwith delivery way off in the future, changes intechnology make the selection of electronic instru-ments a latest-is-often-best affair—price, value,and functionality are very dynamic.

The second reason for holding off selectingelectronic gear is that the crew at Burr Yachtsunderstands the importance of a systems approachto electronics. The equipment usually must beintegrated, and it can take quite a few hours todetermine the various components of a completeelectronics system. Ray Currey feels strongly thatany such discussion must take place over manyhours with the new owners. The results must bereliable, good looking, and exactly what the newowners need. It is very important to understandthe real needs of the owners and develop aninstrument package that covers these require-ments.

When fueling was completed, Mick came backinto the pilothouse to report that all systemswere operational—including the water system,head systems, engines, genset, and A/C. Again,no surprises.

The trip south was a perfect way to spend timeon the glassy Chesapeake, on a day that was hotand hazy. With air conditioning running through-out the boat, the pilothouse was remarkably quiet.The engines are especially quiet, and there isalmost a total lack of vibration. This is due to theAquadrive thrust bearings and constant velocityjoints that allow the engine to be soft mounted.There is extensive engine room insulation and thevery effective mufflers contribute to the lack of

half hours when we first started, but we have theroutine pretty well down by now. We rarely havesurprises, as the boat is complete, well-protected,and clean.”

About the time Mick and Ray were finishedloading the gear we brought up in the van—fend-ers, handheld VHF and GPS—John came backwith all permits and papers completed. We werefree to move the boat over to the crane.

After a short wait, a special tractor came over tous and backed onto the hitch mechanism of theMAFI cradle. The operator lifted the end of the cra-dle, and the new Fleming moved ever so slowlytowards an enormous crane overlooking the river.

The process of splashing the boat took anoth-er 45 minutes, most of which were spent waitingfor the terminal workers to put together a prop-er lifting harness. These fellas were actually quiteskilled and competent, but given the size of theFleming, and the fact that handling such cargoisn’t their daily routine, it took them some timeto assemble the lifting box frame and liftingstraps.

Ray and Mick stayed aboard as the boat wasfinally lifted clear of the cradle and swung over tothe water’s edge. A pretty incredible sight, andeveryone in the vicinity stopped to watch as the55-footer was swung out high above the PatapscoRiver. This was actually the first time the boat wasgoing into water, which surprised me. Ray told methat the Fleming doesn’t really need to be sea tri-aled at the yard—all testing and sea trials would bethe dealer’s responsibility.

While engines were started, and the throughhulls checked for leaks, we loaded the rest of thegear as quickly as possible and shoved off—to thewaves of the assembled crowd of terminal work-ers. It was quite a departure from their regular fareof loading and unloading containers—which don’thead off under their own power!

Our next stop was a fuel dock located farther upthe Patapsco in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Motoring

exhaust noise inside the boat.The genset is also very quiet—its wet exhaust

exits below the waterline, so there isn’t even thefamiliar gurgle of cooling water. So quiet, in fact,that Mick told me they have more than oncewalked away from the boat and forgotten thegenset was still on.

Running at speed down the bay, there was anextremely loud cracking sound coming from theforward cabin, and Ray explained that it tooksome time to figure out when they first heard thenoise. Most of the Flemings have their bowthruster tube installed at the yard, although thethruster equipment is installed by the dealer. Theresult is a hollow tube in the bow, mounted per-pendicular to the rush of passing water. The con-stant slapping of the water with the tube is trans-mitted throughout the bow section of the hull, andmakes quite a racket. (Once the thruster isinstalled, however, the noise disappears.)

We took a couple of hours to finally reach theBurr yard, and we arrived just after noon. TheFleming was backed into a center slip, dock andspring lines were adjusted, shorepower cables runfor power…and then it was time to begin com-missioning the new boat for its new owners.

CCoommissiooninggThe two-page list of additional equipment had

been prepared well in advance of the boat’s deliv-ery, and every attempt had been made to have allitems onsite for the boat’s arrival—so boxes andboxes of new gear sat safely together in a storagearea—waiting for just this moment.

For this particular hull number, the list of equip-ment to be installed included the following:• Cruising gear (shorepower cords, flares,

bumpers, docklines, life vests,…the usual stuff)

• Delta 55-pound primary anchor and 275 feet ofchain, and secondary anchor and rode

• TV/Video equipment for installation in salon and forward stateroom, with antenna and cableTV hookup

• Bimini top on flybridge• Custom low-profile davit system for boat deck• Full feature stereo system with sound system

installed in salon and pilothouse• Flo Scan fuel monitors with totalizers,

tachometer and GPS interface• Installation of tender chocks and MX335

Novurania RIB with 30 hp Honda outboard• Cellular phone system• Dual control Spotlight• Naiad stabilizers• 10 hp Wesmar 12-inch dual prop bow thruster

with separate 24-volt gel battery bank

Foolloowing aa sshoortridee bby aa speeciaalMAFI-haandlinggtruck (ttop), ttheeFleemingg 555 waaitss

aaloongg wwaateer’ss eedgeefoor lifting creew(right)). A shoort

wwhilee laateer, a huggeecraanee liftss thee yyaachtcleeaar—and ttheeFleeming gooeess in thee

wwaateer foor thee firstttimee.


missioning of the boats, coordinating the manytasks to ensure people and gear are workingtogether as a team. He is also the yard’s wood-worker and cabinet maker when such skills arerequired.

A haulout is first order of business for the newboat—to install the swim platform, the bow thruster,stabilizer fins, transducers, and bottom paint.

Back in the water, the Fleming gets ready for theboxes and tools and work crew. All interior cush-ions are removed, and every teak surface (espe-cially the soles of all cabins) is covered in heavybrown paper to avoid any nicks or marring of thenew boat.

Not surprisingly, one of the first jobs to bedone is installation of the sound system, so thecrew can work with appropriate music. I gatherclassical music is great for varnishing, countryand pop music good for mechanical systemwork, and contemporary music reserved for elec-tronics and wiring.

The radar arch is installed on the boat deck andon goes the bow platform—allowing the exteriorcrew to start work on the wood trim. Anothertechnician begins fitting the various externalantennas and equipment on the boat deck.

Inside the boat, the interior quickly is trans-formed from a beautifully complete and organizedinterior to chaos—a disheveled collection ofboxes, holes, tools, wires, and people. It is almostfrightening to see. Total chaos, but beneath it all isan air of competent madness that everyone has arole to play and that all the boxes and tools some-

• Custom AC/DC electrical system with 1,500-watt inverter, additional 100-amp charger, 2 additional batteries, and battery paralleling system

• Fire extinguisher system in engine room with auto and manual controls

• Custom decor—carpets, drapes, upholstery, bedspreads, chairs, lamps

• Custom arch-mounted mast to hold radar, satellite antenna

• Custom name boards• Mounts for Switlik liferaft• Compensate compasses• Install all navigation electronics—Furuno radar;

GPS with differential; two ICOM VHF radios; Robertson autopilot; Furuno 582 sounder; wind, speed, depth, waypoint multi-function digital displays; computer with navigation software; installation and custom cabinetry with antennas and interfaces; SSB antenna mount

• Closed circuit TV with two cameras.

Like I said, just some electronics and a bowthruster!

All the commissioning activity is planned well inadvance of the boat’s arrival—the order of activityactually determined during the planning of theboat with the owners.

All told, the outfitting phase takes about sixweeks, with full-time participation by the yard’screw—many skilled in a particular specialty. PatFlaherty oversees the overall outfitting and com-

how need to be there, figured into a master plan.And indeed there is one…

Up forward, the major project in the masterstateroom involves installation of the bow thrusterand controls, with co-located battery box and con-trol wiring. The thruster is under the forwardberth, and the top of the berth is removed toreveal the work area. A photograph of anotherbow thruster installation is taped alongside the

ongoing installation, and I was told that the crewtries hard to make all installations look and workthe same for the critical systems. Once the boatleaves the dock, the yard can still answer manyquestions over the phone because they have madea point of finding out the best way to install eachpiece of gear on the boat—and being consistentfrom boat to boat. (An added benefit of this think-ing is that when an owner wants to add some new

Thee neeww inteerioor quiccklyy beecoomees aa meess oof booxees,

ttooools aand wwaaitting-too-bee instaalleed eequipmeent. Nootticeethee paapeer coovveereed floooors.

CCaareeful preepaaraatioon aand eeffoort reesults in hooleesmeeaasureed ttwwicee, bbutt ccut oonccee (aaboovee). Thee reesult—thee coompleetteedd piloothoousee is booth

bbeeaauttiful aand funcctioonaal ((leeft)).

OOnccee thee coommissiooning iscoompleetteedd, tthee maainsaaloon is reeveeaaleed toobee aa ccoomffoortaabblee aand

eeleegaant livingg aareeaa.Reprint from PassageMaker ® Magazine courtesy of the publisher, Dominion Enterprises. Copyright 2007, All rights reserved. Reprint from PassageMaker ® Magazine courtesy of the publisher, Dominion Enterprises. Copyright 2007, All rights reserved.

equipment later—it no doubt has a spot alreadylaid out and available—just a picture away!)

The only other major outfitting in the ownerstateroom is audiovisual—the entertainmentTV/stereo, intercom, and maybe a telephone.

The other two staterooms are pretty much leftalone, although they are bare as all cushions andother accessories are removed from the boat dur-ing the commissioning activity.

The galley is usually complete since all decisionsabout countertops, appliances, and trim weremade beforehand—and the equipment shipped tothe R.O.C. in a container for installation while theboat is under construction.

The salon gets all the stereo, entertainment sys-tem, and related communications equipment. Mostof the rest of the salon is already complete,although you can’t see much of the salon, as it isthe staging area for all the boxes and tools.

As Ray Currey explained, even though most oftheir commissioning work involves installing ancil-lary equipment, the truth of the matter is that theentire boat is worked on. Though it isn’t obvious thatwork is performed in a certain area, in most cases,work passed through that area, so the entire boat isinvolved with just about everything that goes on.

For example, the majority of the stabilizer worktakes place in the engine room—which is whereyou find the hydraulic pump (connected to thestarboard Cat 3208) and its reservoir connected byhydraulic lines, but you need discharge coolinglines. Since the folks at the Burr yard like to iso-late all through hulls in one area in the stern, thesecooling lines run all the way aft to the transom,exiting into a seachest.

At the same time, there are electrical controls forhandling the stabilizers, and those control headsand wires have to be led up to the pilothouse.There are additional thruster controls located onthe flybridge as well as on a separate aft deck con-trol station—so most of the boat is passedthrough—starting in the middle and going out tothe ends of the boat.

As to the stabilizers, the crew spends hoursshaping stainless steel tubing that connects thestabilizer hydraulic pump to its reservoir. Thiscustom work, rather than simply running hosesthrough the engine room, results in a bullet-proof installation that looks like it is part of theboat. Very clean and professional—and impres-sively shippy.

The pilothouse’s collection of navigation andcommunication electronics comes together as atotal system. Long before any holes are cut, theentire console area is designed as an integratedcommand center—a result of the long hours ofdiscussion with the owners while the boat is underconstruction. The black surface of the console iscompletely taped over with masking tape, and theplacement of the various equipment displays and

controls is literally drawn onto the taped surface.Before anyone starts drilling, all the boxes areassembled, and the various wire and antenna runsare determined.

Pat Flaherty and crew coordinate the timing andorder of removing interior panels for runningwires and tubing through the interior. TV wires,stabilizer control wires and hoses, stereo andspeaker wires, navigation electronics wires andcables, thruster control wires, telephone wires,transducer wires, and all antenna cables are run atthe same time—as much as possible. This repre-sents a difficult coordination problem, and every-thing is a mess while this is going on—but PatFlaherty insists the results are worth it.

The various wire, tubing, and cable runs areall loosely held together by slack wire ties.

None of these runs are con-sidered finished until allwork is done, the finalchecks are made, and thepanels are put back inplace.

“It looks like completechaos while we are doing allthis at once, but it all comestogether in the last 3 days,”Pat told us. “When we finallyinstall the control heads forthe electronics, replace theinterior panels, and put backthe cushions and rest of thedecor, the boat just comestogether.”

SSeeaa Triaals Andd DDeelivery

As the boat is nearing completion, lit-tle things start to happen, such as thefinal sanding and varnish of the teaktrim, cleaning the teak decks, the lastdetailing the entire boat—and the seatrials.

Before the owners take delivery, thecrew takes the boat out for several seatrials to test the equipment and makesure the boat is functioning properly.Since no two boats are outfitted thesame, this is a chance to see how it allworks for this particular boat. Ray tellsus, “Every boat takes on its own per-sonality. We may put on similar equip-ment on these boats, but there is alwaysenough of a difference to make eachboat special. And the owners’ require-ments are different—so it is satisfying tosee how it comes together to meet theowners’ expectations.”

While the boat is being sea trialed, theowners start getting introduced to theirnew boat. Depending on their previousexperience in this kind of cruisingmotorboat, this can take place over aweek or many weeks. As the commis-

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aand aautoopilootreemootee.


Reprint from PassageMaker ® Magazine courtesy of the publisher,Dominion Enterprises. Copyright 2007, All rights reserved.

console. There is a small but cozy set-tee and table on the port side of thepilothouse, and the settee can beextended to become a watch berth,blocking off the port pilothouse door-way.

The full-width instrument console isan example of Burr Yachts’ designexpertise, as all instrumentation andcontrols look ergonomically balancedand designed to work together.

Among all the pilothouse boats cur-rently in production, the Fleming has one featurethat is unique—inside access to the flybridge.While there still is an aft deck ladder up to the aftend of the boat deck, the Fleming allows thecrew to step up to the flybridge directly from therear of the pilothouse. This is much safer thanhaving the crew climb steps up the side of themain cabin, and is much more convenient. It isan outstanding way to travel between the differ-ent levels of the boat.

The tradeoff of this convenience and safety isthat the flybridge is located more aft than you’llsee on other boats, where the flybridge is direct-ly over the pilothouse. This reduces the overallprofile and center of gravity of the boat, but also


sioning process winds down, the owners areshown how to use the major systems and how torun the boat.

“There is a learning curve here, as the ownerslearn the intimacy of their new boat. They go fromknowing a little about a lot of things, to develop-ing a lot of knowledge about each of the individ-ual things aboard the boat.” Ray explained. “Theprocess goes from where we’re taking care of theirboat, to where they are using their boat with oursupport. We encourage little trips in the area sothey can become acquainted with the boat, andwe can fix any small problem they find. Whenthey leave with their new boat, they know a lotmore of their boat and its systems, and their con-fidence has increased.”

Thee BBooaatWe went for a ride on Billie Anita, hull number

54, and got a chance to see the end result of all

the commissioning work. This yacht was deliv-ered to its new owners last May, and they havebeen living full time aboard her ever since.

As you would expect, the appointments wereelegant and well-matched the luxurious nature ofthis high-end cruising yacht. The gracious ownerslet us take their boat out for the day, and we leftthe Annapolis City Dock to explore the surround-ing waters of this favorite Chesapeake Bay area.

Billie Anita has a three stateroom layout withtwo heads—the standard layout. The owners state-room is in the bow, with a queen size island berthsurrounded by counter space, cabinets, and hang-ing lockers, and there is an ensuite head.

Aft of the master stateroom are two guest cabins,which share a second head that also houses aclothes washer and dryer unit. The starboard cabinoffers upper/lower single berths, and the port-sideguest stateroom has a side-by-side berth layout.There are lockers and opening ports in both guest

SSttaainleessss ssteeeel tubing iss usseedd foor staabilizeerhydraaulic lineess—aa vveery timee-ccoonssuming

ttaasskk. Nooticee thee loooossee wiree tieess. Theeyy wwill

bbee tightteeneed wwheen aall wwiringg runss tthroougghthiss sseectioon of thee booat aaree coompleeteed.

Veeryy ccleeaan aand proofeessssioonaal.

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aabboovee thee wwaateerlinee. (beeloow)

Aquaadrivee thrust beeaaring, CV jooint, andd ssooft eengineemounttss proovidee aa quieett, vibraation-freeee riddee aatt aall run-ningg sspeeeeddss.

Att tthee dinghy doocckin Annaapooliss. Abeeaautiful booaatt in aabeeaauttiful loocaattioon.Lifee iss graand!

staterooms.Up a few steps going aft, the main salon and

galley area are the central living area of the boat,with plenty of opening windows for ventilationand atmosphere. The galley is large and has plen-ty of counter space, with a full-sized refrigera-tor/freezer opposite the U-shaped galley.

The salon has a starboard-side L-shaped setteewith an adjustable coffee table, and there is roomfor two chairs opposite this settee—which faces abuilt-in entertainment center. Double doors openout onto the aft deck. Billie Anita has custom-sized Berber rugs covering the salon and all otherfloor surfaces and steps, adding protection to theteak and holly finish and comfort for the crew’sfeet.

Forward of the galley area are a few steps whichlead into the raised pilothouse—which has a helmchair mounted centerline in front of a full-width


limits the carrying ability of the boat deck. It isstill big enough for the dinghy, but a large rigidfloor inflatable will have to be stored sidewaysbehind a roomy seating area. This is a practicalarrangement for people who would rather spreadout with friends than carry around a lot of toys.

And to top off easy living on the top deck, thereis dumbwaiter service between the galley and theflybridge! A stainless steel basket sits inside an over-head cabinet in the galley, which can be accessedfrom a panel on the flybridge. The chef can loadsandwiches, hors d’oeuvres, drinks, dishes and sil-verware in this basket to be received by the hostup top. How civilized! And safe for a short-handedcrew when it is lunch time under way.

Back on deck, the foredeck is accessed throughcenterline doors in the Portuguese bridge, and

comfortable acruising motor-boat can be.Nothing beatscruising underpower in a qual-ity boat!

SSummaaryFollowing a pro-

fessional crewthrough the com-missioning of ahigh-quality cruis-ing boat gave usan informed lookinto the real worldof the broker-owne r - bu i l d e rrelationship.Whilewe certainly can’tassume that allboat companies and dealers are the same as weexperienced with the Fleming, it was interesting tosee just how much really goes on before a boat isdelivered to its new owners. A good dealer and agood boat builder can make for a wonderfully sat-isfying experience.

Having a boat built to your specifications in yourown area is a good way to make sure things goyour way—with no problems. However, as mostof us don’t have a yacht builder in our own back-yard, we depend on our dealer to help us with thedetails of successful new yacht ownership. Giventhe tremendous investment we make on this pur-chase, it’s important to find and use a knowledge-able and professional dealer. It really does make adifference.

While we’ll still give them lots of our money—when things go right, we’ll know it was moneywell spent—and money well earned!

AccknoowleeddggmeenttsI would like to thank the crew of Burr Yacht

Sales, in Edgewater, Maryland, for allowing us todisrupt their frenetic activities long enough towatch them at work behind the scenes. We sawlots of sawdust, bare wires, tools and scrapedknuckles—and witnessed how much crawling andbending around tight quarters is done to get thejob right.

We want to thank Ray Currey, Mick Shove, andPat Flaherty—for taking the time to discuss therealities of their profession, and for giving us a bet-ter appreciation of the lives of the many yacht bro-kers and dealers around the country.

We salute them all! ●

vides a cooler environment than placing suchequipment in the engine room space.

Another good idea are the pickups for theexhaust blowers—they are located directly overthe engines’ turbochargers, so they draw engineheat directly from the engines—rather than from acorner of the engine room. This makes a greatdeal of sense.

Little details in the living spaces also point to theattention to detail in this boat, such as the use ofrecessed halogen lighting whenever possible.There are screens on all windows and ports, andminiblinds are installed as standard equipment.Domestic equipment also includes awasher/dryer, dishwasher, and trash compactor.Beyond the nice luxury appointments this is still acruising boat—and handholds and teak posts arethere for use in rougher weather. The overallpackage as a cruising boat is very nice indeed.

We ran the Fleming at various speeds, and itwas comfortable at both displacement speeds andhigher. The boat is capable of 16+ knots, and canbe run comfortably at that or the slower 8–12 knotspeeds so often enjoyed while cruising.

It was fun spending the day on Billie Anita, andwe reluctantly left her when we returned toAnnapolis. It had been a great day on the water,and the Fleming 55 validated once more just how

there are high bulwarks and railings toprotect the crew. In fact, along with thePortuguese bridge and wide side decks,there is superior protection for the crewand it is clear that safety was a parame-ter of Tony Fleming’s original design. Itis hard to imagine better protection forrunning the boat in heavy weather.

All the way aft is a wide and roomyaft deck large enough to set up chairsand tables for comfortable lounging andliving aboard. With some overhead pro-tection offered by the boat deck, the lay-out offers flexibility—you can fish fromthis location because it is open, or youcan add a bimini or awning for total pro-tection from the sun. A third control sta-tion is located here along the aft end ofthe main cabin, with thruster, autopilot,and engine controls.

To repeat an earlier observation—onething that is rather striking aboard theFleming is the absence of noise andvibration while under way. The combi-

nation of Aquadrive thrust bearing, CV joints, andsoft engine mounts virtually eliminates noticeablevibration. Along with an oversized exhaust mufflersystem, the Fleming is super quiet. Standing in thepilothouse while the engines are idling, you haveto look at the gauges to really know whether ornot the engines are running.

The Fleming 55 has a number of other interest-ing details that make the boat more comfortableand safer. Her rudder posts, for example, aremounted so that they pass through structuralstringers above the waterline—eliminating thepossibility of packing gland failure and water get-ting into the boat.

A separate lazarette aft of the engine room hous-es the electrical inverter/charger, the compressorsfor the refrigeration and air conditioning, and pro-

Reprint from PassageMaker ® Magazine courtesy of the publisher, Dominion Enterprises. Copyright 2007, All rights reserved. Reprint from PassageMaker ® Magazine courtesy of the publisher, Dominion Enterprises. Copyright 2007, All rights reserved.www.passagemaker.com

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